Leah and the tikkun of Esav's portion

בענין המעשה מנשואי לאה.

Regarding the episode of the marriage of Leah.

The Sefas Emes turns to the story of how Lavan substituted Leah for Rachel on the wedding night.

ואיתא במדרש שאמרה לו כמו שרימה לאביו אנכי עשו בכורך וכי אית ספר דלית לי' תלמידים ע"ש.

And it is brought in the Midrash that she (Leah) said to him (Yaakov): just as you deceived your father, [saying] "I am Esav your firstborn" — and is there a teacher who has no students? — see there.

The Midrash has Leah justify the switch by pointing to Yaakov's own words to Yitzchak; her "deception" merely echoes his, as a student follows a teacher.

נראה לבאר הענין עפ"י מ"ש במדרש כי כך היו התנאים הגדולה לגדול כו' ושמעה לאה מעשי עשו ובכתה וכו'.

It seems to explain the matter according to what the Midrash says: that such were the terms — the elder [daughter] for the elder [son] etc. — and Leah heard of Esav's deeds and wept, etc.

The arrangement was that the older daughter (Leah) would marry the older son (Esav); hearing of Esav's wickedness, Leah wept and prayed to be spared that fate.

כי הנה יעקב אע"ה זכה ליקח חלקו של עשו כמ"ש בפרשה הקודמת ואמת אמר אנכי עשו.

For Yaakov Avinu merited to take Esav's portion, as discussed in the previous parsha, and he spoke truth when he said "I am Esav."

When Yaakov took the brachos, he acquired Esav's spiritual portion; thus his statement "I am Esav" was in a deeper sense true — he had taken on Esav's role to rectify it.

וכשזכה לאותו חלק זכה ליקח את לאה שהיתה מיוחדת לאותו ההארה.

And when he merited that portion, he merited to take Leah, who was designated for that illumination.

Having acquired Esav's portion, Yaakov also acquired Leah, who was spiritually paired with that very portion meant for Esav to rectify.

לכך רחל היתה אהובה לו כי היא היתה מיוחדת אליו ממש.

Therefore Rachel was beloved to him, for she was designated for him himself.

Rachel was Yaakov's intrinsic, natural counterpart, which is why she was his beloved.

ולאה היתה מיוחדת לחלקו של עשו לכן כתיב שנואה לאה דרשו חז"ל שעשתה מעשה שונא.

And Leah was designated for Esav's portion; therefore it is written "Leah was hated (senuah)," which Chazal expounded [to mean] that she did the deed of one who is hated.

Because Leah belonged to Esav's portion, she is called "hated" — Chazal explain she acted to undo the "hated" deeds that were Esav's to fix.

פי' שמה שהי' צריך עשו לתקן ולא הי' יכול וניטל ממנו וניתקן על ידי יעקב ולאה לכן כתיב ראו בן ראו מה בין בני לבן חמי.

The meaning is that what Esav needed to rectify but was unable to — it was taken from him and rectified through Yaakov and Leah; therefore it is written: "See, my son; see the difference between my son and my father-in-law."

The tikkun Esav failed to accomplish passed to Yaakov and Leah; the verse contrasting Yaakov with Lavan hints that they accomplished what others could not.

משמע שהם תקנו מה שהי' מיוחד לעשו לתקן כנ"ל.

This implies that they rectified what was designated for Esav to rectify, as above.

The verse thus indicates that Yaakov and Leah carried out precisely the rectification originally assigned to Esav.

וזהו שרמז במדרש אשתו של פלוני לפלוני כו' בכושרות בכי ושירות כו' והכל ענין א'.

And this is what the Midrash hinted: "the wife of so-and-so is for so-and-so" etc.; "in kosharos" — [read as] crying (bechi) and song (shiros) etc. — and it is all one matter.

The Midrash's plays on words — the destined pairing, and "kosharos" as both weeping and song — all point to the single theme that Leah's tearful prayer reassigned her to Yaakov for this tikkun.

ושוב מצאתי בספר עבודת ישראל מענין זה.

And afterward I found in the sefer Avodas Yisrael [the Maggid of Kozhnitz] something on this matter.

The Sefas Emes notes he later discovered a similar idea written in the Avodas Yisrael.

ונראה שכוון למ"ש.

And it seems that he intended what we have said.

He understands the Avodas Yisrael to be aiming at the same point he made.

ואפשר השומע לא הבין דבריו או שהרב ז"ל הסתיר הדברים:

And it is possible that the listener did not understand his words, or that the Rav, of blessed memory, concealed the matter.

Any difference is attributed either to a student's imperfect transmission or to the author deliberately veiling the deeper idea.

Summary: When Yaakov acquired Esav's spiritual portion through the brachos, he also acquired Leah, who was paired with that portion; thus Leah — called "hated" because she was bound to Esav's "hated" deeds — together with Yaakov accomplished the very tikkun that Esav was meant to do but could not, which is the inner thread uniting the Midrashim about her tearful prayer and the switched marriage.