Spiritual Struggle for Future Generations Vayishlach תרל”ז 2
ובודאי מדריגת יעקב הוא למעלה מהטבע ואיננו בבחי’ ימי המעשה כמ”ש חז”ל כי ת”ח נק’ שבת שהוא תמיד בבחי’ שבת.
Surely the spiritual level of Jacob is above nature and he does not exist within the realm of weekday existence, as the Sages said: a Torah scholar is called “Shabbat,” for he is always in the quality of Shabbat.
The Sefat Emet states that Jacob lives on a spiritual plane beyond ordinary worldly processes, similar to the sanctity of Shabbat.
רק שיעקב אע”ה נכנס בעובי הקורה ורצה ליישר הדרך לבניו בתיקון העשי’.
But Jacob, may peace be upon him, entered into the thickness of the beam and desired to straighten the path for his children in the repair of action.
Despite his elevated state, Jacob intentionally engaged the world to prepare the path of practical spiritual work for future generations.
וזהו עצמו ענין ויירא ויצר שמא יהרוג שמא יהרג כו’.
And this is the very matter of “he feared and he was distressed,” lest he kill or be killed.
Jacob’s fear and distress symbolize his descent into real human struggle, even though he existed above such danger.
אף כי הי’ בידו להשליך מעליו כל זה הדרך.
Even though he had the ability to cast away all of this path.
Jacob could have transcended the entire situation, avoiding fear altogether.
אך כי רצה שיהי’ נמצא היצה”ר ויגברנו.
But he wished that the evil inclination be present so that he might overcome it.
He intentionally faced challenges so that his victory would generate spiritual power for his descendants.
ז”ש ויירא יעקב מאוד כמ”ש טוב מאוד הוא היצה”ר מה”מ כו’.
Thus it says “Jacob was very afraid,” as it is taught: “Very good” refers to the evil inclination.
The Sefat Emet connects Jacob’s “very” with the midrash that the evil inclination is “very good,” meaning it enables growth.
אך ויצר לו כו’.
But “and he was distressed,” etc.
Despite recognizing the value of the struggle, he still experienced distress because the battle was real.
ז”ש במדרש הבחיר שבאבות ובחיר שבנביאים הבטיח להם ה’ ונתיראו כו’.
This is what the Midrash says: the chosen of the Patriarchs and the chosen of the Prophets were promised by God, yet they feared.
Even the greatest figures experienced fear because their actions affected future generations.
הוא טעם כיון שהם הנבחרים שכל בנ”י תלוין בהם.
The reason is that since they are the chosen ones, all Israel depends on them.
Their fear comes from responsibility, not personal vulnerability.
לכן כל מעשיהם הי’ בעבור כל הדורות הבאים.
Therefore all their deeds were for the sake of all future generations.
The Patriarchs acted with awareness of the long-term impact on their descendants.
וכן יש לפרש הפסוק למה אירא בימי רע עון עקבי יסבני.
Thus the verse may be interpreted: “Why should I fear in days of evil, when the iniquity of my heels surrounds me.”
“Heels” alludes to later generations, the “heels” of history.
שהם הדורות האחרונים עוקבתא דמשיחא.
These are the final generations, the footsteps of the Messiah.
The “heel” refers to spiritually diminished later generations near the messianic era.
ומצד הדורות השפלים נתייראו האבות בימים הרעים.
And because of the lowly generations, the Patriarchs feared in the evil days.
Their fear stemmed from foresight of their descendants’ struggles.
כי מצד עצמם אין דבר רע מזיק להם.
For regarding themselves, nothing evil could harm them.
The Patriarchs had no personal fear—only concern for future souls.
וכענין אע”ג דאיהו לא חזי כו’.
As in the idea that “even though he himself does not see,” etc.
Their spiritual perception included what would happen to later generations.
כיון שכל הדורות נשרשו בהם נפל עליהם היראה מכח מה שיהי’ לבניהם אחריהם ולכן ויירא ויצר.
Since all generations are rooted in them, fear fell upon them from what would befall their children after them—thus “he feared and he was distressed.”
The emotions Jacob felt were rooted in his role as the spiritual root of all Israel.
שאע”פ שהי’ מיצר לו אעפ”כ רצה שיוכל לתקן כל המקומות הללו.
Although it distressed him, nevertheless he desired to repair all these places.
Jacob accepted hardship to elevate even the lowest spiritual states.
ולמצוא בחי’ מה רב טובך שהוא שנאמר טוב מאוד כמ”ש במ”א מזה.
And to find the quality of “How abundant is Your goodness,” which is the “very good” mentioned elsewhere.
Through confronting darkness, Jacob could reveal the hidden super-goodness within creation.
וזה עצמו ענין שליחות המלאכים כי כלל תיקון המעשה תלוי בבחי’ מלאכים שהוא ענין הל”ט מלאכות.
And this is the matter of sending the angels, for the entire repair of action depends on the quality of angels, which corresponds to the thirty-nine labors.
The angels symbolize the spiritual forces activated by human action, especially the creative labors.
כי כל מלאך הוא בחי’ המצות שתלוין במעשה כמ”ש ז”ל מכל מצוה נברא מלאך.
For every angel is the aspect of a mitzvah dependent on action, as the Sages said: from each mitzvah an angel is created.
Angels are the metaphysical form of our deeds.
והמצות הם עצות כי אין האדם בעצמו יוכל לגבור נגד הסט”א בשלימות.
And the commandments are counsels, for a person on his own cannot fully overcome the Other Side.
Mitzvot offer divine strategies to combat spiritual negativity.
ולכן הרבה לנו תורה ומצות שע”י נברא מלאכים שהם מושיעין לאדם במקום שא”י לכנוס ולתקן בעצמו.
Therefore the Torah and mitzvot were multiplied for us, through which angels are created who help a person in places he himself cannot enter and repair.
The angels generated by mitzvot complete the spiritual work beyond human capacity.
וגם המלחמה שהי’ לו עם המלאך שרו של עשו הוא כענין שכ’ מלאך רע בע”כ יענה אמן בכניסת שבת.
And also the struggle he had with the angel, the prince of Esau, is like what is written: the evil angel is forced to answer “Amen” upon the arrival of Shabbat.
Even forces of evil must ultimately affirm holiness.
ולכן כל זה עבר עליו ואח”כ נאמר ויבוא יעקב שלם כנ”ל.
Therefore all this happened to him, and afterward it is said: “And Jacob came whole,” as above.
Through the trials, Jacob achieved a more complete wholeness.
ובמ”א כתבנו יותר בענין המלאכים לכן קצרנו.
And elsewhere we wrote more about the matter of the angels, therefore we are brief here.
The Sefat Emet notes that this teaching is condensed compared to other writings on the topic.
Summary: Jacob deliberately entered struggle to repair reality for all generations, creating angelic forces through mitzvot and action, and achieving wholeness through confronting and elevating the challenges symbolized by Esau’s angel.
