Hadrash Ve-Haiyun by the Reisha Rav, HaGoan Rav Aaron Levine Elucidated and Adapted by Efraim Levine

Vayishlach

Rescue me, please, from the hand of my brother, form the hand of Esav, for I fear him lest he come and strike me, mother and children. (Bereishis 32:12)

The posuk (parshas mishpatim 21:19) reads v'rapo yirape (and he, i.e., a doctor, shall heal). The Gemara (Bava Kamma 85) writes that from this posuk we learn that a doctor has permission to heal. The Torah teaches us that we shall not think that it is forbidden for a doctor to heal because the doctor would be interfering with the will of Hashem. But rather Hashem desires that a doctor come to the aid of a suffering patient. The Ramban (Parshas Bechukosai) goes further. He writes that this permission to seek a doctor's aid is only for those who do not posses complete faith. It is they who need and must seek the aid of doctors. It is they who must make every effort possible to alleviate their suffering. Those who have complete faith, by contrast, need only pray to Hashem and place their complete trust in Him for their healing.

This Ramban presents us with a difficulty. Why in our parsha did Yaakov prepare presents and divide his camps into two parts. Why did Yaakov make all these physical preparations for his encounter with his brother? It is true that we are far removed from the level of faith needed to follow the advice of the Ramban in abandoning the doctors and placing our complete faith in Hashem, but would not Yaakov Avinu the "chosen of the Avos" be at such a level of faith. If the Ramban is at least not referring to Yaakov, then to whom is he referring? It is interesting that we do find Yaakov acting with complete faith during this episode. In the middle of the night, Yaakov returned to his residence to retrieve small utensils. Travelling back in the middle of the night is obviously very dangerous. How then could Yaakov do this? It must be that he did possess a very strong level of faith. If he possessed this faith when traveling in the middle of the night why didn't he likewise demonstrate the same level of faith when preparing to meet up with his brother? How do we explain Yaakov's seemingly contradictory behavior?

The answer is that when it comes to faith, one cannot impose his beliefs and convictions on others. Yaakov was obviously at a very high level of faith but here it was not only he whose life was in danger but also the lives of his whole family. Yaakov did not expect the same level of faith from them. Since the responsibility for their welfare lay on his shoulders he made sure to do everything in his power to protect them as their level of faith warranted. On the other hand, when he himself ventured out to retrieve the small utensils, he was acting alone; no one was in danger but he himself. Here he demonstrated his faith by putting his life in danger. With this insight we can understand the posuk: Yaakov prayed "For I fear him lest he (i.e., Esuv) come and strike me, mother and children. The fear and need for preparations were justified because it was for a mother and children as well.

The message we learn form Yaakov is that, with regard to faith, if there is a price to pay, one cannot impose his religious convictions on others.