Lavan was a rasha. Yet one moment of kedushah earned him eternal recognition.
The Ohr Hachaim reveals the power of one. One mitzvah. One choice. One moment can change everything.
Because every day, we're casting a vote. For who we want to be.
Listen on: 
Dedicated by Joey and Marina Greenberg (Minneapolis, MN) with endless gratitude to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, whose blessings are countless, whose guidance is constant, and whose kindness is beyond measure. Every step, every opportunity, and every blessing is a reminder that we are never walking alone. All is from Him.
Parshas Chayei Sarah 5787
Nearly a million votes counted, and just 65 separated the candidates. While everyone was watching who would win a Senate seat, I found myself thinking about another election, one whose results we’ll carry for eternity.
After Sarah Imeinu passed away, Avraham Avinu sent Eliezer to Aram Naharayim to find a wife for Yitzchak from among his family. Eliezer arrived with camels and valuable gifts and davened to Hashem for a sign: the girl who offered him water and, on her own initiative, watered his camels would be Yitzchak’s bashert.
Rivka appeared and did exactly that, demonstrating extraordinary chesed. Knowing his shlichus was fulfilled, Eliezer presented her with a gold nose ring and two gold bracelets.
וַתָּרָץ הַנַּעֲרָ וַתַּגֵּד לְבֵית אִמָּהּ כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה׃ וּלְרִבְקָה אָח וּשְׁמוֹ לָבָן וַיָּרָץ לָבָן אֶל הָאִישׁ הַחוּצָה אֶל הָעָיִן׃
The young woman ran and told her mother’s household what had happened. Rivka had a brother named Lavan, and Lavan ran out to meet the man at the spring.
וַיְהִי כִּרְאֹת אֶת הַנֶּזֶם וְאֶת הַצְּמִדִים עַל יְדֵי אֲחֹתוֹ וּכְשָׁמְעוֹ אֶת דִּבְרֵי רִבְקָה אֲחֹתוֹ לֵאמֹר כֹּה דִבֶּר אֵלַי הָאִישׁ וַיָּבֹא אֶל הָאִישׁ וְהִנֵּה עֹמֵד עַל הַגְּמַלִּים עַל הָעָיִן׃
When he saw the nose ring and bracelets on his sister’s arms, and heard her recount what the man had told her, he approached Eliezer, who was standing beside the camels at the spring.
THE MYSTERY OF LAVAN’S RUN
Rashi asks: למה רץ ועל מה רץ — Why was Lavan running? Rashi explains that when Lavan saw Rivka’s expensive jewelry, he assumed Eliezer was wealthy and ran toward him, hoping to obtain his money.
The Ohr HaChaim asks: Chazal teach that when the Torah introduces a tzaddik, the word שמו comes before his name, as in ושמו בעז, “and his name was Boaz.” With a rasha, the name comes first, as in נבל שמו, “Naval was his name.” Yet here the Torah says ושמו לבן.
We know who Lavan was. He certainly wasn’t a tzaddik. On Seder night, when we transmit our mesorah to our children, we make a point of explaining that, in a sense, he was even worse than Pharaoh: Pharaoh decreed only against the boys, but לבן ביקש לעקור את הכל, Lavan sought to uproot everything. Why, then, is Lavan introduced with language reserved for tzaddikim?
The Ohr HaChaim asks another question. The Torah first says וירץ לבן, that Lavan ran toward Eliezer. Only afterward does it say ויהי כראות את הנזם, that he saw the jewelry. But Rashi, quoting the Medrash, says the jewelry was precisely what motivated him to run. Lavan saw the expensive gifts, realized Eliezer was wealthy, and hurried to see what he could gain. Shouldn’t the Torah first describe him seeing the jewelry and only then running toward Eliezer?
ONE GOOD DEED, ETERNAL RECOGNITION
The Ohr HaChaim explains that Lavan initially ran for a different reason. Hearing that a stranger had been speaking with Rivka and had developed a closeness with her, he suspected something improper had happened. Out of kana’us for his sister’s honor, he ran to confront Eliezer, prepared to harm him.
In this instance, Lavan’s response was righteous. As the Ohr HaChaim writes:
כי מעשה צדיקים עשה בזה ואין הקדוש ברוך הוא מקפח שכר בריה.
“In this matter, he acted as tzaddikim do, and Hashem does not withhold the reward due to any of His creatures.”
For that one act, the Torah introduces him with ושמו לבן, the language of tzaddikim. Lavan was still Lavan HaRasha, but his wickedness did not erase the good in this response. Hashem gave him the recognition he deserved.
Now the order makes sense. First, וירץ לבן, “Lavan ran,” suspecting an aveirah. Only afterward, ויהי כראות את הנזם, “when he saw the nose ring,” and heard Rivka’s account, did he realize his suspicions were unfounded. His anger subsided, and he no longer intended to harm Eliezer.
The Ohr HaChaim isn’t just explaining pshat. He’s changing our lives with this revelation. This is Lavan HaRasha, the man who sought to uproot everything. Yet one moment of kana’us earned him recognition recorded forever in the Torah. אין הקדוש ברוך הוא מקפח שכר בריה. Hashem does not overlook a single good action, even when the person performing it is Lavan.
EVERY MITZVAH HAS ITS OWN VALUE
A few months ago, I learned a piece in the Pele Yoetz, in ערך תשובה, that has stayed with me. This Ohr HaChaim brought it back with a new appreciation for how much every mitzvah matters.
The Pele Yoetz writes:
בכח יגבר איש למען יהיה לו עברה אחת פחותה ולקים מצוה אחת יתרה.
“A person must strengthen himself to have one less aveirah and fulfill one additional mitzvah.”
Sometimes a person thinks, “With everything I’ve done, what difference will one more mitzvah make? Is holding back this one time really going to change anything?”
The Pele Yoetz explains that this comes from measuring Hashem’s judgment by human standards. A person sentenced to death can be executed only once. He might therefore feel that his fate is sealed, that he has nothing left to lose and can do whatever he wants.
But Hashem’s judgment is different. Every aveirah has its own consequence, and every mitzvah retains its full value. As the Pele Yoetz writes:
ואם יעשה מצוה אחת, אפילו אם כלו חייב, אין הקדוש ברוך הוא מקפח שכרו, אלא זוכה לרב טוב על אותה מצוה.
“If he performs one mitzvah, even if he is otherwise entirely guilty, Hashem does not withhold his reward. Rather, he merits abundant good for that mitzvah.”
What moves me is that the Pele Yoetz doesn’t merely say the mitzvah is counted. He says זוכה לרב טוב, the person merits abundant good. Despite everything else he has done, that one mitzvah carries tremendous reward. His past does not make the next opportunity any less precious.
That is what we see with Lavan. Hashem recognized his one good response and recorded it forever. Whatever happened until now, whatever we wish we had done differently, another mitzvah is still before us, another aveirah we can hold back from. The Pele Yoetz reminds us how much there is to gain from that one choice.
THE POWER OF ONE VOTE
Someone asked me this week what I thought of the elections. I didn’t have much to offer. I’m a political ignoramus, certainly no advisor on current events. But one detail from this week’s elections moved me.
On Tuesday, Americans voted in the midterm elections. In Mississippi, Republican Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith faced Democratic challenger Scott Colom. At one point on Wednesday, with approximately 945,000 votes counted, just 65 votes separated them. The race was still undecided and the count continued to change, but the margin at that moment was roughly seven thousandths of one percent.
I know little about Mississippi politics. But how many people might have stayed home thinking, “What difference will my one vote make?” With nearly a million votes cast, one vote can seem insignificant. Yet only 65 votes separated the candidates for a United States Senate seat.
As Yidden, we try to bring what happens around us into our avodas Hashem. Nothing is coincidental. Learning this Ohr HaChaim as such a close election unfolded gave me a new appreciation for the power of one.
We see Lavan’s lifetime of wickedness, yet Hashem recognized one good response. The Pele Yoetz brings that message into our lives: one more mitzvah still brings רב טוב, abundant good, and one less aveirah still matters. We may look at the larger picture and struggle to see what one small choice could possibly accomplish, but Hashem gives that choice its full value.
And this is where the election becomes personal. We looked at twenty things we shouldn’t have. What will we do when the twenty-first comes our way? We had ten conversations of lashon hara. What will we say in the eleventh?
We may think, “I’ve already messed up so many times. What difference does it make now?” But the Ohr HaChaim and Pele Yoetz remind us that every choice still matters. Holding back this time has its own value and reward, regardless of how often we failed before.
We can spend hours following how others voted, wondering what will be, and speculating whether America is safe, while overlooking the choices right in front of us. Whatever happened until now, the next nisayon is another opportunity to serve Hashem and gain nitzchiyus.
In Washington, the question is whether a Democrat or a Republican will occupy a Senate seat. In our lives, we choose whether to grow or let another opportunity pass. A senator serves for a few years, but every mitzvah becomes ours forever. With every opportunity Hashem places before us, our eternity is on the ballot, and the vote is ours to cast. •
