To Live a Life of Ease - Parshat Vayeishev

Have you ever had a saying that bothered you or followed you around for years because you just didn't 'get it'?

I've had that experience with a line that Rashi uses near the beginning of this week's parsha - Parshat Vayeishev. The Torah relates that Yaakov was in the land of his fathers.1 Since we already knew that from previous sentences, this sentence is superfluous and must be coming to teach us something else. Rashi explains that Yaakov wished to 'live at ease'2. After all, he had just come through a rough 22 years of living with Lavan, the threat of a war with Esav, trouble with his wives, worries about an income to support his family and more. He wanted some down-time.

Rashi continues to quote the Midrash which states that when God heard that Yaakov wanted to dwell at ease, He asked : "Is it not enough for the righteous that they have such a large reward waiting for them in the world to come that they wish to live at ease in this world too?"

Immediately, the emotionally-straining story of Joseph and his brothers unfolds.

What is wrong with wanting to live at ease? Is it a fault? Is it truly only an admonition for the righteous? And didn’t Yaakov, who was after all a fully righteous man, deserve to have a good life?

I do not expect to "solve" the question of theodicy in this short piece. What I will do, however, is to offer what it may mean for us. Even though the object of this story is Yaakov, and it may be true that God's admonition was in fact meant only for the righteous, what can we learn from it?

There is an adage of Hillel the Sage: He who does not advance falls back.3 One of the most dangerous attributes we can have in life is complacency. Being satisfied with who we are and even what we have prevents us from moving forward. Is moving forward necessary? According to Hillel, it is necessary at least in order to prevent backsliding and perhaps losing much, if not all, of what we had gained.

In his epic work, 'Man's Search for Meaning', Viktor Frankl offers a second perspective. "What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task…the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him." Complacency is simply not an option. Living a 'life of ease' is not a long-term plan. Living towards a life of meaning is what we are meant to do. Moving forward in life is part of our physical and mental health.

No, it is not a fault to wish to live a life of ease. In fact, there is a growing understanding supported by research that we do need some down-time for our physical, emotional and spiritual health. There is even experiential value in that as well. Notice the various blessings we have on experiencing different situations...seeing a rainbow, flying over the Alps, or visiting a place with special significance.

Together with that, there needs to be an understanding of the context of our lives and our situation. There is meaning in our lives. It is our responsibility to discover it.

If there is suffering or hardship in our lives, it too must have meaning for us. It is for growing and developing into a greater, fuller human being.

 

  1. Bereishit 37:1  
  2. Translated by Silbermann
  3. Avot 1:13
  4. p.110

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