Vayishlach תרל”א 1

ויחן את פני העיר במדרש ע”ש הי’ וקבע תחומין כו’.
When Yaakov came to Shechem it says ‘And he encamped by the city’ The medrash says that we learn from here that Yaakov established techumin, the laws of up till where one can go on shabbos
פי’ זה [כאן נחסר מעט בכת”י] כי שבת הוא לפי עבודת ימות החול כי כתיב ששת ימים תעבוד כו’ כל מלאכתך ויום השביעי שבת פי’ שבת הוא עליות כל דבר וביטולו להשורש שהוא חיות השי”ת כח הפועל בנפעל.
This means [partly missing] that Shabbos is in proportion to the work that one does during the week. As it says ‘For six days you shall work and complete all of your labour and on the Seventh day is Shabbos.’ This means that Shabbos is the day that everything from the week gets elevated, and nullified to its life source, which is the life energy that HaShem gives everything, the cause of all effects.
ומ”מ ע”כ גם בימות החול יש חיות מהשי”ת רק הוא בבחי’ מלאכים כמ”ש בזוה”ק בחול ע”י מלא’ כו’ ע”ש פ’ תרומה.
Even though the day of Shabbos is the day where everything is connected to HaShem, nevertheless during the week there is also (obviously) life force from HaShem. However this is given in a more roundabout way, through the angels. (see Zohar parshas Teruma)
ופי’ מלאכה מה שיכול אדם למצוא ע”י עשי’ ממש.
The idea of ‘work’ that we do during the six days, is something that has an actual action
כי הרי הבריאה הי’ ע”ז שימצא האדם התחדשות ע”י המעשה וע”ז ניתן המצות.
For the idea of creation is in order for one to find renewal through one’s actions, through the mitzvos,
כי המצוה במעשה ויש בה כח ה’ מה שהוא ציווי השי”ת. ועי”ז מתקרבת המעשה אל הכח חיות השי”ת שיש בה.
Because mitzvot are actions that have in them energy of HaShem, through Him commanding them, and through this one elevated the physical action to the life force energy of HaShem that is in that action or object
וז”ש בספרים כי ע”י מצוה נברא מלאך כן הוא כי בימות החול החיות ע”י מלאך הידוע.
And this is what is meant that when someone does a mitzvah he creates an angel. because during the days of the week (the time of doing mitzvahs) the energy comes from Malachim.
וזה תלוי בשמירת המצות.
However this is all dependant on keeping the mitzvahs
וז”ש עם לבן גרתי ותרי”ג מצות שמרתי זה הי’ העצה נגד עשו כי יעקב בעצמו הוא בחי’ שבת הגדול. רק עבודתו בבחי’ מלאכה ועבודה הי’ רק כדי לדחות ענין לבן ועשו.
This is what is meant by Yaakov’s statement to Eisav, that ‘I stayed with Lavan, and I kept all the 613 mitzvot’. Yaakov himself was on the level of Shabbos however his ‘work’ – the idea of labour and working during the days of the week, was just to push away Lavan and Eisav
וז”ש וישלח מלאכים שזה ע”י עבודה ומלאכה כנ”ל. שהתרי”ג מצות הצילוהו מעניני רשעת לבן.
And therefore Yaakov sent angels to Eisav, for those angels were created through Yaakov keeping the Torah, and those mitzvos are what saved him from the evil of Lavan.
וז”ש מלאכיו יצוה לך לשמרך כו’ כי בחי’ מלאכים ע”י המצות כנ”ל כדי להיות נשמר גם בעולם עשי’ כנ”ל. והבן זה.
And this is what is meant that ‘For He will order His angels to protect you (Tehillim 91:11). They protect one even in the world of doing, as above and understand this point. (When Yaakov was with Lavan, he was in a world of working and physicality, in this world his protection came from doing the mitzvos, which resulted in the creation of angels to protect him.
ועי”ז אח”כ שגבר נגד לבן ועשו ויבא יעקב שלם שהוא השלימות כנ”ל.
And then afterwards, once Yaakov beat Lavan and Eisav, he reached a stage of completion as it says ‘And he came complete to Shechem’.
שכם שמעתי מאא”ז מו”ר זצלה”ה ר”ת שכם שם כבוד מלכותו. והוא כנ”ל המשכת רצונו ית’ גם בתוך הטבע. ולזה צריך שמירה.
However in Shechem he also needed protection, and Shechem is Roshei teivos Shem Kevod Malchuto. Meaning to draw down the will of HaShem even in the physical world, for this however one needs protection.
ודינה יצאתה יותר מדאי.
And Dina who went too far out got into trouble.
ועיקר העצה על זה הוא המצות כי כל נברא יש לו חיות מתורה ומצות הכתובים בה כמ”ש בזוה”ק שהעולם מכוון נגד תרי”ג אברים וגידים של אדם ע”ש פ’ תולדות.
And the main advice to protect oneself is through the Mitzvos. Because all of creation gets its sustenance from the Torah and Mitzvos that are written about it. As it says in the Zohar, that the world, is align with the 613 limbs and sinews of a person (Parshas Toldos) (the world is fashioned in the style of man)
וע”י כל מצוה שמכוון נגד אבר מיוחד ניתקן מה שתלוי בהבריאה באבר וגיד זה ועי”ז ניטל ההסתר ויוכל האדם לעשות עשי’ גשמיי בדבקות השי”ת:
And through each mitzvah which is aligned with a specific limb, one can fix / elevate that thing that is dependant on that limb, ad through that action one removes the cover that hides the life force of HaShem in it, and one can therefore do a physical action with absolute connection to HaShem.

The Sfas Emes teaches us the mechanism and the importance of mitzvos. In the world of action, through doing mitzvos in this world which are aligned with one’s body and the physical world, one uncovers the hidden life force that HaShem has put in everything. These manifest in the form of angels that one creates through one’s actions and they are what give him protection. After completing this stage one gets to Shabbos.