When Jack finished his job, he went on his way.
This is the story of our life. We have a job to do, we do it, and we move on to our next task. Change often doesn’t come with a major overhaul—it simply comes from the small success that we feel when we complete an assignment.
We know that it doesn’t end there, as there are always more responsibilities that lie ahead. But what happens when the past comes running after us?
This is the story of the original Jack.
Our ancestor Jacob lived with his uncle Lavan for many years. Then, the time came for him to move on to the next chapter of his life.
In this week’s Torah portion of Vayeitzei, we learn how challenging was. He was confident that he would encounter his nemesis in life, his brother Esau, expecting a fight. He knew that he had to be prepared. Living in Lavan’s house taught him a thing or two about dealing with people such as Esau, which is why he felt ready for the encounter.
But then Lavan came running after him. His past caught up to haunt him. At first this startled Jacob. Why then? Jacob thought he finished his mission in Lavan’s house, so why was Lavan chasing him down?
Clearly, there was one more thing that had to be done, before Jacob moved forward.
Jacob learned a valuable lesson: A person can and should try their utmost to complete a task, but in the end, it is even more important to acknowledge that there is only so much that one can do on their own. There are times when our personal growth will only come after we are challenged, one more time, by the difficulties that we are running away from.
Lavan came chasing after Jacob not because Lavan wanted something (even though he had a pretext for his chase) but because he knew Jacob needed this. He had to overcome this challenge, which ultimately gave him the strength to deal with his brother, Esau, when he met up with him as expected.
When Jacob met up with Esau, he not only beat him at his game, Jacob won with flying colors.
Only after it was all over was Jacob able to look back and see how all of his past experiences made him stronger and prepared him for the worst.
So, when we hit the road and we run toward new challenges that lie ahead, we shouldn’t be afraid if the past comes after us. If it catches up with us, it will only make us stronger.