RABBI SHALOM ROSNER
Rav Kehilla, Nofei HaShemesh Maggid Shiur, Daf Yomi, OU.org Senior Ra"M, Kerem B'Yavneh
What Was Taught in Yeshivat Shem V’Ever? ֹ ְלְ ׁׁשֹוֹ ן ִִמעּוּט; ְ �ְּבאֹוֹ תֹו: ו �ִּיְִׁש� ְ ַ�ַּכב ַ �ַּב �ָָּמקֹוֹ ם ַַה ֽֽהּוּא:רש”י ָָמקֹוֹ ם ָׁש� ָ ַכַ ב ֲֲא ָָבל י”ד ָׁש� ָ ִנִים ֶׁש� ֶ ִּׁש� � ִ �ֵֵּמ ׁׁש ְ �ְּב ֵֵבית ֵֵע ֶֶבר ֹל ֹא : ֶׁש� ֶ ָָהָיָה עֹוֹ ֵֵסק ַ �ַּבּתֹּוֹ ָָרה,ָׁש� ָ ַכַ ב ַ �ַּב ַ�ַּלְיְָלָ ה And he lay down in that place: [The word ] ַַההּוּאis a restrictive expression, meaning that [only] in that place did he lie down, but during the fourteen years that he served in the house of Eber, he did not lie down at night, because he was engaged in Torah study. Based on the language used in the Torah, Rashi derives that Yaakov rested at this location, but for fourteen years he did not rest, rather during that period he engaged in the study of Torah in the Yeshiva of Shem V’Ever.
THIRTY-SIX YEARS AWAY FROM HOME We are told that Yaakov resided at the house of Lavan for twenty-two years, and during those years was unable to fulfill the mitzvah of kibbud Av V’em, therefore he was “punished” midah k’neged midah and Yosef was in mitzrayim unable to communicate with Yaakov for twenty-two years. If we add the fourteen years during which Yaakov studied at the Yeshiva of Shem V’Ever, then he was unable to fulfill the mitzvah of Kibbud Av V’em for 36 years. Why are the fourteen years in Yeshiva not counted towards the time he did not fulfill kibbud Av V’em? Rav Yaakov Kaminetzky in Emet L’Yaakov 34 TORAH TIDBITS 1541 / VAYEITZEI
raises this question. Rav Yaakov even offers an example to strengthen the question. Imagine that a father asks his son to pick up some groceries. On his way to the store, the child stops off at the beit midrash to learn for a week. Is that proper behavior? His father requested groceries and the child delayed the chore for a week? Yaakov was tasked with finding a wife in Haran, why would he be justified in pushing that off for fourteen years?
SHEM V’EVER SURVIVAL IN HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT Perhaps we need to understand the nature of what was taught in the Yeshiva of Shem V’Ever. In the house of Avraham and Yitzhak, there was a closed and protected environment. When Sara suspects that Yishmael may have an adverse influence on her son, she demands that Yishmael be removed. Shem, on the other hand, was the son of Noach. He witnessed the wickedness of his surroundings. Ever lived during the Dor Haflaga, when Migdal Bavel was built. Similarly, he grew up in a generation that did not value human life and that did not believe in God. Yet, both Shem V’Ever were able to remain steadfast Ovdei Hashem and moral and ethical beings. What Shem V’Ever were able to teach Yaakov, was how to survive in the house