Vayetze תרל”ט
במדרש אז תלך לבטח. דאיתא במדרש המשל דרך אחד תחילתו מישור וסופו קוצים והב’ תחלתו קוצים וסופו מישור. וב’ אלו הדרכים נמצאו בכל איש. אך מי שדרך הנראה לפניו מישור רואה ומבין שהוא קוצים. אז אח”כ בבוא הסוף רואה שדרך הב’ הוא המישור. ומי שנדבק בדרך שנראה מישור נשאר בסוף בקוצים. ואינו רואה ישרת הדרך. כי בכל דבר נמצא טוב ורע והטוב מתברר בסוף אחר היגיעה. ויעקב אבינו ע”ה הכניס עצמו באלה המקומות בעבור להכין דרך עבורינו. לכן יחסו זכות יעקב שהי’ לו צער גידול בנים. לכן נקרא מובחר שבאבות כי שם אבות הוא על הכנתם לבנים. ובעל הקורה נכנס בעובי הקורה. ויפגע במקום שאין לך דבר שאין לו מקום והוא הנקודה של אמת הגנוזה בתוכו כי שקר אין לו רגלים א”כ בע”כ יש בכל דבר נקודה של אמת ומי שהוא איש אמת בכל מקום שבא מצא מין את מינו והשקר בורח משם. ויקח מאבני המקום כו’ במדרש י”ב אבנים מתאימות כו’ נעשו אבן אחת פי’ שחיבר דברים הנפרדים אל השורש האחדות כי כל דבר כשבא אל הראשית ונדבק בשרשו נתוסף בו חיות והתחדשות תמיד. וזהו וישם מראשותיו שהוא התדבקות להראשית:
The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 68:1) quotes the pasuk (Mishlei 3:23) “Then you will go in surety”.
The Midrash compares it to two paths one appears to be clear and straight, yet afterwards it is thorny, and the other begins thorny, yet afterwards it is clear.
Now these two paths can be found in each person. When one sees the easy clear path before him, one realizes that the end of this path is actually thorny, and we continues in this path he ultimately realizes that it is the other path that is actually the correct clear path. Yet one who stubbornly persists in the originally easy path, will be stuck with the thorny path and not see the correct path. This is because everything has a mixture of good and bad in it, and the good is only clarified in the end, after one puts in the effort.
(This means that when one begins one’s path one is uncertain if it is the correct path or not. There are two paths ahead of a person, the one is clear but ultimately thorny. This path is really a thorny path and the clear easy start is there to tempt one into this path. The other path is one that is really the correct path but begins with thorns, which are there to test a person if he will indeed stay the correct path. It is only at the end when one reaches the difficulties that one can tell which path to cling to and which to abandon.)
Now Yaakov our forefather put himself into these difficult places, to prepare the way for us.
It is for this reason that he is praises for having difficulty in raising children, and for this reason he is called the chosen of the forefathers, for the meaning of the word אבות forefathers is that they prepared the way for their children. The one who is takes charge בעל הקורה puts himself into the thick of the difficulty (the most dangerous and difficult places).
“And Yaakov came to the place”: There is nothing in the world that has no place. This is the point of truth that is contained within it. For falsehood has no feet to stand one, therefore everything must contain within it a point of truth. And therefore a person who is a man of truth, is able to find that point of truth wherever they may go, and “its species finds it like”, (and awakens the truth that is contained there) and automatically the falsehood is chased away.
“And he took from the stones of that place” The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 68:11) says that the 12 stones that Yaakov rested on, all joined together to become one stone. This means that Yaakov joined all the separated parts to its original source, where it is all unified.
This is because anything that comes back to its starting point and connected to the source, gains and extra element of of life force and renewal. This is the idea of “And he placed them by his head”, ie he connected it back to its beginning ראשית.
וישכב במקום ההוא. פרש”י לאפוקי י”ד שנה כו’. כמ”ש דהמע”ה אם אתן שנת לעיני כו’ עד אמצא מקום לה’ משכנות לאביר יעקב תלה הגדולה בבעליו. וכ”כ מקודם נדר לאביר יעקב. והוא המקום שכתוב ויפגע במקום כנ”ל. וז”ש אז תלך לבטח כי אז הוא תיקון ז’ המדות לשרש האחדות וממילא ניתקן כל הדרכים כנ”ל:
“And he slept in that place” (Bereishis 28:11). Rashi explains that this comes to exclude the last 14 years, where he did not actually lay down to sleep, (as he was immersed in studying Torah).
Similarly David Hamelech states in (Tehillim 132:4-5) “If I will give sleep to my eyes…until I find a place of rest for HaShem, the mighty one of Yaakov”. Similarly it states (ibid 132:2) “Vowed to the mighty one of Yaakov”. This is the place that it states “And he came to the place” mentioned above. And this too is what the Midrash is referring to “Then אז you will go in surety”. The word אז is referring to the perfection of the 7 traits of man, and connecting them all back to the source and therefore perfecting all the paths, as above.
(The idea is that Yaakov was on such a high level that he perfected and revealed the place of the Beis Hamikdash by connecting everything to its source).
בפסוק הן עוד היום גדול כו’. וקשה הלא ראה האבן גדולה על פי הבאר. ואם כי הוא הי’ גבור. הי’ לו להבין כי לא יוכלו לגול האבן. ונראה מזה כי הצדיק שאינו מחשיב הבלי העולם. לכן אין השוא עומד בפניו והשקר בורח מלפניו. וכ’ גדולה על פי הבאר כי כל התחלות קשות ורק ע”י ביטול הכלל יכולין לפתוח לפי שעה. ואח”כ כתיב והשיבו את האבן כמ”ש במדרש לאחר שיוצאין מביהכ”נ חוזר יצה”ר למקומו. ולכן הם תמיד אצל התחלות קשות. אבל ביעקב לא כתיב שהשיב האבן למקומו שהיה ניתקן כולו ולכן ברח השקר מלפניו כנ”ל:
On the pasuk (Bereishis 29:7) (Yaakov says to the shepherds) It is still early in the day (why are the flock gathered in. They replied because all the shepherds have to gather together to remove the heavy rock covering the well).
Now this is seemingly difficult, surely Yaakov could see the huge rock covering the well, and even though he was mighty and able to uncover it himself, surely he should have understood that the others were not able to?
Yet it seems from here that the tzadik does not value at all the emptiness of this world, and therefore it does not stand in his way, and the falsehood disappears before him.
(The rock is a metaphor for a spiritual blockage, yet Yaakov was oblivious to any restrictions that this placed, because the falsehood of it just disappeared before his superior spiritual level).
It states that the rock was “large, on the mouth of the well”. This is because all beginnings are difficult, and it is only through nullification that one is able to temporarily open it. Yet afterwards they “return the rock onto the well”, this is hinted to in the Midrash that the moment one leaves the house of prayer, the evil inclination returns to his place. And therefore we constantly have difficult beginnings (for it is constantly returning to its place). Yet with Yaakov it does not state that he returned the rock, this is because he had completely repaired that place and the falsehood disappeared from before him. As above.
בפסוק והנה סולם מוצב ארצה כו’ ולא כתיב נצב. כי סולם זה צריך האדם להעמידו כאשר מתקן מלא קומתו. והוא הוא הסלם שגופו למטה ונשמתו מגיע השמימה ומלאכי אלקים עולים ויורדים בו. כי גופו למטה מהם. ושרש נשמתו למעלה מהם. לכן אדם נקרא מהלך בכל אלה המדריגות של הסולם. כי בודאי סולם זה כולל כל שרשי נשמות בני אדם. ונודע כי כל מה שנמצא בכלל נמצא בפרט. כי האדם נקרא עולם קטן. לכן יש בכל אחד ככל אלה המדריגות. וכתיב אח”כ ויירא כו’. כי כך צריך להיות ע”י השגת המדריגות שרואה האדם עד היכן כח נשמתו מגעת. ואשר כל התחתונים והעליונים תלויין בו. צריך ליפול עליו אימה ופחד ביותר. לכן ג”כ וידר נדר כו’. אף שהבטיחו הבורא ית’. אמרו חכמים שאין הבטחה לצדיקים. הוא ג”כ מתישב לפי הנ”ל. שהאדם המהלך ונשתנה בכל עת ועת מן דרגא לדרגא במדריגות הסולם הנ”ל. נמצא תמיד הולך בדרך חדש לגמרי. וצריך סייעתא דשמיא ביותר בכל עת כנ”ל:
(Bereishis 28:12) “And there was a ladder placed מוצב on the ground”. The word מוצב is used (which implies being placed by others as opposed to the word) נצב (which implies that it was standing on its own).
This is teaching us that this ladder needs to be placed by man when he has perfected his entire being. It is this ladder therefore (metaphorically referring to a peron’s spiritual being), that its body is set on the ground, yet its head reaches the Heaven.
It is on this ladder the Heavenly angels ascend and descend, for man’s physical body is lower (spiritually) than them, yet the root of his soul is greater than them. (On one hand man benefits from angels, on the other hand his soul is rooted in a place much higher than them!)
It is for this reason that man is called a מהלך going, for he moves upon on these stages of the ladder. (Whereas angels are called עומדים, they do not change their spiritual level).
Now this ladder clearly incorporates all the sources of the souls of man, and it is known that whatever is found in the general principle can also be found on the individual level, for man is a “small world” (Tanchuma Pekudei 3). Therefore all of these levels are contained in a person.
Immediately after his vision it states that Yaakov was fearful, this is how a person gains new levels of greatness. When one realizes how far the power of his soul is, and how all the upper and lower realms are dependent on him! This should therefore lead a person to trembling and fear (not haughtiness, rather nullification).
Yaakov then made a vow, even though he was promised a safe journey by HaShem, nevertheless our sages explain that there is no assurance for a tzadik, (Bereishis Rabbah 76:2). This too can b explained based on what we said above, that man is constantly changing from level to level of the (spiritual) ladder, therefore is constantly on a completely new path, and therefore he requires new and extra help from HaShem in every moment (for the level that he was on previously when promised, is not the same level he is now on).
