No Detours, One Straight Path
No Detours, One Straight Path: Learning from Yaakov and Rabbi Akiva
Rav Chaim Shmulevitz explains that Parashat Vayeitzei has no breaks—no parsha petucha and no setuma—because Yaakov Avinu didn’t see his life as shattered or interrupted in broken pieces. (Rashi to Bereishit 28:10; Sichot Mussar, Rav Chaim Shmulevitz, 5731, Ma’amar “Parashat Vayeitzei.”)
From the outside, Yaakov’s life looked like it swung from one extreme to the other—running from Eisav, sleeping out in the open, being tricked by Lavan, working with frost biting him at night, and burning heat by day (Bereishit 31:40).
But Yaakov himself didn’t see “ups and downs.”
He didn’t experience life as a roller coaster.
He saw one straight path from HaKadosh Baruch Hu.
If Hashem put him in a situation, that was where he was meant to be.
If Hashem sent him hardship, then that hardship was exactly what he needed.
Everything that happened was part of Hashem’s goodness for him.
The Torah, therefore, writes the entire parsha as one uninterrupted unit—because Yaakov’s emunah was uninterrupted.
This connects to the idea of kulam shavim letovah: everything Hashem sends is for the good. People think life rises and falls, but if we could see what Hashem sees, we would realize that what we call “highs” and “lows” are all part of the same straight line leading us to where we are meant to be.
This principle is said about Sarah Imeinu, who lived 127 years and saw her life full of challenges, yet it is written that “kulam shavim letovah”—everything was for the good. (Midrash Rabbah Bereishit 57:2)
This is also the emunah of Nachum Ish Gamzu, who said:
“Gam zu letovah”—“This too is for the good.”
(Taanit 21a)
And the emunah of Rabbi Akiva, who said:
“Kol d’avid Rachmana letav avid”—“Everything Hashem does is for the good.”
(Berachot 60b)
The full story of Rabbi Akiva:
Rabbi Akiva was once traveling and came to a city, but no one would give him a place to sleep. Instead of being upset, he said calmly, “Kol d’avid Rachmana letav avid”—everything Hashem does is for the good.
He went to sleep outside the city. He had with him a candle to study Torah, a rooster to wake him early, and a donkey to carry his belongings.
One by one, everything went wrong:
- A strong wind blew out his candle.
- A cat came and ate his rooster.
- A lion came and devoured his donkey.
Each time, Rabbi Akiva simply said:
“Kol d’avid Rachmana letav avid.”
The next morning, he discovered that during the night, bandits had attacked the city and killed the people inside. If the candle had been lit, or the rooster crowed, or the donkey brayed, they would have found him too.
What looked like disaster after disaster was really Hashem saving his life.
However, Rabbi Akiva’s greatness lies in the fact that he believed it before he saw the outcome.
The Chazon Ish captures this in a few piercing words:
“המאמין – אינו שואל;
והאינו מאמין – גם התשובה לא תועיל לו.”
(Emunah u’Bitachon, opening of chapter 1)
In other words:
“For a believer, there are no questions;
For a non-believer, there are no answers.”
What is Emunah?
Emunah is more than believing that Hashem exists. It is trusting fully that Hashem is running the world with kindness and purpose, even when we don’t understand the events around us.
It is the inner calm that allows a Jew to say:
“I don’t understand—but I know Hashem is guiding me.”
It is seeing the line, even when we only see dots.
When a Jew has emunah, he may not understand Hashem’s ways, but he knows there is meaning. Without emunah, even the clearest explanation won’t calm a person’s heart. Real emunah gives us the strength to move forward with confidence, even in the face of uncertainty and fear.
And this is the message for today.
Klal Yisrael is going through painful and frightening times. Families have been shattered. Soldiers are standing in danger every hour. Communities have been uprooted. So many people are carrying heavy burdens. Nobody pretends this is easy.
But our way, the way of Yaakov Avinu, Sarah Imeinu, and all our great ones, is to hold tightly to emunah. To know that Hashem has not abandoned us—not for a moment. Even the events we cannot explain are not detours, not moments that slipped out of the story, but part of the plan that Hashem Himself is guiding us through.
When we strengthen our emunah, we strengthen our courage. We remind ourselves that we are not walking alone; we are walking with Hashem, step by step, even when the path is hidden from our eyes.
May HaKadosh Baruch Hu protect our chayalim, comfort every broken heart, send refuah to the wounded, and bring revealed, open good to Am Yisrael very soon. Amen.
