Musar zu Bereschit 33:78

We must strive to attain perfection in the following areas: 1) perfection of one's soul; 2) perfection of one's body; 3) perfection of one's belongings, money matters. Regarding these three areas, the Torah says: "You shall love the Lord your G–d with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might" (Deut 6,5). The life of the body depends on the heart. The word נפש, refers to the נשמה, soul. When we speak about someone as being שלם בגופו, שלם בתורתו, שלם בממונו see Rashi's commentary on Genesis 33,18, we view תורה as well as study and achievements (in study) as elements the soul depends on.

The two arms of man correspond to the emanations חסד and גבורה. The two legs correspond to the emanations נצח and הוד. The male reproductive organ within which all the forces of the body coalesce and form his seed and by means of which he unites with his wife, corresponds to the emanation מלכות. After the Torah had described the union of man and wife [i.e. man in the plural i.e. אותם, Ed.], it mentions that G–d blessed them (Genesis 1,28). He called their combined name אדם. Man had not become whole until joined by his wife as a separate entity. When this occurred Man's soul wore garments of distinction [i.e. the body. Ed.] Man's essence is his "interior," his body is merely his "clothing." This "clothing" was snow white, as if he were wearing clothing made of "light," i.e. כתנות אור. Man's body then could be described as illuminating both his soul and itself. This provided man with three different kinds of wholeness or "perfections." They are alluded to in the acronym מגן (usually understood as shield, protection). The three letters forming that acronym are the first letters of each of the words ממון, money, גוף, body, and נשמה, soul. This is what is meant when the beauty of Jacob is described by our sages as comparable to the beauty of Adam. The Torah refers to it when it describes the mental and physical state of Jacob/Israel shortly after his encounter with Samael. We read in Genesis 33,18: ויבא יעקב שלם, "Jacob arrived whole." We are told in Shabbat 33b, that the word "whole" comprised the three aspects we have mentioned as the perfection of Adam. The Talmud described one of the aspects in which Jacob was "whole,” שלם, as תורתו; this refers, of course, to the state of his נשמה, his soul, since it is Torah which illuminates our soul. Adam the whole was not deficient in any area that is part of life. He did not have any needs since he already found himself at home in גן עדן, in an ideal environment. His food was derived from the trees of גן עדן. He did not have to work for a living and was therefore free to directly devote all his time to the service of G–d. The Torah describes that Adam was placed in גן עדן in order לעבדה ולשמרו, was placed in such an undemanding environment in order to enable him to serve G–d without hindrance and impediment. Our sages interpret the word לעבדה as referring to the performance of positive commandments, whereas the word לשמרה refers to the care taken not to transgress negative commandments. Adam performed all six hundred and thirteen commandments in a theoretical, spiritual fashion. All of this is explained in Pardes Rimonim chapter הנשמה, and I have elaborated on this elsewhere (מסכת חולין item 104, new edition of של"ה השלם by Rabbi Meir Katz). Man unfortunately did not even manage to spend a single night in גן עדן before he sinned. (cf. Psalms 49,13). His "jewelry" was removed as a result of his seduction by the serpent. This brought in its wake that instead of wearing "garments" which illuminated his soul as well as his body, he had to wear garments made of the hide of flesh, i.e. animals which did not represent anything spiritual. Ever since, new generations of man are the product of the smelly drop of semen, i.e. semen which is polluted by the residual pollutant of the original serpent. Once Eve had become defiled through sexual union with the serpent, the defiled party had to leave the holy site, i.e. גן עדן, just as in the desert anyone who was ritually impure could not remain within the holy precincts of the מחנה שכינה, the camp hosting the Presence of G–d. The immediate result of this was the toil involved in securing his sustenance, his clothing and his shelter. This is what the Torah meant when it describes that G–d told Adam: "You will eat bread in the sweat of your brow" (Genesis 3,19). Because man was constructed from parts of nature, מטבע, he has a tendency to pursue money, matbei'a, as symbolized by the word מטבע. He uses this money, מטבע, to secure his needs.

ויחן את פני העיר . Two scholars, Rav and Shemuel, opine in Shabbat 33a, that Jacob introduced coinage in the district. The other scholar, Shmuel, holds that Jacob introduced the concept of "markets," (concentrated shopping opportunities). Rabbi Yochanan said that Jacob established public baths. The difference in the opinions expressed stems from the meaning of the word Vayichan. One sage related that word to the root Cheyn, grace, something aesthetically appealing. As a result, he believed that public baths are what Jacob instituted. The other Rabbi concentrated on the expression Peney. The Midrash Hagadol on Genesis 41,56 in which the Torah describes the famine as: והרעב היה על פני כל הארץ, "The famine was on the face of the whole land," comments that the extra word פני teaches that the famine began with the rich who are called פנים. This is the reason that Rav interpreted that Jacob introduced coinage as a sign of his appreciation of being able to settle in the land. Shmuel, who explained that Jacob introduced a new marketing technique by arranging fairs, took his cue from the word העיר. What we learn from the above is that if someone claims to be a G–d-fearing individual, he needs to demonstrate this in three different areas of life, just as Jacob did.

Isaac slowed the expansion of the influence of the tree of knowledge by means of the birth of the twins Jacob and Esau. This was an indication that even evil can be rehabilitated. Our sages phrased it thus: Esau's head reposes within the lap of Isaac; such is the mystery of how evil can be rehabilitated. The secret of how this happens was alluded to by our sages' explanation that the reason the pig is called חזיר, (from the root חזר to return) is that in the future it will restore the crown to its Master, as we know from Ovadiah 1,21 ועלו מושיעין בהר ציון … והיתה לה' המלוכה, "For the saviours will march up Mount Zion… and the kingdom will be G–d's." (cf. details in Kohelet Rabbah end section 1). All of these events will occur at the time when G–d will "slaughter" the angel of death. This is the plain meaning of Isaiah 25,8 בלע המות לנצח, "He will destroy death forever." This angel of death will then remain as a regular angel, since all the negative forces we know as קליפות are after all an outgrowth of a holy source. This is what was alluded to in the quote that the head of Esau reposes in Isaac's lap. When the head expands it becomes a symbol of impurity. The very name סמ-אל Samael, (Satan) reflects the dual nature of evil. On the one hand the name א-ל, G–d, is part of that definition, on the other hand the word סם represents the סם המות, lethal poison. In such a future the סם aspect of Satan/ Samael will be abolished. We, the Jewish nation however, are called by the name of G–d. Our sages interpreted Genesis 33,20 ויקרא לו א-ל א-לוהי ישראל, "He (G–d) called him (Jacob) El the G–d of Israel" (Megillah 18a, proving that the word לו could not refer to the altar Jacob had built). We have an allusion to this in Genesis 11,10 אלה תולדת שם, suggesting that we, his descendants, are all a "full name," not half a name such as סמא-ל.

This does not preclude a change in the future. Jacob was אוחז בעקב "holding on to the "heel" (Genesis 25,26) i.e. to humility already from the moment he was born. This is also the mystical dimension of ויבא יעקב שלם, that "Jacob attained perfection" (Genesis 33,18). When Jacob was called ישראל because he prevailed in a struggle with the Divine, this is an allusion to the World to Come, a domain even closer to G–d than the domain of the angels. This is alluded to in Numbers 23,23 by Bileam who said: כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל א-ל. "Jacob is told at once, Yea, Israel, what G–d has planned." [The author tries to demonstrate that when manipulating the spelling of the name יעקב the name ישרון which is the name used to describe the Jewish people on their highest spiritual level, can be obtained. When one omits the first letter of a "word" representing the "full" spelling of a letter such as the letter י being spelled יוד, this is called a concealed way of spelling the word, נעלם. In our example, if you spell the word יעקב "full" i.e י"וד-ע"ין-ק"וף ב"ית, and you then omit the letters I have highlighted i.e. י-ע-ק-ב, you will be left with ו"ד-י"ן-ו",-י"ת. The numerical value of the last 8 letters is 566, the same as the numerical value of ישרון. Ed.]. This is the mystical aspect of Isaiah 40,4: והיה העקוב למישור, "and the crooked will become straight," an allusion to the perception of Jacob as devious and engaging in deception as claimed by Esau. The "concealed" spelling of these names is a hint of the great good in store for the Jewish people. The three names יעקב-ישראל-ישרון correspond to the שלמות of Jacob in three areas: his body, גוף, his relationship with the material goods of this world, ממון, and his spiritual life, נפש (cf. Rashi on Genesis 33,18). These three areas are the subject of the manner in which we are to relate to G–d with love, i.e. "בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך. The body will be as much part of an everlasting life in the future we speak of as is the soul in our times. All the Kabbalists are agreed that this is so because the body has been created בצלם אלוקים, in the image of G–d. The names ישראל and ישרון allude to this dual "perfection" of body and soul, i.e. that both will gain everlasting life. The name ישרון symbolizes ישר, that G–d has created man ישר, upright, honest. He could not have done otherwise for ישרים דרכי ה', "the ways of the Lord are upright" (Hosea 14,10). It is relatively easy for a soul, רוח, to return to the Celestial Regions it has come from. When we speak about שלימות ממונו, the Torah means אלוהי כסף ואלוהי זהב לא תעשו (Exodus 20,23), that one must not elevate the value one places on silver and gold as something akin to a deity.

The words השכל וידוע אותי in that verse, mean that "when these attributes originate with Me, then they are something worth boasting about." The fact that the prophet seems to repeat himself by saying השכל וידוע, may be an allusion to the perfection of these attributes personified by our patriarch Jacob, of whom the Torah testified in Genesis 33,18, that he arrived at the city of Shechem שלם, perfect, which Rashi there interprets as whole in body, i.e. physical prowess, גבורה; whole in money, i.e. he was well satisfied with his lot, i.e. עשיר; and finally, whole in his Torah, i.e. he was a חכם. These three kinds of perfection or wholeness, are also described in Deut. 6,5, which tells us how to love G–d, i.e. בכל לבבך, ובכל נפשך, ובכל מאדך. The heart represents physical life, and it was Yehudah ben Teima who when he said "be mighty like the lion," referred to performing G–d's commandments with all the power of one's heart, according to the introduction of Tur Orach Chayim. When the Torah continues: “בכל נפשך,” the reference is to the abstract life-force, the mind. This means that the mind, which normally craves recognition, should be put at the disposal of G–d's commands. The expression "ובכל מאדך," refers to one's financial wealth, i.e. putting that which is normally subject to one's greed at G–d's disposal. We find that these attributes can be employed in one's relationship with G–d, since many of the commandments of religious ritual require the expenditure of money, such as contributions to Temple maintenance, purchase of communal sacrifices, etc. Other commandments require that one exerts one's body, such as all the laws involving forbidden foods. Still other commandments can be performed only if one uses one's mental faculties.

A slightly different version in Shemot Rabbah 42,6 attributes the reason that G–d used the term "your people" when speaking to Moses to the fact that it was the mixed multitude who initiated the sin of the golden calf. Moses had taken those people out of Egypt without having consulted G–d. When G–d spoke about wiping out the people in 32,10, He had these people in mind. Thereupon Moses began pleading with G–d in 32,11 asking G–d why He would be angry at the people of Israel, i.e. "Your people whom You have taken out of Egypt?" Moses implied that G–d did indeed have reason to be extremely angry at the mixed multitude, i.e. Moses' people. G–d then admitted that Moses had a point, and this is the meaning of 32,14 that G–d renounced His plans to punish His own people so severely. After reading both versions of the Midrashim it is clear that the Jewish people were still regarded as G–d's people even after they had participated in the sin of the golden calf. Not only that, but they bear the imprint of G–d's "seal" upon themselves as did their patriarch Jacob whom G–d had called “א-ל אלוקי ישראל, "the Lord of Israel called him א-ל." Moses, by contrast, was called א-לוהים. This whole reciprocal attachment, דבקות, is due to the intermediary Torah. It was the Torah which cleansed Israel from the residual pollutant of the original serpent when the Israelites stood at Mount Sinai.

Another peculiarity is found when the angel tells Jacob that in the future (at Bet El in 35, 9) he will be known as "Israel," suggesting that at this time he was still only "Jacob" (32, 29). We find, however, that in 33, 20 and 34,7 Jacob is already described as ישראל. Rashi comments on the former, that the name ישראל did not refer to the altar he had built, but that he employed this name as being his own. He built the altar to the G–d א-ל who had named him ישראל. This is strange since the Torah did not yet report G–d as having changed Jacob's name. This commentary does not take into consideration that the Torah reports the change of Jacob's name to be effective only after chapter 35, 10. If we accept the interpretation of the Talmud in Megillah 18, that we learn from this verse that G–d i.e. אל-הי ישראל, called Jacob “א-ל,” we have no problem: Jacob had already been renamed at the time the Torah was recorded in writing. We have to solve the difficulty in Rashi's commentary by saying that when the Torah reported Jacob as arriving שגם, "whole" in body, spirit and economic strength in 33, 18, that his thigh joint had healed, that he was free from both Esau and Laban, which were the troubles that Samael had referred to when he acknowledged that Jacob had fought man and G–d and prevailed When Jacob assumed the title "Israel" for himself, this was not an act of arrogance on his part, but on the contrary, it was an acknowledgment to G–d that his achievements were not due to his righteousness and physical prowess but to the blessing he had received from the angel (who represented Samael and who at one time had been the agent of forces called קליפה). Having said all this, this still leaves us with the problem why Jacob was referred to as ישראל, in connection with the rape of Dinah in 34, 7 where the foul deed was described as something that must not be perpetrated "in Israel."

I have already hinted that Jacob, who referred to himself as possessing כל, "all," in Genesis 33,11, is similarly described by that term in our grace prayer. What is meant is his remaining totally alive, seeing all his children continued to live according to their father's tenets. Jacob was also called איש, and our sages relate that whereas Jacob did not die, Esau did die (Taanit 8). Esau had said of himself in Genesis 25,32 that he was headed for death. Jacob's ability to remain "alive," חי, began with Sarah, who was not attached to the קליפה, and through whose son, ביצחק, one side of such pollutants was already removed, i.e. מיצחק, hence the description of his blessing as מכל. The terms בכל-מכל-כל, refer to elimination of the pollutants in ever-increasing measure. Abraham therefore is at the bottom of such a chain whereas Jacob is at the top, and thus was called חי.

וישקהו ויבכו . Rashi quotes different opinions regarding the significance of the dots on the word וישקהו. Some sages in the Sifri believed that these dots are to alert us to the insincerity of the kiss by Esau, whereas Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said (despite the fact that we have an ironclad rule that Esau hated and continues to hate Jacob), in this instance Esau's human emotions were stirred, and he kissed his brother Jacob wholeheartedly. I believe that both views are completely compatible with one another. We must view Esau here on earth as merely the counterpart of Samael in the Heavenly Regions.

I have explained the word סם-אל as being composed of סם, poison, something harmful and of א-ל, something godly, i.e. good and wholesome. We can divide the expression מלאך המות, angel of death, similarly. The מות, i.e. death part of the expression is something negative, whereas the מלאך, i.e. angel part of the word is something good, positive. The good is mixed in with the bad. This is the mystical dimension of Esau's offer in 33, 15: אציגה נא עמך מן העם אשר אתי, "Let me assign you some of the people who are with me." There is a hidden reference in this to the proselytes and their influence on the Jewish people. Esau made this suggestion after Jacob had said to him in verse 14: עד אשר אבא אל אדוני שעירה, "until I come to my lord in Se'ir." Jacob's comment was a reference to Messianic times described in Ovadiah 1, 21, where Israel is described as ascending the mountain of Se'ir, home of Esau, preparing to execute final judgment on Esau. When we look at the respective last letters in the words אבא אל אדוני שעירה, we have the word אליה, as pointed out by Baal Haturim. This was Jacob's reply to Esau's suggestion for his people to convert to Judaism at the time the Messiah would arrive. Jacob hinted that we have a rule that we do not accept converts when there is reason to suspect that these converts only want to reap the benefit of a period of good fortune of the Jewish people (Yevamot 24). Jacob answered at the end of verse 15: למה זה אמצא חן בעיני אדוני The word חן is an allusion to the potential convert's motivation for becoming a גר, proselyte.

"Jacob journeyed towards Sukkot;" this is a hint that after the offering of the two he-goats (on the day of Atonement), Israel will observe the מצוה, i.e. holiday of tabernacles, which is symbolic of the סכת שלם, "the hut of completion, peace, fulfillment. This is also the meaning of 33, 18: ויבא יעקב שלם, "Jacob arrived intact."

"There he praised the Almighty G–d of Israel." According to the view of Rabbi Eleazar in Megillah 18, this verse tells us that G–d called Jacob “א-ל”; his reasoning is as follows: – If this were an appellation Jacob had given, then the Torah should have written ויקרא לו יעקב א-ל אלוקי ישראל. The Torah wanted to go on record that Jacob represents only the “א-ל” part of “סמאל” . When we view the struggle between יעקב, who was all א-ל, and Samael, who was only partially א-ל, it is natural that Jacob should have prevailed, i.e. כי שרית עם אלוקים ועם אנשים ותוכל, "You have contended with G–d and with men and have prevailed." This description of a dual encounter refers to the struggle with the terrestrial force of Esau on the one hand, and with the Celestial forces of Esau, i.e. Samael, on the other. The name ישראל fittingly reflects this dual struggle. It is a name conferred upon Jacob by Samael himself, an acknowledgment that Jacob was the bearer of Isaac's blessings.

Let me proceed to explain the nature of Benjamin's sanctity. Benjamin was on a loftier spiritual plane than his other brothers because he never bowed down to Esau who represented the סטרא דשמאלא, the left side of the diagram of emanations, the home of Samael. (At the time of the fateful encounter between Jacob and Esau he had not yet been born). The fact that his father Jacob bowed down to Esau cannot be held against Benjamin. The Zohar, commenting on the relevant verse in Genesis 33,3 (Sullam edition page 35), in which Jacob is described as prostrating himself before Esau seven times, writes as follows: "Rabbi Eliezer asked how Jacob, the choicest of the patriarchs, could contravene the injunction of the Torah in Exodus 34,14: 'do not prostrate yourself before any other deity for the Lord is a jealous G–d?' The answer given is that far from bowing down to the anti-G–d part that Esau represented, Jacob in fact prostrated himself before the שכינה, for we find at the beginning of the same verse: והוא עבר לפניהם, "It proceeded ahead of them." This excuse can be used only for Jacob, but not for his sons. The "11 stars," i.e. the other tribes bowed to Esau, not to the שכינה. The knees which bent to Esau, representative of Samael, were the cause that Samael succeeded in inflicting an injury on Jacob's thigh joint. That injury represented judgment מדה כנגד מדה, tit for tat, because Esau's thigh joint bore the imprint of the original serpent. We have pointed out that the Targum of יודע ציד, hunter, (Esau's profession) is נחשירכן. The Tziyoni reads this as two words נחש ירכן, seeing that the serpent's image [snake shaped birthmark? Ed.] was tattooed on Esau's thigh joint. We dealt with this in our commentary on Toldot. Because of this additional dimension of sanctity possessed by Benjamin even before his birth, G–d had prophesied to Jacob in 35, 11, ומלכים מחלציך יצאו, "Kings will emerge from your loins." People bending their knees to the kings from the tribe of Benjamin, will be the fitting contrast to the other tribes who had bent their knees to Esau instead. This stands out particularly in view of the list of kings descended from Esau that are listed in פרשת וישלח. I have mentioned that righteous Jewish kings represent the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.

In order to survive in our lengthy exile we must employ the weapons of repentance, prayer and charity so as to mobilize the support of G–d on our behalf. The equivalent of "war" is repentance, which reflects the battle with our evil urge. He who can conquer his baser urges has proved himself to be a mighty warrior. This condition will prevail until the prophecy that we will conquer Mount Se'ir will be fulfilled. The redemption will come as a result of repentance, as we know from: ובא לציון גואל ולשבי פשע ביעקב "The redeemer will come to Zion and to those in Jacob who have repented their iniquities" (Isaiah 59, 20).

Having sexual intercourse with two sisters [while they are both alive, Ed.] is perceived as equivalent to damaging the equilibrium in the domain הוד ומלכות. Only our patriarch Jacob, whom G–d Himself had called "אל" a celestial being (Genesis 33,20, cf. Megillah 18a), attained a level of spiritual perfection that permitted him to use the sceptre normally only used by the "King" in the Celestial Regions. In connection with the prohibition to marry two sisters simultaneously, the Torah (18,18) uses the expression לצרור לגלות ערותה, which we may provisionally translate as "as a rival." Rabbi Abraham Saba, in his Tzror Hamor understands the word as "creating a knot," i.e. tying up Celestial conduits and preventing them from exerting their beneficial influence on their respective partners in the domains of the emanations, and through them on this world. [This comment of the Tzror Hamor is not found in his commentary on this chapter in our פרשה. Ed.]

“And Yaakov traveled to Sukkos and he built for himself a house and for his livestock he made shelters [sukkos] therefore he called the name of the place Sukkos” (Bereishis 33:17). All of Israel’s customs are Torah and it is our custom that as soon as we come home from the synagogue at the conclusion of Yom Kippur we immediately immerse ourselves in the mitzvah of building the sukkah. I have found a fitting explanation for this among the essays of Rabbi Shelomo Molcho, z”l (Sefer HaMefo’ar, p. 168), where he discusses why it is that Israel engages specifically in this mitzvah at the conclusion of Yom Kippur as opposed to any other. His explanation is as follows: The Holy One Blessed is He commanded that on Yom Kippur one goat be offered up to Hashem while a second be sent to Azazel. The Kohein Gadol would first confess all the iniquities and transgressions of Israel over the one that was to be sent to Azazel, as it is stated, “And the goat shall bear upon it all their iniquities” (Vayikra 16:22). Through this Israel achieved tremendous atonement. This is an example of the principle that everything that befell the Patriarchs was a foreshadowing of what was to befall their descendants, for in the ritual of the scapegoat Israel inherited a mitzvah recalling an incident from the time of their forefathers. As it is stated, “And Eisav returned along his way to (the land of) Se’ir” (Bereishis 33:16). Then it states, “And Yaakov traveled to Sukkos” (ibid. 17). In other words, after Eisav, who was a hairy man [ish se’ir], had gone on his way to Se’ir — i.e., to receive his portion in the form of the goat [se’ir] that was sent to Azazel — Yaakov went on to Sukkos — i.e., to engage in the mitzvah of sukkah. In this passage the Torah intimates that we must emulate our ancestor by engaging specifically in the mitzvah of sukkah, rather than any other, after we have sent off the scapegoat on Yom Kippur. This is Rabbi Shelomo Molcho’s explanation and the words of the wise are pleasing.

“And Yaakov traveled to Sukkos and he built for himself a house and for his livestock he made shelters [sukkos] therefore he called the name of the place Sukkos” (Bereishis 33:17). All of Israel’s customs are Torah and it is our custom that as soon as we come home from the synagogue at the conclusion of Yom Kippur we immediately immerse ourselves in the mitzvah of building the sukkah. I have found a fitting explanation for this among the essays of Rabbi Shelomo Molcho, z”l (Sefer HaMefo’ar, p. 168), where he discusses why it is that Israel engages specifically in this mitzvah at the conclusion of Yom Kippur as opposed to any other. His explanation is as follows: The Holy One Blessed is He commanded that on Yom Kippur one goat be offered up to Hashem while a second be sent to Azazel. The Kohein Gadol would first confess all the iniquities and transgressions of Israel over the one that was to be sent to Azazel, as it is stated, “And the goat shall bear upon it all their iniquities” (Vayikra 16:22). Through this Israel achieved tremendous atonement. This is an example of the principle that everything that befell the Patriarchs was a foreshadowing of what was to befall their descendants, for in the ritual of the scapegoat Israel inherited a mitzvah recalling an incident from the time of their forefathers. As it is stated, “And Eisav returned along his way to (the land of) Se’ir” (Bereishis 33:16). Then it states, “And Yaakov traveled to Sukkos” (ibid. 17). In other words, after Eisav, who was a hairy man [ish se’ir], had gone on his way to Se’ir — i.e., to receive his portion in the form of the goat [se’ir] that was sent to Azazel — Yaakov went on to Sukkos — i.e., to engage in the mitzvah of sukkah. In this passage the Torah intimates that we must emulate our ancestor by engaging specifically in the mitzvah of sukkah, rather than any other, after we have sent off the scapegoat on Yom Kippur. This is Rabbi Shelomo Molcho’s explanation and the words of the wise are pleasing.