Parshas ויצא- Sheep Stories The Parsha details the travails of יעקב אבינו during his גלות in the house of לבן הארמי. After working for 14 years as payment for marrying רחל and לאה, he approaches לבן with the request to leave. Sensing that יעקב is the source of his success, לבן implores him to stay and offers him a partnership in the business, as the פסוק says
נקבה עלי שכרך ואתנה
Accepting the offer, יעקב stipulates that לבן should remove all the spotted sheep from his flock. At that point, any spotted sheep born from the solid sheep, will belong to יעקב. Indeed, many spotted sheep are born, all of which go to יעקב, resulting in him becoming very wealthy.
But how did the solid sheep breed spotted ones? The תורה highlights that יעקב conducted a mysterious formula to achieve this feet. Indeed, the ספרי קבלה point out that through esoteric כוונות, he was able to change the genetic makeup of the animals, such that they would breed spotted offspring.
Perhaps we can also explain this homiletcally. When highlighting the type of cattle that יעקב would keep, the פסוק refers to them as
עקודים, נקודים וטלואים
We know that the רבש”ע is the shepherd of his flock, כלל ישראל, as the פסוק in תהילים says
ה’ רועי לא אחסר
What can we, as Hashem’s sheep, do to merit His protection? Like the sheep of יעקב, we can be עקודים, as in the word עקידה, bound to Him with our heart and soul. Additionally, the תורה reminds us, נקודים, from the word נקודה. As Yidden, it’s our goal to find the נקודה טובה inside ourselves, and inside our fellow brothers. Practically speaking, we should remind ourselves that we each posses a נשמה which is a חלק אלוק ממעל enabling us to accomplish great things in this world. And, in addition, we should remember that every Yid, is a precious נשמה as well. In the aftermath of October 7, we witnessed an emergance of אמונה and שמירת המצוות aming many previously secular Yidden in ארץ ישראל. One such instance is from former hostage Kieth Segal. A former avowed secularist, while in captivity he discovered the light of אמונה. For the 1st time in his life, he said שמע ישראל twice a day, which kept his spirits and hope alive.
And finally, טלואים, from the word טלאי, a patch. A reminder to find those with broken hearts and try to mend it with a small patch. That can mean a smile, a phone call, or just a kind word. Providing a patch of love and חיזוק can do wonders in mending a broken heart
. עקודים, נקודים, טלואים.
3 small ways to practice and keep the flock of Hashem protected and safe.
We’ll conclude with a story that highlights this point, told over by Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky. A man sat down for Shalosh Seudos in his shul next to a father with his son. The father turned to them and said, “Do you have any sheep stories? And to his puzzled neighbor he explained, Hashem is our Shepard. Each week we try to share stories of השגחה פרטית, instances that happened over the week showing us how He watches over us and cares for us.”
כי אנו צאנך ואתה רועינו!
Weekly Parsha Shiur 