Yaakov and Eisav: refining the material world

בענין ברכת יצחק שרצה ליתנה לעשו.

Concerning the blessing of Yitzchak, which he wished to give to Eisav.

The Sefas Emes addresses why Yitzchak intended to bless Eisav, and what the nature of that particular berachah was.

ובפי' נראה כי ברכת יעקב היתה מיוחדת אליו כמו שברכו לבסוף ברכת אברהם שהוא עיקר הברית שכרת השי"ת לזרעו אחריו.

And in explanation it appears that Yaakov's blessing was uniquely his own, as Yitzchak ultimately blessed him with the blessing of Avraham — which is the essence of the covenant that Hashem forged with his offspring after him.

The blessing truly destined for Yaakov was "birkas Avraham," the spiritual covenant of the Avos, which Yitzchak knowingly gave Yaakov at his departure to Charan — that was never in question.

אבל זו הברכה היא להיות גביר לאחיו כו'.

But this [other] blessing was "to be a master over his brothers…"

The berachah Yitzchak meant for Eisav was a different, this-worldly one — dominion, material abundance, "the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth," and rulership.

כי יעקב ועשו היו מיוחדין לב' עולמות כמ"ש עשו איש שדה ויעקב יושב אהלים ואם הי' עשו מתקן מעשיו הי' הוא כמו זבולון עם יששכר והוא הי' מושל על כל האומות להכין הכל לקרב אל הקדושה.

For Yaakov and Eisav were each designated for two [different] worlds, as it is written: "Eisav was a man of the field, and Yaakov dwelt in tents" — and had Eisav rectified his deeds, he would have been like Zevulun with Yissachar, ruling over all the nations to prepare everything to be brought close to kedushah.

The brothers were meant to divide the labor between the physical and spiritual realms. Had Eisav lived up to his role, he would have been the "Zevulun" — mastering the material world and the nations — supporting Yaakov the "Yissachar," and channeling all of olam hazeh toward holiness.

ולא הי' נצרך ליעקב רק לעסוק בתורת ה' בלי מלחמות.

And Yaakov would have needed only to engage in the Torah of Hashem, without wars.

In that ideal arrangement, Yaakov could have devoted himself purely to Torah in peace, with Eisav handling the worldly struggles on his behalf.

כי הרי כתיב ראשית גוים עמלק.

For behold it is written: "the first of the nations is Amalek."

Eisav's line (Amalek) was meant to stand at the head of the nations — a position of power that, properly used, could have served kedushah.

והוא איש שדה.

And he is "a man of the field."

Eisav's defining trait, "ish sadeh," marks him as belonging to the realm of the "field" — the outer, untamed world.

דיש מדבר שדה בית כמ"ש האר"י ז"ל בקבלת שבת נעשה ממדבר שדה ע"ש.

For there are [three levels:] wilderness (midbar), field (sadeh), and house (bayis), as the Arizal said regarding Kabbalas Shabbos — that the "wilderness" is made into a "field" — see there.

The Arizal describes a progression of refinement: from "midbar" (untamed wilderness) to "sadeh" (cultivated field) to "bayis" (settled home). On Shabbos the lowest level is elevated toward the next.

ושבת עצמו הוא בחי' אהל ובית.

And Shabbos itself is the aspect of "tent" and "house."

Shabbos corresponds to the highest, settled level of "ohel/bayis" — the realm of dwelling and inner stability, the world of Yaakov "yoshev ohalim."

והנה יעקב הוא בחי' השבת יושב אהלים כמ"ש בשבת אל יצא איש ממקומו.

And behold, Yaakov is the aspect of Shabbos, "dwelling in tents," as it is said regarding Shabbos: "let no man go out from his place."

Yaakov, the "dweller in tents," embodies Shabbos — staying within one's "place," the inner world, just as on Shabbos one remains within his boundary.

וכמא' חז"ל יעקב כתוב בו שמירת שבת כו'.

And as Chazal said: regarding Yaakov, Shabbos observance is written [of him]…

Chazal find an allusion to Yaakov's keeping of Shabbos ("vayichan es pnei ha'ir" — he established the techum before Shabbos), confirming his identification with the day.

אבל התקונים שצריך בימי המעשה לעשות ממדבר שדה.

But the rectifications that are needed during the weekdays — to make a "field" out of "wilderness" —

The work of the six weekdays is to refine the lower, untamed "midbar" into a cultivated "sadeh," the labor of elevating the material world.

והוא הכנה אל השבת דרך זה רצה יצחק להנחיל לעשו.

which is the preparation for Shabbos — this path Yitzchak wished to bequeath to Eisav.

That weekday avodah of preparing the world for Shabbos — taming the "field" — was precisely the role and blessing Yitzchak intended to give Eisav, the "man of the field."

אך כי לא זכה עשו לזה.

But Eisav did not merit this.

Eisav forfeited this role through his corrupt deeds and was unworthy of the task of refining the material world for holiness.

והוצרך לקבל יעקב גם זאת על שכמו לתקן עוה"ז.

And so Yaakov had to take this too upon his shoulders — to rectify this world.

Since Eisav failed, Yaakov was forced to assume the additional burden of refining olam hazeh himself, taking on both the "field" and the "tent."

ובמדרש שובי השולמית כו' ע"ש שהוא התאספות שצריכין בנ"י לאסוף בכל הד' מלכיות להוציא בלעם מפיהם ולהעלות עוה"ז להיות מוכן לקבל השפעת הקדושה.

And in the Midrash: "Return, return, O Shulamis…" — see there — for this is the ingathering that Bnei Yisrael must perform throughout all four kingdoms (galiyos), to extract the "swallowed" [holy sparks] from their mouths and to elevate this world so that it is prepared to receive the influx of kedushah.

Yaakov's added task plays out through history: in each of the four exiles Bnei Yisrael must gather and redeem the holy sparks trapped among the nations ("extract their swallowed plunder"), refining and raising the material world so it can hold the flow of holiness.

[ויתכן לומר שהוא בחי' המלבושים שהי' ביד עשו ונמסרו ליעקב שהוא תיקון החצוניות.

[And it is possible to say that this is the aspect of the garments (malbushim) that were in Eisav's possession and were handed over to Yaakov — which represents the rectification of the external dimension (chitzoniyus).

The precious garments of Eisav that Rivkah gave to Yaakov symbolize the "outer" garments of the world; their transfer to Yaakov signifies that the task of refining the external, material realm passed to him.

בשלו"ם הוא מלבו"ש.

"In peace" (b'shalom) [contains the letters of] "garment" (malbush).

The Sefas Emes notes a wordplay: the letters of "shalom" and "malbush" overlap, hinting that the garments — the refinement of the external world — are bound up with peace.

ואיתא כי עשו גי' שלום.

And it is brought that "Eisav" is gematria "shalom."

The numerical value of "Eisav" equals that of "shalom," indicating that Eisav's true potential was to be a force for peace and completion in the world.

אך שהרע את מעשיו וניתן ליעקב].

But he ruined his deeds, and so it was given to Yaakov.]

Because Eisav corrupted himself, the role of "shalom" — refining the external world through the "garments" — was transferred to Yaakov.

וז"ש אני שלום וכי אדבר המה למלחמה כידוע שסתם מלחמה הוא עשו ועמלק.

And this is the meaning of "I am peace, but when I speak, they are for war" — as is known, that "war" generally refers to Eisav and Amalek.

Dovid HaMelech's words describe Yaakov's descendants as inherently seeking peace, while Eisav and Amalek represent the principle of "milchamah," strife — the very opposite of the "shalom" Eisav was meant to be.

וכמ"ש במדרש אין לך מלחמה שנוצחת שלא יהי' בה מזרע עשו.

And as it says in the Midrash: "there is no victorious war in which there is not someone from the seed of Eisav."

The Midrash teaches that the power of "war" derives from Eisav's lineage — wherever decisive battle and conquest occur, that energy traces back to Eisav.

והי' מוכן שיהי' נלחם מלחמת מצוה.

And it was destined that he would have waged a milchemes mitzvah (a war for the sake of a mitzvah).

Had Eisav stayed faithful to his role, his innate strength for "war" would have been channeled into holy battles — fighting on behalf of kedushah.

הכנה ליעקב.

As a preparation for Yaakov.

Eisav's righteous wars would have cleared the way for Yaakov, preparing the world so that Yaakov could dwell peacefully in the tents of Torah.

אם הי' מתקן מעשיו לטוב:

— if only he had rectified his deeds for the good.

All of this glorious potential hinged on Eisav improving himself; because he did not, the entire task of refining and protecting the world fell upon Yaakov and his descendants.

Summary: Yaakov's true blessing was the spiritual covenant of Avraham, while the worldly berachah of mastery was meant for Eisav, who — like Zevulun supporting Yissachar — was destined to refine the material "field" and wage holy wars to prepare the world for Yaakov's Torah; corresponding to the levels of midbar-sadeh-bayis, Yaakov is the inner "Shabbos/tent" and Eisav the outer "weekday/field," but because Eisav ruined his deeds, the entire task of elevating olam hazeh and gathering the holy sparks throughout the four exiles fell upon Yaakov.