Our parsha opens with a seemingly unnecessary phrase:

“Yaakov left Be’er Sheva and went to Charan.” (Bereishis 28:10)

Wouldn’t it have been enough to just say, “He went to Charan”?

Rashi explains:

“This teaches that when a tzaddik leaves a place, it leaves a mark.
While the tzaddik is in the city — he is its beauty, he is its glow, he is its majesty.
When he leaves — the beauty, glow, and majesty are gone.”

But that raises a big question:

Weren’t Yitzchak and Rivkah still in Be’er Sheva?
They were tzaddikim too — holy, pure, giants in their own right!
How can the Torah say that when Yaakov left, the “glory” left?

The Missing Light: Awe

To understand, we have to look closely at Rashi’s language.
He adds a word the original Midrash didn’t:

“Hod, ziv, and hadar” — “awe,” “radiance,” and “honor.”

  • Hadar is the respect a tzaddik brings.
  • Ziv is the light and positivity that radiates from their actions.
  • But Hod — that’s different.
    It’s not just light.
    It’s the kind of presence that makes people feel awe.
    A spiritual weight that makes others stand straighter, speak cleaner, think deeper — because they sense something holy in their midst.

Why Yaakov Mattered

Yitzchak was elderly and mostly secluded at the time.
Rivkah was fully devoted to caring for him.

Only Yaakov was active in the world — walking the streets, interacting, being seen.
And because of that, he brought all three types of influence to the city — not just light and honor, but also a felt sense of G-d’s presence.

So when he left — “pana hodah” — the awe left with him.

Your Soul’s Brave Descent

But there’s something even deeper happening here.

Yaakov’s departure from Be’er Sheva to Charan wasn’t just a trip —
It was a mission.

He was leaving holiness to enter a place of lies, greed, and spiritual darkness.
Why?

To build the Jewish people.
To create a home for G-d in the least likely place.

And that’s not just his story.

It’s yours too.

You Left Heaven for a Reason

Your soul once sat in Be’er Sheva — a place of light and peace.
But it left.

Why?

Because only in Charan — in this confusing, dark world — can your soul do what it was created for.

Your life isn’t random.
You’re not “just surviving.”

You’re on a divine mission.

And yes — it cost your soul something to come here.
It was a sacrifice.
But G-d Himself honors that sacrifice.

And in the end — you will return, with everything you’ve built, to a world filled with light.
Your light.