Rabbi Winston – Vayaitzai Part 2

 (continued)

The bottom line? Lavan was a cheat because that is how he coped with the world he found himself in. Ya’akov “cheated” back when it was the truth according to the Ultimate Truth, G–D Himself. They may not have seemed much different to the untrained eye, but they were as different as the darkest night and the brightest day. 

Ain Od Milvado, Part 28

DO YOU PRAY to G–D or do you pray at G–D? What is the difference? Someone who prays at G–D basically says the prayers into the air and hopes, if they even care, that G–D hears them and answers them. At the very least, they hope that they have fulfilled their obligation to pray, regardless of being heard or answered.

People who don’t appreciate how much they need G–D to survive usually have this approach to prayer, and Judaism in general. It’s like the Gemora says, prayer is one those things that stands at the heights of the world but people walk all over. Those are the people who do not believe that prayer actually makes much of a difference to the outcome in their lives. 

Until they need to. Those are the times they are scared of the future and everything they usually rely upon to save them has either failed or offers no hope. Then, all of a sudden, the uncertainty of prayer works in the other direction, providing a glimmer of hope where there otherwise is none.

Praying to G–D is different. It’s not like talking into a phone with no one on the other end. It’s like sitting across from someone and having a sincere conversation, the goal of which is a closer connection to the other side. The words are just the means to improve that connection. 

Ya’akov Avinu had already reached Charan when he realized he had missed the opportunity to pray to G–D on the future Temple Mount. Many people wouldn’t go back a mile for a minyan, but Ya’akov turned around and went all the way back to Eretz Yisroel just to doven Ma’ariv by himself. That’s how much he wanted and appreciated that connection to G–D. 

That’s another aspect of od ain Milvado. It’s not enough just to believe that there is none other than G–D. You have to also believe that G–D is everywhere at all times, including right in front of you when you pray. You may be praying at Him, but He is right there waiting for you to pray to Him. 

Why then did Ya’akov Avinu turn around and head back to Har HaMoriah to pray if G–D is everywhere? To maximize the experience. Once G–D has already identified places where He can be most felt, it is a shame to meet up with Him in lesser places, like the Diaspora. That’s why Ya’akov did the next best thing going to Mesopotamia. He took a part of Eretz Yisroel with him…something that only works when G–D sends and keeps you outside His holy land.