The Chabad Masters on the Torah
It
is known that Yaakov stems from the composed world of Tikkun, while Eisav stems
from the chaotic and intense world of Tohu (Arizal).
The lights of Tohu transcend those of Tikkun.
Their intensity causes their vessels to shatter. Hence the fallen sparks of
Tohu, which manifest in such lowly phenomena as the personality of the wicked
Eisav. In his source, Eisav transcends Yaakov. He is the first-born. Hence, Yaakov
sent messengers before him— literally: to a place that was “before”
and beyond Yaakov, the world of Tohu.
Yaakov thought that the earthly Eisav had
already been realigned with his source; that the intense energy of Tohu had
been redirected from a passion for self-indulgence toward a passion for the
Divine. He therefore sent messengers to Eisav, to draw upon himself the lofty
lights of Tohu and assimilate them into the composed world of Tikkun.
The message Yaakov sent with his
messengers—who were actual angels—was that through his years of working with
Lavan, he had fully developed his world, the world of Tikkun.
He had been merely a “sojouner” with Lavan, a
“stranger,” aloof and estranged from the trap of an earthly consciousness, and
was therefore able to perform the 613 mitzvos. He thereby elevated the
resources of Lavan and brought made them “dwellings” for the light of holiness.
He was now a suitable vessel for the light of
Tohu. As the Zohar declares (2:155a): Blessing does not dwell in an empty place…
Now that Yaakov’s place was fully cultivated, the blessing of Tohu could dwell
in him. He was ready for a monumental, cosmic event: the unification of Tohu
and Tikkun.
He was ready for the Messianic era, when the
world would reach its perfection and ultimate purpose. Hence the Midrash’s (BR
75:6) enigmatic comment on Yaakov’s words, and I gained ox and donkey—“the
donkey refers to King Moshiach, as it is written, a poor man riding on a
donkey (Zachariah 9:9).”[1] Yaakov was living in a
messianic reality.
And
the messengers returned to Yaakov saying, “We came to your brother Eisav and
behold he is coming towards you, four hundred men in his company.
The messengers were saying to their master:
Yes, from your part the unification of Tohu and Tikkun can be achieved. But
alas, your brother Eisav remains undeveloped. How, then, can he share with you
the light of his source, while he remains trapped in its earthly manifestation?
To support their assertion, the messengers
referred to the 400 men in Eisav’s company. The root of these 400 men was the
400 silver shekels that Avraham had paid to Ephron for the Cave of
Machpelah. While in the hands of Avraham, these coins reflected the “400 worlds
of longing” that the righteous are destined to inherit. Their transfer to the
hands of Ephron was an investment of holiness into the mundane for the purpose
of retrieving them in the Messianic era when “death will be swallowed forever”
and G-d “will remove the spirit of impurity from the earth.” Until their
retrieval, the coins reflect the “400 courts of harsh judgment.”[2]
Yaakov was aware of the fact that Eisav was
accompanied by 400 men. But he assumed they were the personifications of the
400 worlds of longing; he was informed by his messengers that they were in fact
the embodiment of the 400 courts of harsh judgment (Vayishlach 5743).
When Yaakov realized that he would not be
receiving the light of Tohu through Eisav, he took measures to elicit the light
of Tohu on his own. (In this way he would also be protected from the dangers of
the physical Eisav.)
These measures would have to mirror the world
of Tohu. His first measure therefore was to split his camp into two, the number
associated with Tohu. Tikkun, by contrast, is characterized by the number
three.
The sefiros of Tohu exist in two separate
realms: the right and the left. Each sefirah exists independent of the other,
whereas in Tikkun each sefirah is a conglomerate of all the others. This
conglomeration is not possible in Tohu, since the vessels of Tohu are too small
to contain opposites. Kindness, in Tohu, is pure and unrestrained kindness. The
same for severity, and so on—like a narrow mind that cannot accommodate two
opposing concepts. If it is inclined toward merit, it will be unable to see
judgment. If it is inclined to judge, it will see no room for merit. It can
find merit or judgment, right or left, but never both at once. This is the
world of Tohu, the world of two.
But in Tikkun, the right and the left are
harmonized into a third realm. Even in judgment there can be a thought toward
merit. For in Tikkun the light is less intense and the vessels more expansive.
The expanded vessel allows for the coexistence of opposing views—like an
expanded mind that can accommodate opposites. This is the world of Tikkun, the
world of three.
(The world of Tikkun is conceived of as three
realms: right and left, and the center realm, which combines the other two.
Hence the Jewish people, who stem from the world of Tikkun, say, Holy, holy,
holy!—three times. Similarly, G-d says of them that they are a nation of “segulah”—literally
translated as “special”—which alludes to the Hebrew vowel segol (‘e’ as
in chessed), which is represented by three dots in an upside-down
triangle.)
In order to elicit the infinite light of
Tohu, Yaakov split his camp in two, mirroring the two-dimensional world of
Tohu.
And
he took from what he had accumulated [to use as] a gift for Eisav his brother,
two hundred she-goats…
The word the Torah uses for gift, is mincha,
the same word used to describe Hevel’s sacrifice, And G-d turned to Hevel
and his mincha (Gen. 4:4). On the mystical level, Yaakov’s gifts to Eisav
were also sacrifices, like those offered in the Holy Temple. But because these
sacrifices were meant to elicit the lights of Tohu, they did not need to
conform to the conventional method of the sacrifices described in the Torah.
For the rules of the Torah apply in the world of Tikkun alone; Tohu is not
restricted by these laws.
Hence Yaakov’s sacrifices consisted of live
animals, whereas those of the Torah are performed with slaughtered animals.
(The slaughtering itself is not part of the sacrificial service as evidenced by
the fact that even a non-priest can perform the slaughtering (Berachos
31b).) Similarly, some of the animals
he sent were not kosher, namely camels, whereas Torah sacrifices consist of
kosher animals only.
For Tohu exists beyond the laws of the Torah,
just as in the future when the pig will become kosher[3]; when the infinite light is
revealed, the pig will be capable of elevation, unlike now, in the world of
Tikkun.
In this way Yaakov prepared himself to elicit
the lights of Tohu through his meeting with Eisav. Indeed when they met, Yaakov
bowed before Eisav, who then hugged and kissed Yaakov. The two brothers cried
tears of joy. All of this is a description of the unification of Tohu and
Tikkun that took place then, the reunion of two brothers who had been estranged
for a time.
It is known that Yaakov is Tiferes, beauty.
True beauty is produced by the blending of varied colors. Yaakov, then,
represents harmony, the unification of opposites (see previous essay).
(Thus when Yaakov brings wine to his father,
he mixes water into the wine (Zohar 3:189a). Wine represents a fiery yearning
for transcendence, ratzo. Water, which flows downward, represents a
downward flow, shov. Yaakov, harmony, combines these two opposing
movements in a perfect balance. Hence one of the musical notes (‘trop’) on the
phrase he brought him wine (Gen. 27:25) is a “double note” (mercha
kefula on the word lo), alluding to the ability of Yaakov to unite
two opposing forces.)
[Thus
it is Yaakov who effects the unification of Tohu and Tikkun [on the root
level], paving the way for his descendants, opening the channels for them to
effect the elevation of the seventy nations and the fallen sparks of Tohu
throughout history.]
Indeed
through the exiles and worship of his descendants the elevation of the sparks
has already been achieved [as of the year 5752 (1991)]. (That the Messianic era had not yet commenced is
an inexplicable phenomenon.)
The
Divine worship that we engage in now is no longer for the sake of elevating the
sparks. This is in the past. Today we seek to effect the actual revelation of
the Messianic reality in the physical world. May we merit it today (Vayishlach
5752 p. 163). & [Adapted
and summarized by Rabbi Yosef Marcus from Torah Ohr, Vayishlach.]
[1] The Messianic redemption
hinges upon the refinement and elevation of the entire world, the seventy
nations. This is achieved by the exile of the Jewish people throughout the
world. The forerunner of all exiles took place in Egypt, as explained by Arizal
in his Likutei Torah (parshas Teitzei).) Although
all of this had yet to have happened, Yaakov still thought the Messianic era
was at hand. He thought that the elevation of the nations could be achieved
through the elevation of their “fathers,” Yishmael and Eisav. (At times the
nations are numbered at seventy and at times they are numbered at seventy-two.
The seventy-two count includes the fathers of the nations. See Sefer Haarachim
Chabad, entry Umos Haolam p. 326-7.) Yaakov had already
elevated the realm of Lavan, who represents corrupt kindness and is therefore
equal to Yishmael, who is corrupt kindness as well. He thought that Eisav,
corrupt Gevurah, had already been elevated and therefore expected the
redemption (Vayishlach 5747).
[2] See Zohar 1:123b, 3:128b and
288a.
[3] See Shelah on Chayei
Sarah; Midrash Talpios in the name of Bachya.