“Yaakov settled in the area where his father had lived in the land of Canaan.”

          (Bereishis 37:1)

At the beginning of the parshah Rashi quotes Chazal’s teaching: “Yaakov tried to live in tranquility and the anger of Eisav immediately befell him. The righteous wish to live in tranquility but Hashem says ‘The righteous are not satisfied with what is waiting for them in the World to Come that they seek to live in tranquility in This World?’ ”

We must understand this. What sin did the righteous commit that they shouldn’t be able to have tranquility in This World? After all Hashem is certainly capable of letting them inherit both Worlds — This and the Next. And the righteous would certainly grow in their service of Hashem if they were able to live in This World with much comfort and tranquility. Why doesn’t Hashem desire this? (Rav Yaakov Neiman Darkei Mussar)

One day I was thinking about our great-grandmothers who scrubbed their laundry by hand. I had plenty of time to think about it since I had an impossible heap of laundry waiting to be folded and put away — not to mention the other impossible heap waiting to be washed. Though most women back then hired a washerwoman to help them the poorer women who had to do the laundry on their own had to dedicate an entire day to it.

The whole family helped. Everyone scrubbed hung dried and ironed. It was one grueling day — but then the job was over until the next week! I looked at the huge piles around me and I wasn’t sure things are any easier today when we change our clothing so often and do laundry every day.

It would seem this isn’t a punishment nor is Hashem unable chalilah to give the righteous the best of both Worlds. But the Divine wisdom decreed that tranquility and ease simply cannot coexist with life in This World.

The very essence of being rewarded with life in the World to Come is a total contradiction to a life of tranquility in This World. Tranquility has no place in This World.

Why is that? Because This World was created as a place for us to “work and protect it” as the pasuk states — to “work” by performing the positive commandments and to “protect it” by refraining from things that are prohibited. This World is a place to prepare for the eternal life of the World to Come and the means that bring a person to that ultimate goal are the mitzvos. The only way for a person to fully pass the test of keeping the mitzvos is to observe them through constant struggle with the trials of life piled up in his path.

The mashgiach of Mir used to say “Did you ever see a factory with comfortable armchairs for the workers? This World is like a factory where our job is to work on keeping the mitzvos. There is no such thing as an armchair in a factory; the concept of rest does not exist there.”

This wasn’t a punishment for Yaakov Avinu. Quite the contrary. Since man was created only for the sake of his status in the World to Come it behooves him to serve his Creator in this place of preparation by withstanding suffering and tests in order to receive the ultimate good. True tranquility doesn’t exist in This World; if you feel that you’ve found it you should know it’s an illusion. (ibid.)

Why can we never banish laundry and housework and other toil from our lives?

Because there are no armchairs in a factory! And that isn’t because the Boss doesn’t like the workers or isn’t interested in their welfare. On the contrary the Boss wants the factory to be profitable and efficient and to pay a respectable salary to His employees.

Welcome to the world of toil and struggles battles and triumphs. This is the only way the factory can be productive the only way the “workers” — us the women struggling with laundry and life — can receive a decent “paycheck.”

I know the more I do despite my fatigue despite lack of drive despite having no one admiring me or applauding me the more my deeds are considered valuable. And the bigger my paycheck will be. n