[NGFP-BookClub] from BBS to AOA -

[berger788]

One might well as what would Yehuda do without recourse to the Google 
search engine? The ollowing character study / dvar torah was written by 
one Ronen Ahituv who lives in Mitzpeh Netofah and who teaches at Bar 
Ilan University, The Oranim Seminary, and at the Jordan Valley Regional 
College. It is excerpted from the web site:
http://www.netivot-shalom.org.il/parshaeng/vayetze5765.php

Laban at Eye-Level
by Dr. Ronen Ahituv
 
Recently, viewing biblical heroes "at eye-level" has become quite 
popular. This phrase refers to the approach that emphasizes the 
humanity of biblical heroes and the complexity of their personalities, 
including both their positive as well as darker characteristics. The 
controversial willingness to recognize the short-comings of the 
nation's greatest figures is of educational significance; it brings 
them closer to recognizable human horizons, allowing us to see them as 
models for emulation and study, rather than as mere objects of 
adulation. We find ourselves learning not only from our ancestors' 
accomplishments, but also from their failures.
It appears that the supporters of the "eye-level" approach use it 
principally in connection with the Torah's positive heroes. Here we 
will attempt to employ this method in regard to one of the Torsh’s less 
savory protagonists, Laban the Aramean, who, strictly speaking, is one 
of the forefathers of the Israelite nation.
Like Esau in a previous parasha, Laban is presented as Jacob's opposite 
and antagonist. It is understood that anyone who wants to depict Jacob 
as morally perfect will want to paint Laban in the darkest colors, 
presenting him as embodying the very pinnacle of evil. The Haggadah for 
Pesah, for example, describes Laban as being even worse than Pharaoh, 
and attributes to him the intention of "annihilating the entirety [of 
the Jewish People]."
In our first encounter with Laban, in Parashat Toldot, we immediately 
come across two striking, and apparently contradictory, character 
traits. (a) greed, avarice, and (b) familial loyalty. Both are 
demonstrated in the passage: “When Laban saw the nose-ring and the arms 
bands on his sister, ebecca, andwhen he heard her say, "Thus the man 
spoke to me," he went up to the man who was still standing beside the 
camels at the spring. He said, "Come in, oh, blessed of the Lord. Why 
do you remain outside, when I have prepared the house and set a place 
for the camels?" (Bereishit 24:30-1)

Laban competes with his sister Rebecca in extending hospitality to 
Abraham's servant. While she waters the camels - Laban takes care to 
feed them. The Torah offers two motives for his actions: the sight of 
the jewelry his sister has been adorned with, and the information 
proffered by her, that the guest is Abraham's servant. It is of course 
possible to down-play the importance of the familial motivation and to 
interpret Laban's speech as mere sycophancy aimed at squeezing some 
reward from the generous new arrival, but that would not really explain 
the lengthy treatment of the encounter given by the Torah.
(So it is understood by Nechama Leibowitz, following Rashi and the 
Sages, see her Iyyunim Be-Sefer Bereishit, pp. 221-2).
In this light, Laban can be described as a person motivated by two 
separate drives: love of money and love of family. There is no tension 
between them in his meeting with Abraham's servant; both drives push 
him in the same direction. Later, however, Laban will have to choose 
between them.

When Jacob reaches Haran, bereft of any visible wealth, again Laban 
runs to meet him, and brings him into his house, declaring, you are of 
my bone and of my flesh (Bereishit 29:14). This phrase cuts both ways: 
It may be read as an expression of familial love, but at the same time 
we may understand that Laban considers Jacob to be part of his flesh, 
meaning that Laban feels free to make Jacob his slave. Indeed, Jacob 
shepherds Laban's flock for a month's time in the manner of a slave - 
only receiving room and board,. Jacob works without complaint - after 
all, his status is quite low, as is the standing of anyone lacking 
means, even to our own day. He has no bargaining power. That situation 
could have continued indefinitely, and if it had, Jacob would have been 
lost to poverty, as it is written; an Aramean caused my father to be 
lost (Devarim 26:5).
After a month, Laban initiates a change: He calls Jacob my brother, 
thus recognizing his independence and freedom. Laban expresses
chagrin at Jacob having worked for free. “You shouldn’t work for me for 
nothing just because you are relative. How much should I pay you?” 
(Bereishit 29:15). What causes Laban to reject economic logic and offer 
recompense to someone as weak as Jacob? We now hear an echo of the 
verse, If your brother under you continues in straits and must give 
himself over to you, do not subject him to the treatment of a slave 
(Vayikra 25:39).

Even in Laban's hardened heart there dwell fraternal feelings, driving 
him, so it would seem, to free Jacob. However, after the agreement, I 
will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel (29:18), 
the relationship between them remains unclear. A work-agreement has 
been signed, making Jacob's formal status that of a hired hand. In 
practice, he has sold himself into seven years of slavery in Laban's 
household. Once again, the Torah's regulations of the Hebrew slave echo 
in our ears: If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall work six years and in 
the seventh he shall go free, without payment (Shemot 21:2) The 
"rental" agreement allows Laban to by-pass the slavery regulations, 
making Jacob's enslavement all the more harsh. Such things are still 
known to us in our own day.
This ambiguity continued throughout Jacob's twenty year stay with 
Laban. Although he had married Laban's two daughters, Jacob can still 
be thought of as a slave "whose master has given him a wife," leaving 
all rights to the wife and her children in the master's hands. Thus 
Laban managed to accommodate his two motivating drives and live a 
duplicitous existence: legally speaking, Jacob was a hired hand who 
received the fair treatment stipulated by mutual agreement. In 
practice, he was a household slave, so that Laban lost none of his 
wealth, since "that which is acquired by a slave is automatically 
acquired by his master" (Pesahim 88b).

With each additional renewal of the agreement, the possibility that 
Jacob will actually take his leave and receive his due becomes more 
tenuous, and the subtle line between employee and eternal slave grows 
fainter. Laban forgets his filial affection for Jacob and his 
responsibilities towards him. He sinks into the immediate present, 
concerned solely with the exploitation of his loyal slave and the 
accumulation of wealth for his family. And so, after twenty years, 
Laban can blurt out, The girls are my girls, the boys, my boys. The 
flocks are my flocks; everything you see is mine (31:43). These are the 
words of the capitalist who lords it over his slaves, then as now. The 
earlier fraternal feelings which had beat in Laban's youthful breast 
have completely atrophied. Indeed, as Jacob proclaims, If the God of my 
father had not been with me...you now would have sent me out 
empty-handed (31:42), for we have also learned, if he arrived 
unmarried, he shall leave unmarried (Shemot 21:3).
Nothing short of Divine intervention is required to get Laban to honor 
his work-agreement with Jacob. God's prohibition against harming Jacob 
opens Laban's eyes, forcing him to forge a treaty with one whom he had 
viewed as a "fugitive slave."

With that treaty, all returns to its proper place. When the avarice 
which had blinded Laban is forcibly quelled, feelings of paternal 
responsibility return towards the daughters whom he had treated as 
strangers. He fears that Jacob might follow his own lead and mistreat 
his daughters. That is why he makes Jacob swear, If you mistreat my 
daughters, or take wives additional to them, even if no one is about - 
behold - God is witness between us (31:50). That same God who had 
brought the magnitude of Laban's corruption to his attention will also 
preserve Jacob from similar moral dangers, reminding him and his 
children of the importance of human sensitivity in a capitalist world.
The Torah takes its leave of Laban with a verse that depicts him as 
perfect penitent: Laban rose early in the morning, kissed his sons and 
daughters, and blessed them. Laban set out and returned to his place 
(31:55). When Laban returns to his proper place, he knows how to 
express loving sentiments and gains his sons' and daughters' 
admiration.
The lesson we may learn from the story of Laban's corruption and 
eventual penitence is relevant to our own economic world. The 
difficulty we have gazing into the eyes of a worker and seeing in him a 
brother demands of us that we too must gather up great psychological 
powers, and pray for God's help.

Yehuda Berger

On Mar 17, 2006, at 1:31 AM, avigdor shinan wrote:

> Shalom shalom -
>  
> Purim is over. The road to Pesach is now clear! <in Israel we still 
> have to elect a new Knesset, but it should not interfere with our 
> class>
>  
> After HLA (the Aramaic introduction to the Seder: Ha Lachma Aniya) and 
> after BBS (the Bene Berak story) – a late addition to the Haggadah 
> and, at least for me, still an enigma – we move to the probably most 
> ancient part of the Haggadah: the discussion of 4 verses from 
> Deuteronomy, starting with “Arami Oved Avi” (which can be translated I 
> many ways, and we shall deal with this phrase). Hence AOA as the 
> acronym for out next week discussion.
>  
> The AOA unit is the longest and most important part of the talk done 
> around the Seder table. By taking Deuteronomy 26, verses 5-8, apart – 
> almost word by word – the story of the people of Israel in Egypt is 
> told, expanding the biblical verses with many aggadic traditions, some 
> explicit and some implicit.
>  
> We put on the web 2 translations of these verses with their 
> interpretations / expansions / elaborations / midrashizations [to 
> midrashize is a term which I found in recent literature and like a 
> lot]. The issues that I would like to discuss – along with any other 
> that you may find interesting and worth dealing with – are:
>  
> [1] The Image of Laban (Lavan) the Aramean. How come that the 
> father-in-law of Jacob became such a villain? Worse than Pharaoh?! 
> Where in the Bible (or elsewhere) do we find a base for such a harsh 
> “accusation”?
>  
> [2] The verse from the book of the prhphet Ezekiel: “By your blood you 
> shall live”. How is it connected to the story of Exodus?
>  
> [3] The idea of separating men from women as the interpretation of 
> “God looked upon our affliction”. What is the text talking about? [the 
> Hebrew is: Perishut Derech Eeretz]
>  
> [4] Why is the text so eager to state, more than once, that “not by an 
> angel” etc.? is it a polemic against any other explanation of the 
> exodus story?
>  
> [5] What do we know about Moses’ staff which is mentioned later on in 
> the text?
>  
> [6] The last but one question (so far): why use verses from 
> Deuteronomy to tell the story of the book of Exodus? Could they not 
> find enough verses in this very book to use for telling the story of 
> Yetziat Mitzraim?
>  
> [7] Please look at Deuteronomy 26, verse 9. Would you phrase my last 
> question for me? Thanks.
>  
> I hope that we have enough issues to deal with. Please respond to all 
> or some of them, and – especially – raise any more questions which the 
> AOA unit brings into our minds.
>  
> Enjoy!
>  
> Shabbat shalom
>  
> avigdor________________________________________________
> Post to NGFP-BookClub by sending email to: NGFP-BookClub at lists.ngfp.org
> Course Reading Assignments: 
> http://members.ngfp.org/Courses/Shinan/reading_assignments
> Course Email Archives: http://lists.ngfp.org/pipermail/ngfp-bookclub/
> Mailing List Settings: 
> http://lists.zoteca.com/mailman/listinfo/ngfp-bookclub
>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: text/enriched
Size: 17092 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://lists.ngfp.org/pipermail/ngfp-bookclub/attachments/20060318/67f69059/attachment-0001.bin