Letting Israel Serve Freely

בפסוק וישלח משה מלאכים כו' אל מלך אדום כו'

On the verse, "And Moshe Rabbeinu sent messengers... to the king of Edom..." (Bamidbar 20:14).

The piece opens by citing the Torah's account of Moshe Rabbeinu sending emissaries to the king of Edom to request safe passage for Bnei Yisrael on their way to Eretz Yisrael.

כמו שמצינו ששלח יעקב אע"ה מלאכים לעשו אחר שתיקן א"ע והיה חפץ לתקן גם את עשו כמו כן עשו בנ"י

Just as we find that Yaakov Avinu, peace be upon him, sent messengers to Eisav after he had set himself in order, for he wished to set Eisav in order as well, so too did Bnei Yisrael do.

The Sfas Emes links this to Yaakov Avinu, who, having first perfected himself, reached out to his brother Eisav hoping to elevate and rectify him too; Bnei Yisrael's overture to Edom follows the same pattern of trying to draw the other toward his tikkun.

ובאמת זה תיקון עשו ואדום שיניחו את בנ"י לעבור דרך ארצם

And in truth, this would have been the tikkun (rectification) of Eisav and of Edom: that they should let Bnei Yisrael pass through their land.

He explains that Edom, the descendants of Eisav, had a real opportunity for tikkun: simply by permitting Bnei Yisrael to pass through their territory, they would have aligned themselves with the holy mission of Bnei Yisrael and thereby repaired their own root.

וכן בעוה"ז אם הי' מניח היצה"ר וכת דילי' את בנ"י לעשות רצון בוראם זה הי' תיקונו

And likewise in this world, if the yetzer hara and its band were to let Bnei Yisrael carry out the will of their Creator, this would be its own tikkun.

This is then applied inwardly: the yetzer hara and its forces likewise have a tikkun available to them, namely to step aside and allow a person to fulfill the will of Hashem rather than obstruct it.

אבל הם עומדין באם הדרך לגזול ולעשוק ויט ישראל מעליו:

But instead they stand at the crossroads of the way to rob and to plunder, and so "Yisrael turned away from him" (Bamidbar 20:21).

But just as Edom blocked the road, the yetzer hara instead lies in wait to rob and plunder a person's spiritual gains, so that, as with Edom, the only recourse is to turn away from it rather than engage.

Summary: Commenting on Moshe Rabbeinu's sending of messengers to the king of Edom to request passage, the Sfas Emes draws a parallel to Yaakov Avinu, who, after perfecting himself, reached out to Eisav in the hope of rectifying him as well. The overture of Bnei Yisrael to Edom was likewise an offer of tikkun: Edom needed only to let Bnei Yisrael pass through its land to share in their holy purpose and thereby mend its own root. The Sfas Emes then turns this outward drama inward, teaching that the yetzer hara, too, has a path of tikkun available to it, simply to allow a person to do the will of his Creator. But just as Edom refused and blocked the road, the yetzer hara instead stands at the crossroads to rob and plunder a person's avodas Hashem, leaving a person no choice but to turn away from it entirely.