Chasidut para sa Genesis 30:8

(1) And Yaakov sent messengers ahead of him (Gen. 32:4) - this is explained in the way of hint [remez]. Behold the work of the tzadik is to be clinging to the Blessed and Elevated One, to cling his soul under the Throne of Glory, the place of his root, and the tzadik purifies and cleanses himself from all external desires - and then his cleansed body too clings to the Blessed One. And this is the expression "tefilah" [prayer], that is, clinging, like "the wrestlings [naftulei] of Elokim etc" (Gen. 30:8) [meaning] that the tzadik clings to the Blessed One through the clear and lucid prayers from/in pure thoughts. And this is "and he sent", an expression of accompanying [levayah] as in "Pharaoh commanded men and they accompanied him" (Gen. 12:20), and the Targum: "they led him" [v'a'l'viy'u] (Targum Jonathan on Genesis 12:20), meaning that the tzadik accompanies the messengers that go before him, that is, the words that come out of the mouth of the tzadik create angels from themselves, and the same happens with his clean body which helps his angels to go upward, "ahead of him to Esav his brother"- meaning, through this he causes Esac to become his brother. "Towards the land of Seir" - meaning, that he becomes his brother on below, this is the hint of "field of Edom", the angel-deputy of Edom also becomes his brother.

Another way of understanding the verse of ‎וירא אלוקים את בני ‏ישראל וידע אלוקים‎, helps us explain a verse in Chabakuk 3,2 ‎ה' פעלך ‏קרב שנים חייהו בקרב שנם תודיע ברוגז רחם תזכור‎, “Oh Lord I have ‎learned of Your renown; I am awed O Lord by Your deeds. Renew ‎them in these years. O make them known in these years! Though ‎angry, may You remember compassion.” The verse may be best ‎understood by means of a parable. A poor man requests that a ‎wealthy man grant his request as he knows that it is within the ‎rich man’s power to grant same, and that once the rich man ‎seriously considers the sorry state the poor man is in he will not ‎be able to deny his cry for assistance. The Jewish people when in ‎pain and in need, turn to G’d, as they are well aware that He has ‎the power to help them. Because they are aware of this, it is their ‎duty to keep this factor in mind and to turn to G’d in prayer. ‎Moreover, the very word ‎תפלה‎, “usually translated as “prayer,” is ‎a word which expresses ‎התחברות‎, a close association, joining ‎together. We know this from Genesis 3,8 when Rachel called her ‎second son by proxy (Bilhah) ‎נפתלי‎, indicating that she felt that ‎G’d had come closer to her, and that she was comparable to her ‎sister now. Following the Jewish people’s first recorded prayer to ‎G’d during over 80 years of enslavement, G’d immediately ‎responded by coming closer to His chosen people and going about ‎appointing their redeemer, Moses. The word ‎וידע אלוקים‎ was ‎chosen therefore to remind us of this term used by the Torah ‎when Adam for the first time had marital relations with Chavah, ‎or as the Torah says elsewhere, “man and wife are to become one ‎flesh.” (Genesis 3,24) [The author quotes Genesis 4,25, but ‎my quote, I think is even more appropriate. Ed.] The ‎words ‎בקרב שנים‎ in the verse from Chabakuk above, mean that ‎‎“pain” is something that exists only in our world, a world that is ‎limited in space and time. In regions that are not influenced by ‎time, i.e. celestial regions, there is no such thing as pain, ‎suffering, etc.; G’d now being in a relationship of ‎וידע‎, i.e. ‎establishing close contact with His people, their pain and ‎suffering will come to an end as a result of their coming closer to ‎these regions of the universe.‎

“As for me, may my prayer come to You, O Lord, at a favorable moment; O God, in Your abundant faithfulness, answer me with Your sure deliverance” (Psalms 69:14). The general rule, as it is explained in the holy Zohar, is that a person must cling to the prayer of the forefathers when he is praying. And, “As for me, may my prayer,” hints to this: Prayer indicates the trait of love. For when a person serves [God] with the trait of love, he is clinging to the trait of Avraham. And ‘prayer (tefilah)’ is an expression of connectedness – from the usage, “the bonds (naftulei) of God” (Genesis 30:8). “To You, O Lord, at a favorable moment” – that is the trait of awe, the trait of Yitzchak. Then one needs a favorable moment; whereas when a person is clinging to the trait of love, then it is always a favorable moment. But with the trait of awe, he accordingly needs a favorable moment. For how can one make a request when he is standing in awe? As the trait of awe is from afar, like it is stated in the verse (Exodus 20:15), “and the people saw and they trembled, and stood far off.” But after the awe, God, may He be blessed, flows intellect upon him to request what he seeks. And this is the hint, “From afar did the Lord appear to me” (Jeremiah 31:2). “Answer me with Your sure deliverance” – this is the trait of Yaakov, based on the verse (Micah 7:20), “You will give truth to Yaakov.” And this hint is in the verse[s] (Numbers 6:22-27), “And the Lord spoke, etc. This is how you shall bless the Children of Israel [...]. May the Lord bless you [...]. And they shall bestow My Name upon Bnei Yisroel, and I will bless them.”