Yaakov and Esav as inner struggle

ברש"י ויצא בשביל שהפסיק בפרשתו של יעקב וכתיב וישמע עשו כו'.

In Rashi [on] "And [Yaakov] went out" — [the Torah relates Yaakov's departure] because it had interrupted the account of Yaakov, as it is written "And Esav heard," etc.

The Sefas Emes cites Rashi's observation that the Torah's narrative of Yaakov was interrupted by the insertion about Esav hearing of the blessings, before resuming with Yaakov's departure.

והענין הוא דכתיב ולאום מלאום יאמץ.

And the matter is as it is written: "and one people shall prevail over the other people."

The relationship of Yaakov and Esav is governed by the prophecy that the two nations are locked in an ongoing struggle in which one rises as the other falls.

ותמיד יש מחלוקת ביניהם כמו יצ"ט ויצה"ר.

And there is always conflict between them, like the yetzer tov and the yetzer hara.

Yaakov and Esav are the cosmic prototypes of the inner battle within every person between the good inclination and the yetzer hara.

וכ"א מבקש תחבולות לקלקל מעשה השני.

And each one seeks stratagems to ruin the deeds of the other.

Just as the two inclinations scheme against each other, so each of these two forces constantly plots to undo the other's work.

לכן מסתמא על ידי שמיעה זו הי' תחבולה עד שהפסיק ענינו של הצדיק.

Therefore, presumably, through this "hearing" [of Esav] there was a stratagem [that succeeded] to the point of interrupting the affair of the tzaddik.

The Torah's "interruption" of Yaakov's narrative reflects a real spiritual reality: Esav's scheming (the yetzer hara) managed momentarily to disrupt the path of Yaakov the tzaddik.

והוצרך למצוא מחדש דרך אחר.

And he had to find anew a different path.

Forced off his original course, Yaakov had to discover a fresh route to continue his avodah.

והוא ע"י שהטמין עצמו י"ד שנים.

And this was through hiding himself away for fourteen years [in the study hall of Shem and Ever].

Yaakov's new path was the fourteen years of concealment in the yeshivah of Shem and Ever — a hidden, inner avodah.

וכמ"ש חז"ל בצדיק ורשע שיש לכל אחד חלק בג"ע ובגיהנם זכה נוטל חלקו וחלק חבירו כו'.

And as Chazal said regarding a tzaddik and a rasha (wicked one), that each one has a portion in Gan Eden and in Gehinnom: [if one] merits, he takes his own portion and the portion of his fellow, etc.

The Sefas Emes invokes the teaching that every person has a potential share in both Gan Eden and Gehinnom; when one merits, he claims not only his own share of Gan Eden but also that of the wicked who forfeited it.

כן בזה הוציא כל א' מה ששייך לו.

So too in this [case], each one drew out what truly belonged to him.

The struggle between Yaakov and Esav was ultimately a sorting process in which each took what genuinely belonged to him.

כאשר מצינו ויזד יעקב נזיד ולקחו עשו.

As we find: "And Yaakov cooked a stew" — and Esav took it.

The lentil stew that Yaakov prepared was ultimately taken by Esav, as if it had really been Esav's portion.

ומסתמא הי' תבשיל זה מיוחד אצלו כמ"ש ע"כ קרא שמו אדום.

And presumably this dish was something distinctive to him [Esav], as it is written: "therefore his name was called Edom."

The red stew was so fitting to Esav's essence that he was named "Edom" (red) after it — it truly belonged to his portion.

וכמעט לא הניח זה ליעקב.

And he scarcely left any of it for Yaakov.

Esav took essentially the whole portion of the stew, since it pertained to him.

ולהיפוך הברכות לקח יעקב ממנו.

And conversely, the berachos — Yaakov took from him.

In the opposite direction, the spiritual blessings, which truly belonged to Yaakov, were taken by Yaakov from Esav.

ומצא כ"א השייך לו אצל השני וכן הוא ביצ"ט ויצה"ר ג"כ:

And each one found what belonged to him in the possession of the other — and so it is with the yetzer tov and the yetzer hara as well.

Each retrieved his rightful portion from the other: Esav the material stew, Yaakov the spiritual blessings. The same dynamic plays out within a person — the inner work is to reclaim from the yetzer hara the holy portion that truly belongs to the yetzer tov.

Summary: Yaakov and Esav are the prototypes of the yetzer tov and yetzer hara, locked in perpetual struggle in which each schemes to undo the other. Esav's "hearing" of the blessings was a stratagem that disrupted Yaakov's path, forcing him onto a new, hidden course — the fourteen years in the yeshivah of Shem and Ever. Ultimately, like the teaching that the meritorious claim both their own portion and that of the forfeiting wicked, each brother drew out what truly belonged to him: Esav the material stew that made him "Edom," and Yaakov the spiritual berachos. So too within every person, the avodah is to reclaim from the yetzer hara the holy portion that rightfully belongs to the side of good.