This item was first posted in Hanassi Highlights, 4 December 2025. You can also read it in Hebrew via AI translation here.
As Yaakov Avinu prepares to meet his brother after 20 long years, he is engulfed by uncertainty. He had fled when Esav’s anger was still burning, and now he must face him again—without knowing how Esav will respond, or whether the old desire for revenge still lingers. Yaakov faces the unknown.
The Torah describes his emotional state with raw honesty: “וַיִּירָא יַעֲקֹב מְאֹד וַיֵּצֶר לוֹ – Yaakov was very afraid and distressed.” Fear, anxiety, and uncertainty are not abstract concepts here; they are lived, felt experiences. And they resonate deeply with us today
But there is a major question. If anyone should not
have been afraid, surely it was Yaakov. Hashem had already promised him, more
than once, that He would guard him, return him safely, and never abandon
him. So why the fear? Why the distress?
Chazal and the Rishonim offer several explanations. Rashi
(based on Gemara Berachot) suggests “שמא יגרום החטא” – Yaakov was
concerned that perhaps he had sinned and was no longer worthy of the promise. The
Ibn Ezra adds that perhaps he feared not for himself but for his family; Hashem
had guaranteed his safety, but not theirs.
But the Abarbanel boldly rejects all of this. His reading is
remarkably simple and profoundly human. Yaakov was afraid because going into a
potential war is frightening. Divine promises do not erase human emotion.
Emunah does not override the heart.
According to the Abarbanel, Yaakov’s fear is not a
sign of weak faith. It is the opposite:
His faith is what allowed him to act despite his fear. He still prays. He still strategises. He still prepares. Faith
does not remove uncertainty—it
gives us the courage to navigate uncertainty.
This is a transformative idea, especially in the world we
inhabit today. Over the past years we have been repeatedly reminded that life is far less predictable than we
once imagined. We have lived with sirens and shifting realities. The sense of
certainty we once took for granted feels shattered.
Modern psychology tells us that one of the greatest drivers
of anxiety is not danger, but the intolerance of uncertainty. Our instinct is
to try to control everything, predict everything, know everything.
But Parashat Vayishlach offers a different path. We are allowed to feel fear. We are
allowed to feel unsettled. That is part of being human. But we do not let fear decide our next step. Like Yaakov, we move forward - with
caution, with preparation, and with faith that we do not walk alone.
As we face an unpredictable world, may we draw strength from
Yaakov Avinu’s example and find the
courage not necessarily to be unafraid—but
to keep walking even when we are.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Joel Kenigsberg
