BackYaakov's Righteous Prayer
By: Rabbi Barak Bar-Chaim
When Yaakov left his home in the Land of Israel and travelled to his Uncle’s home, he made the following vow: “If God will be with me, and He will guard me on this way, upon which I am going, and He will give me bread to eat and a garment to wear; And if I return in peace to my father’s house, and the Lord will be my God; Then this stone, which I have placed as a monument, shall be a house of God, and everything that You give me, I will surely tithe to You.” (Genesis 28:20-22)
Yaakov’s request for bread to eat and a garment to wear always struck me as somewhat strange. Why did Yaakov only express his desire for the bare necessities? Surely, it would be important for him to build a broader livelihood and an estate for his family! Rabbi Ovadia Seforno (15th century Italian scholar) has the following fascinating comment on Yaakov’s request: “So that poverty does not cause me to go against my will, and the will of my creator.” The Seforno understands that Yaakov feared the spiritual tests and psychological limitations of poverty. When one is poor, the temptation to be dishonest for financial gain is tremendous. Additionally, poverty limits one’s choices in many situations. A person may be coerced into doing things that they would prefer not to do. According to the Seforno, Yaakov was essentially saying: God, please make sure that I have the means to support my most basic needs. If I don’t have my basic needs met, I am afraid that I will go against both my will and Your will!
Rabbeinu Bechaye (1255–1340) is of the opinion that while Yaakov feared the tests of poverty, he also feared the tests of wealth. He feared that wealth could potentially get him used to a life of luxury which could, in turn, lead him to pursue physical pleasures and to haughtiness. According to Rabbeinu Bechaye, Yaakov was saying: God, please provide me with my basic livelihood. I am afraid of both poverty and wealth, so please provide me with my basic needs, no more and no less.
It is interesting that, in the end, God blessed Yaakov with tremendous wealth, and Yaakov was forced to deal with both the benefits and challenges of wealth. The message is that, while we should strive to avoid spiritual tests and aim to have our basic needs met, ultimately God may place us in a situation where we will be challenged by either poverty or wealth. The awareness of such challenges and the development of the attitude of being satisfied with one’s basic needs being met are the keys to overcoming these challenges. Let us pray as Yaakov did for our basic needs to be met and emulate Yaakov’s tremendous strength in overcoming the spiritual challenges that God chose for him.