parshaמפרשי הפרשה

משך חכמה — וישב לבן למקומו ויעקב הלך לדרכו

What is the significance of the precise contrast — "לבן returned to his place" while "Yaakov went on his way"?

וכאשר הלך יעקב שב לבן 'למקומו' הראשון, היינו מצבו הרע בדיעות ובמידות, רמאי ואוהב ממון. 'ויעקב הלך לדרכו', שהצדיק ותלמיד חכם האמיתי הוא הולך ממקום הראשון למעלות גדולות.

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משך חכמה

משך חכמה, ויצא כ״ו

Meshekh Chokhmah, Vayetze:26

Q — What is the significance of the precise contrast — "לבן returned to his place" while "Yaakov went on his way"?

A — A rasha like Lavan, even after twenty years with a tzaddik in his home, returns to his original low state of deceit and greed ("למקומו"); a tzaddik like Yaakov never returns and never stands still — "תלמידי חכמים אין להם מנוחה" — they keep ascending, which is why the moment Yaakov leaves Lavan, מלאכי אלוקים immediately meet him.

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