Body and Soul Elevation Vayishlach תרל”ו 1
לא יעקב יאמר עוד שמך כו’ כי שרית כו’.
“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob… for you have struggled…”
The Sefat Emet opens by noting that the change of Jacob’s name expresses an inner spiritual transformation brought about through struggle.
וב’ שמות אלו זכו בהם בני ישראל.
And these two names were merited by the people of Israel.
The dual identity of Jacob and Israel is inherited by all Jews.
והם בחי’ הגוף והנשמה.
And they correspond to the aspects of body and soul.
The two names symbolize the two dimensions of human existence.
כי צריך כל אדם לתקן הגוף עד שיחול עליו כח נשמתו ואז נק’ ישראל.
For every person must refine the body until the power of the soul can rest upon it, and then he is called “Israel.”
Israel represents the state in which the body is purified enough to be a vessel for the soul’s full expression.
וענין מלחמת יעקב עם המלאך כי נשמת אדם גדלה מעלתה מהמלאך כידוע.
And the matter of Jacob’s struggle with the angel is that a human soul is greater in stature than an angel, as is known.
The conflict reflects the higher spiritual potential of the human soul.
רק שזה בבחי’ הנשמה בלבד.
But this is only regarding the soul.
The superiority applies to the soul, not the body.
אבל גוף המלאך גדלה מעלתו על גוף האדם.
However, the angel’s body is superior in stature to the human body.
Angels possess a more refined, spiritualized bodily form than humans.
כי גוף האדם בעולם העשי’.
For the human body is of the world of Asiyah.
It is physical and coarse, belonging to the lowest spiritual realm.
אך יעקב אע”ה תיקן גופו עד שזכה להיות מרכבה להשי”ת.
But Jacob, peace be upon him, refined his body until it merited becoming a chariot for God.
Jacob elevated his physical being to become a vessel for the Divine Presence.
נמצא גם גופו כמו נשמה.
Thus, his body became like a soul.
His physical aspect achieved spiritual purity comparable to that of the soul.
ולכן גם בחומר גופו הי’ יכול להלחם עם המלאך.
Therefore, even with his physical body he could fight with the angel.
Jacob’s bodily refinement enabled him to contend with a spiritual being.
וז”ש לא יקרא שמך עוד יעקב.
And this is what is meant by “Your name shall no longer be Jacob.”
The name change indicates the transformation of the physical self.
פי’ שגם הגוף שמכונה בשם יעקב.
Meaning that even the body, which is called Jacob,
The name Jacob represents the physical aspect of a person.
איננו אצלו בבחי’ גוף ונהפך לרוחניות כמו הנשמה.
is no longer for him in the category of body and has turned to spirituality like the soul.
Jacob’s body no longer functioned as a coarse physical entity but became spiritualized.
וז”ש ויבוא יעקב שלם שזה ההשתוות הגוף להנשמה נקרא שלום.
And this is the meaning of “Jacob came whole,” for the alignment of body and soul is called shalom.
Wholeness and peace arise when body and soul exist in harmony.
כי בכל איש ישראל יש מחלוקת זה בין הגוף והנשמה.
For in every Jew there is this tension between body and soul.
The natural struggle between physical and spiritual drives is universal.
וכפי תיקון הגוף כך השלימות שבו.
And according to the refinement of the body is the degree of his wholeness.
Spiritual completion is proportional to bodily purification.
ולכן גם שבת נקרא שלום כי יש בו תיקון הגוף שהוא מעין עוה”ב.
Therefore Shabbat is also called peace, for it contains a refinement of the body that is a taste of the World to Come.
Shabbat elevates the physical state, giving a foretaste of perfected existence.
ולעתיד לבוא יהיו הגופות מתוקנים ממש כמו נשמות.
And in the future the bodies will be truly refined like souls.
Ultimate redemption includes the spiritual elevation of the body itself.
ובש”ק יש מעין זה תיקון הגופות קצת לכל א’ כפי הכנת מעשיו בימי המעשה זוכה בשבת לנשמה יתירה שהוא ע”ש תוקף התפשטות כחה בגוף.
And on Shabbat there is a semblance of this: a partial refinement of bodies for each person according to his preparation during the weekdays, meriting on Shabbat an extra soul, referring to the powerful expansion of its influence into the body.
Shabbat grants an elevated bodily state proportional to one’s weekday spiritual efforts, expressed as the “extra soul” spreading its light into the body.
Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that the names Jacob and Israel reflect body and soul. Jacob’s struggle with the angel reveals the potential for the body to be elevated to the level of the soul. Shabbat offers a weekly taste of this harmony, and the future will bring the complete refinement of the body.
