Opposition strengthens holiness

במדרש גיל יגיל כו' גילה אחר גילה כו'.

The Midrash on "He will surely rejoice... joy after joy."

The Sefas Emes begins with the Midrash that reads the doubled language of rejoicing as one joy building upon another.

דכתיב ואלה תולדות מוסיף על ענין ראשון דכתיב תולדות השמים והארץ.

For it is written "And these are the generations" — "and these" adds to the earlier matter, where it is written "the generations of the heavens and the earth."

Chazal teach that the word "and" connects Yitzchak's generations to the very generations of creation, showing that he continues and completes what was begun at the world's founding.

ואלה התולדות של יצחק שנולד ממנו יעקב הוא גמר השלימות בקביעות.

And these generations of Yitzchak — from whom Yaakov was born — are the completion of perfection in a permanent way.

With the birth of Yaakov, the holiness of the Avos becomes fixed and enduring rather than a passing achievement.

כדאיתא על פסוק לא ימושו מפיך כו' זרע זרעך שוב מעתה ועד עולם.

As it is taught on the verse "they shall not depart from your mouth... the seed of your seed" — from now on it shall never cease, forever.

Chazal say that once Torah is established through three generations, it never again departs from the offspring of Bnei Yisrael; with Yaakov this permanence was sealed.

לכן אחר שנעשה זה הקשר של ג' האבות נעשה תיקון קבוע לזרע ישראל.

Therefore, once this bond of the three Avos was formed, a permanent rectification was established for the seed of Yisrael.

The threefold cord of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov created a fixed channel of holiness for all their descendants.

דגם מקודם היו צדיקים כאדם ונח מתושלח כו' אבל הי' במקרה שנמצא אחד במשפחה.

For even beforehand there were tzaddikim, such as Adam and Noach and Mesushelach — but it was by chance that one was found in a family.

Before the Avos, righteous individuals appeared only sporadically, a lone tzaddik here and there, without a continuous line.

אבל עכשיו נעשה תיקון בקביעות להיות נמשך שלשלת הקדושה בתולדותיהם דור אחר דור עד ביאת משיח צדקינו.

But now a permanent rectification was made, so that the chain of holiness would be drawn through their descendants, generation after generation, until the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu.

From the Avos onward, kedushah flows in an unbroken chain through the generations until the final redemption.

ומיד באותו זמן נולד זה לעומת זה.

And immediately at that time, "this corresponding to that" was born.

The moment this fixed holiness emerged, its opposing counterpart was born alongside it, as the world is built of opposites set against each other.

עשו הוא אדום שנמשכת מלכותו עד משיח.

Eisav is Edom, whose kingdom continues until Moshiach.

The opposing force born together with Yaakov is Eisav/Edom, whose dominion persists throughout history until the geulah.

כי בכל עת שנולד צדיק נולד כנגדו התנגדות.

For whenever a tzaddik is born, an opposition is born against him.

Every emergence of holiness automatically calls forth a corresponding resistance.

וכן הוא תמיד גם בפרט כל אדם בהתעלותו ממדריגה למדריגה כל ימי חייו.

And so it is always, even in the particular case of every person, as he rises from level to level throughout all the days of his life.

This is not only a cosmic pattern but a personal one: each time a person ascends to a new madreigah, a fresh challenge rises to meet him.

ובאמת זה ההתנגדות הוא רק לתת כח ותוקף להקדושה כמ"ש מלאום יאמץ:

And in truth this opposition exists only to give strength and force to the holiness, as it is written, "and one people shall be mightier than the other."

The whole purpose of the opposing force is to strengthen kedushah — by overcoming resistance, the holiness within a person grows mightier, as the verse promises that through the struggle Yaakov's people prevails.

Summary: With the birth of Yaakov, the holiness of the three Avos became a permanent, unbroken chain flowing to every future generation until Moshiach. At that very moment its opposite, Eisav/Edom, was born — for every rise in kedushah, whether in history or in each person's daily ascent, summons a corresponding resistance whose sole purpose is to strengthen and fortify the holiness it opposes.