לזכות חיים בן חנה רייזל
Rabbi Reisman
..... Yaakov Avinu travels towards Lavan's home, passes Yerushalayim and then says as Rashi says is it possible I passed the place where my forefathers Davened and I didn't stop to Daven there and he heads back. When he heads back, Rashi tells us that Yaakov has Kefitzas Haderech.
There is a Vort from the Brisker Rav, a beautiful Vort. He asks why didn't Yaakov Avinu have Kefitzas Haderech on his way towards Lavan's house. Why is it only when he turns around and heads back to Har Habayis that he has Kefitzas Haderech? Isn't it strange? The Brisker Rav in his typical Halachik mind says a beautiful Pshat. He says when Yaakov was heading towards Lavan's house he was Mekayeim Kibbud Av and Kibbud Aim, his father sent him, his mother sent him. K'fum Tzara Agra. According to the amount of Tzar a person has in his efforts he gets Schar. If the Ribbono Shel Olam would give him Kefitzas Haderech it would be an easier trip and it would take away from the Schar, it would take away from the wonderful Zechus that he has in his traveling. So in traveling for the Mitzvah he has no Kefitzas Haderech. When he turns around to go back, now he is not Mekayeim Kibbud Av V'aim. Now the purpose of his traveling is to get where he has to go. At that point he has Kefitzas Haderech. The Mussar in it is that when a person does a Mitzvah and has difficulties on the way, those difficulties are themselves blessings and they are themselves Zechusim. They make the Mitzvah all the much greater.
I saw in the Sefer Yakud D'oraissa that when Rav Zalman Sorotzkin heard this Vort, this Yesod of the Brisker Rav that HKB"H doesn't intervene when you are doing a Mitzvah and he lets it be difficult he said with this I can answer a difficulty that I had back in Parshas Chayei Sarah. In Chayei Sarah, Eliezer comes upon Rivka and observes her as it says in 24:16 (וַתֵּרֶד הָעַיְנָה, וַתְּמַלֵּא כַדָּהּ). She goes to the well and fills her pitcher. Rashi says that the water came up towards her. It doesn't say that she bent down to draw water but (וַתְּמַלֵּא כַדָּהּ) the water came towards her and it was easy for her to fill up the pitcher. Therefore, Eliezer knew that this was a special person.
Freigkt Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, it bothered me, there it says (וַתְּמַלֵּא כַדָּהּ) she didn't have to draw the water. But look at the rest of the Parsha, when she draws water to give to Eliezer, to the Gemalim the Posuk says clearly that she drew the water 24:20 (וַתָּרָץ עוֹד אֶל-הַבְּאֵר, לִשְׁאֹב; וַתִּשְׁאַב) and she drew water. Why didn't the water go up to her then? According to the Brisker Rav's Yesod it is beautiful. Kol Zman that she was doing her job of feeding her animals she had help. At this moment that she was Mekayeim Hachnasas Orchim she did this great Mitzvah of a young girl taking care of Eliezer and the Gemalim which is a Zechus. Rav Zalman Sorotzkin says then she bent down and she drew the water.
So these are two ideas, one from the end of the Parsha and one from the beginning of the Parsha that are very much Nogea to our lessons in life, our understanding that when things are difficult Lav Dafka it is bad. Sometimes we have difficulties on the way because deliberately, it makes the Schar greater. It is not something that we appreciate, we want Mitzvos to come easily, they don't come easily. They come sometimes with tremendous Mesiras Nefesh, effort, Shvitz, staying up late at night. Looking for parking when you go to learn and not giving up. All these are part of the greatness. The idea of a Mishmar, of staying up overnight. It says in the Ben Ish Chai that it is Mechapeir on Kareis. Why? Because it is difficult. You can have 12 hours by day or 12 hours at night. Mai Nafka Mina? It is difficult. Difficulty makes the Mitzvah more Chashuv.
