A rumor spread through the community that Moshiach was coming in forty days. With great excitement, everyone gathered to discuss how to prepare for this awesome moment. There were two schools of thought. The first group decided to welcome Moshiach by creating and presenting him with a pilpul, a deep, new treatise on the Talmud. This group went to the study-hall and began to develop and argue their complex theories. The second group decided to spread joyful expectation and inspiration among others, and to welcome Moshiach with a tremendous party. They went out to the streets, dancing and singing and drinking l’chaims, and inviting everyone they met into the banquet hall.

After forty days of this, Moshiach appeared. First, he stepped quietly into the study-hall, where people were dozing over their books. He tapped the shoulder of one young student who awoke with a start, saying, “Moshiach, it’s you!” Everyone got up and rushed to begin their presentation, to welcome the Redeemer. The leading rabbi stood at the podium and gave a long-winded pilpul. Afterwards, the rabbi went to shake Moshiach’s hand and asked, “Nu, what did you think?” Moshiach smiled and shrugged, “The truth is, Rabbi, I’ve heard better.” The rabbi, with consternation, cried out, “You know, sir, if you would have just given us another forty days, we could have done better!”

Moshiach slipped out the back and went to the banquet hall. It was so packed with partygoers, he could hardly squeeze into the door. After forty days of rejoicing, the place was a bit of a mess, and people were sprawled out in a daze. He tapped one of the daydreaming students on the shoulder, who jumped up and shouted, “Moshiach, wow, it’s really you!” Everyone got up and began to dance and sing with exuberant joy: “We have Moshiach now, we have Moshiach now, we don’t have to wait!” Finally, the leading rabbi of the group approached Moshiach to express his heartfelt welcome. Moshiach said, “Thanks. By the way Rabbi, maybe you could pour me a l’chaim.” Everyone searched but could not produce more than a few drops of vodka. “Tell me, my people, is this all you can offer your Redeemer?” The rabbi answered, “You know, Moshiach, if you had just arrived forty days earlier, you would have had a bigger l’chaim!”

* * *

Bechukosai Taking Collateral

The portion of Bechukosai speaks of the forty-nine curses that come upon the Jewish people when they don’t listen to and perform G-d’s laws. At the end of time, however, G-d will bring an end to all tragedy and pain by remembering the covenant of the Patriarchs: “And I will remember the covenant with Jacob, and the covenant of Isaac, and also the covenant of Abraham I will remember….”[1]

EXTRA VAV
1.) Looking closely at this verse, we see that the name Jacob (Yaakov) has an extra letter Vav: , instead of . Nothing is altered phonetically, yet this is an unusual spelling. What might it mean?

2.) Throughout the Torah, the three Fathers are usually mentioned in genealogical order–Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Why does our verse mention Jacob first?

GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN
The Lubavitcher Rebbe says there are two possible hierarchical orders for the Fathers. The first, the genealogical order, is also in descending order according to levels of self-sacrifice. The second sequence is according to their levels of knowledge and performance of Torah and mitzvos.[2]

According to the criterion of self-sacrifice, the greatest is Abraham. Although his father was an idolater, Abraham went against the grain and taught the world monotheism. When everyone was against him, he persisted in debating and proving the Oneness of G-d to each person he met. The tyrannical leader Nimrod told Abraham to bow down to him, and Abraham refused, saying, “I only bow down to the One G-d, who is the Creator of Heaven and Earth.” Because of his radical spiritual activism, Abraham was thrown into a fiery inferno. He survived un-scorched.[3]

Isaac’s own self-sacrifice was not as intense, for he could follow the model of his illustrious father. His major act of self-sacrifice involved stretching out his neck for his father at the Akeidah. This was easier because he was submitting to his father and teacher, rather than a vicious, evil king. And, as it is said, slaughter is much less painful than fire. But most of all, this act fulfilled a direct command of G-d. In a sense, he was not going against the grain at all.

Jacob’s major act of self-sacrifice was spending twenty difficult years in the house of Laban to secure the future of the Jewish people. This, however, was not as dramatic or dangerous as Isaac’s act.

BUILDING A TRADITION
Jacob was the greatest of the three in knowledge and practice of Torah. As it states, “Jacob was a wholesome and perfect person who sat and studied in the tents of Torah.” ‘The tents’, in the plural, refers to both the revealed and esoteric dimensions of Torah. In other words, Jacob expanded and perfected the Torah teachings of his father and grandfather. He was born into a home where Torah was lived–he didn’t have to discover it on his own.

Perhaps this is the reason why Jacob’s name occurs first. G-d is saying, ‘At the end of time, in order to redeem the people of Israel, I will first remember the merit of Jacob[4]–his Torah study.’[5] This implies that the most proper path to Redemption is not that of the ultimate self-sacrifice, i.e., martyrdom, but the path of consistent Torah study.[6]

COLLATERAL
Why does Jacob’s name have an extra Vav? Rashi says there are five places in the Torah where the name Yaakov is spelled this way.[7] There are also five places in the Torah where the name Eliyahu, Elijah the Prophet, is missing a Vav.[8] In other words, Jacob has taken the Vav from Elijah. Why? Elijah is the harbinger of Moshiach, our redeemer. Jacob has taken Elijah’s Vav as collateral, forcing Elijah to come and herald the redemption of Jacob’s children and the world at large.

FIVE VAVS
Another question: why has Jacob taken the Elijah’s Vav five times? The Maharal says that the five Vavs hint to the five fingers of the hand, meaning that Jacob has shaken hands with Elijah–he has made a deal with him regarding the Redemption.[9] The Maharal also notes that five times Vav (5 x 6) equals 30, and there are thirty bones in a person’s hand.[10] Finally, the Tzemach Tzedek says that the five Vavs hint to the five descriptions of Moshiach in the Book of Isaiah:[11] “Behold, My servant 1) shall prosper, 2) he shall be exalted, 3) and lifted up, 4) and he shall be high, 5) very high.”[12]

Despite the reasons above, why must it be Jacob who takes the Vav from Eliyahu? Abraham or Isaac could have also taken a letter from Eliyahu, and like ‘Yaakov‘, their names would not be phonetically changed. It could be because Jacob is the most familiar with the exile experience. Not only was he exiled in the house of Laban, he also descended into Egypt with his entire people. It is therefore Jacob who is the most concerned and motivated to grab the Vav from Elijah as a guarantee that the Jews will be redeemed.[13]

OUR ROLE IN REDEMPTION
What can we do today to hasten the coming of Moshiach? We don’t have to be thrown into a fiery inferno like Abraham, or stick out our necks like Isaac. Rather, like Jacob, our job is to channel the passionate energy of self-sacrifice into the activities of Torah study, prayer, and mitzvos, especially studying the laws and topic of Moshiach and redemption..

Through the merits of Jacob, Isaac and Abraham, and all our holy ancestors who dedicated their lives to G-d, may we witness the exaltation of Moshiach, now.

A STORY [14]

Business was slow for Shmuel, and he began to worry. A friend advised him to study Torah every day during his lunch break, and he began to do so. He soon realized that business picked up considerably whenever he was about to begin his lunch break. Amused, Shmuel mentioned this to his friend, who answered, “Since you were so worried, I thought you must have been misplacing your focus. When I suggested you focus on Torah during your break, I figured that the forces of evil would resist, and try to distract you by sending many clients!”

ACTION: During your lunch break, study Torah for five minutes.

FOOTNOTES
[1] Leviticus, 26.42
[2] Likutei Sichos, Vol. 32, on Bechukosai
[3] Misha’el, Chananyah, and Azaria, were also thrown into a fiery inferno in the time of Nebuchadnezzar. The Prophet Daniel was thrown into a lion’s den. Each emerged unhurt.
[4] G-d also says, as it were, ‘If the merits of Jacob are not enough, I will add the merits of Isaac. If even these are not enough, I will also add the merits of Abraham.’
[5] Both Torah and Jacob correspond to the attribute of tiferes, beauty. See also footnote 13, below.
[6] See Sefer HaSichos 5751, p. 498. Also, redemption is greatly accelerated when we study, in particular, the concepts pertaining to Moshiach. See ibid., p. 501.
[7] The other places where ‘Yaakov‘ is spelled with an extra Vav are: Jeremiah 30:18, 33:26, 46:27, and 51:19.
[8] ‘Eliyahu‘ is spelled without a Vav in the following verses: Kings II, 1:3, 1:4, 1:8, and 1:12; also in Malachi, 3:23.
[9] Abraham could have taken Eliyahu’s Alef for example, making his name “Aavraham.” Yitzchak could have taken Eliyahu’s Yud or Hei, blending it into his name. These silent letters would be similar to the silent Shin of the name Yisachar (spelled Yisaschar).
[10] Gur Aryeh on this passage
[11] Isaiah, 52:13
[12] See Sefer Likutim, Tzemach Tzedek, on the topic of Yaakov, in the sub-topic of Vav. See also the Targum Onkelos and the Yalkut Shimonei on the above passage, as well as Zohar I, 181b, etc. See also Sefer Hasichos 5749, 11 of Iyar, starting Os Yud for another connection between number five and the Ultimate Redemption.
[13] In Kabbalah, the letter Vav is synonymous with Jacob. Both represent the attribute of tiferes, the central pillar that connects the highest level keser to the lowest level of malchus.
[14] Based on an anectdote in Farbrengen: Inspirational Stories and Anecdotes, by Rabbi Chaim Dalfin, p. 16