English translation — וישלח א

A.

On the verse¹

"And Jacob came whole to the city of Shechem" say Chazal

(in the Gemara²)

— and Rashi brings it down in his commentary on the Torah³

— that "whole" means⁴

whole in his body, whole in his property, whole in his Torah."

The saying of "whole in his body, whole in his property" is necessary as explained in the Midrash⁵

: "Whole in his body because it is written⁶

and he limped on his thigh etc. whole in his property although

(that)..

nine years Jacob our father honored Esau with that gift etc.'"

(And similarly⁷

it stands in Rashi's commentary on the Torah³

: whole in his body that he was healed from his limping,

whole in his property that nothing was lacking from all that gift),

But on "shalem beToraso" there is no explanation in the Midrash.

In Rashi's commentary one finds a contradiction in this: in his commentary to the Talmud

he explains,

"that he did not forget his learning because of the hardship of the road"; but in his commentary on the Torah he says,

"that he did not forget his learning in Laban's house".

One must understand: what is the reason for the change between the two commentaries?

Furthermore: at first glance it is the opposite of what is reasonable — in his commentary on the Torah,

where Rashi explains the plain meaning of the verse,

it would have been more appropriate to say specifically

(the commentary on the SHa"M)

"he did not forget his learning because of the hardship of the road" and not "in the house of Lavan"

— because the verse says indeed,

"And Jacob came whole to the city of Shechem",

which according to the plain meaning of the verse must result that the "whole" is a novelty in connection with Jacob's arrival in Shechem¹¹.

it says that Yaakov was immediately<sup>13</sup>

healed from his limp

(through "And the sun shone for him"<sup>14</sup>),

And likewise regarding the gift — "The Holy One, blessed be He, filled his lack and returned everything to him immediately"<sup>15</sup>.

And accordingly, he was already "complete in his body, complete in his property" coming into Succoth

(more than eighteen months<sup>16</sup>

before he came to Shechem).

But according to the plain meaning, all this was in a natural manner¹⁷

— both the healing from his limping and the filling of the lack in his money.

And this is the meaning of the verse "And Jacob came complete to the city of Shechem",

that when coming to Shechem he became complete,

because only then did he, in completeness,

(entirely)

heal himself in his body¹⁸

and it was filled

(through "were fruitful and multiplied" of his flock¹⁹

etc.)

the lack "from all that gift"],

Now, according to the interpretation "that he did not forget his learning because of the hardship of the road" it has a place to say,

that when coming to Shechem

and as the continuation of the verse²⁰

"he pitched the tent of the field etc."]

he was "complete in his Torah",

despite the "hardship of the road" that he underwent until his coming to Shechem.

But according to the explanation "that he did not forget his learning in the house of Laban",

the "complete in his Torah" has no connection to his arrival in Shechem; the "completeness" was with him at the time of his departure from "the house of Laban" —

Now why does Rashi say in his commentary on the Torah — the plain meaning of Scripture — "that he did not forget his learning in the house of Laban"?

(It is not a question: How can one even say such an interpretation "that he did not forget his learning in the house of Laban" when the verse says explicitly "And Jacob came complete

(first arriving in)

the city of Shechem" — because one can answer: In the verse it does not say "complete

(only)

in his Torah",

only

"complete"

(plainly).

One can say the intention of the verse,

that only upon coming to Shechem did Jacob become completely ,

complete",

in all<sup>21</sup>

three things

(in his body, in his property, and in his Torah)

— but in his Torah alone he was indeed complete also earlier,

The question is however: since one can learn that also the "shalem in his Torah" is connected with Yaakov's arrival in Shechem

("because of the burden of the road")

— why does Rashi choose and connect it; and in his commentary on the Torah —,

specifically with the time when Yaakov was in the house of Lavan?

B.

Also one must understand: in the Midrash<sup>5</sup>

is brought a fourth thing in which Yaakov was "shalem" — "shalem in his children,

because it is written about him<sup>22</sup>

If Esau comes to the one camp and strikes it, and the camp will be,

but here shalem in his children".

It is not understood: at first glance, precisely this action

(of "shalem bevanav")

is understood in the plain sense²³

the homiletical way).

Why does Rashi bring

(in his commentary on the Torah)

specifically the language of the Gemara,

where "shalem bevanav" is not brought²⁴?

The wonder is only greater: at the beginning of Parshat Lech²⁵

it is told about the blessing of the Holy One, blessed be He, to Avraham "And I will make you into a great nation, etc.",

Rashi explains: "Because the journey causes three things: it diminishes procreation and multiplication, and diminishes wealth, and diminishes fame, therefore he needed these three blessings that He promised him concerning children, etc."

One sees,

that a blessing concerning children is a primary matter that one guards when there is a risk of a diminution in it

(due to the turmoil of travel)

Is by the verse "And Jacob came complete"

(from the "this tent which I am building")

Rashi seemingly should have explained that "complete" means

(air)

"complete in his children"?

3.

One will understand this by prefacing a general question in this commentary of Rashi:

Learning the verse "And Jacob came whole to the city of Shechem",

after the lengthy story of how Jacob was saved from Laban and Esau,

it would have to come out,

that the main explanation of "And Jacob came

whole" is simply — he arrived whole,

unharmed from Laban and Esau.

And as Rashi himself immediately explains²⁶

"When he came from Padan Aram — like a person who says to his fellow, So-and-so came out from between the teeth of lions and came whole,

so too here, 'And he came whole from Padan Aram' from Laban and from Esau who confronted him on the way",

But Rashi says — the plain meaning of Scripture — that "And Jacob came whole" is

(Not in relation to his rescue from the danger from Laban and Esau,

but)

A general "wholeness" in relation to his body, his money, and his Torah?

And moreover — from where do we learn it²⁷?

And in this itself, the question/ that "whole in his body" does not mean the rescue of his body from danger,

but "that he was healed from his limp"!

from which it implies that previously there was a deficiency

(and only a deficiency),

and afterwards it became completed²⁸

— because

(in addition to this,

that in this Rashi later

(the aforementioned)

he says explicitly the wording "shalem" in connection with a rescue "from between the teeth of lions" — from this Rashi itself it is proven thus,

because)

Rashi says indeed "shalem in his Torah that he did not forget his learning"; one sees,

that even though in actuality there was no deficiency by him,

it is fitting to say about it "shalem",

due to the possibility of a deficiency²⁹

— one can nevertheless say the same regarding his rescue from Esav and Lavan].

D.

And one can explain the explanation in this:

Right after Yaakov left for Charan, the Almighty promised him³⁰

"And behold, I am with you, and I will guard you wherever you go, etc.",

and this means

(its simple meaning, that is)

first and foremost — the protection from Eisav and Lavan

(as Rashi explains there³¹

"because he was afraid of Eisav and Lavan").

And consequently, the verse need not emphasize that the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, was fulfilled and Yaakov arrived "whole" from Eisav and Lavan — this is self-understood³².

And in the manner of when Avraham came,

to whom the Most High had promised

(as above sec. 2,

at the saying³³

"Lech Lecha etc.")

"And I will make you into a great nation etc.",

that the wandering of the road would not diminish from him the "three things" — one does not find that the verse should anywhere emphasize,

that so it was — "And Avraham came complete"

(and likewise)³⁴.

Why does the verse say it by Yaakov?

Therefore Rashi teaches,

that here it does not speak about a "completeness" which is included in the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, "And behold, I am with you and will guard you etc.",

but about

Special events which are liable to cause that Yaakov should not be complete,

Not looking at the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, mentioned above — nevertheless "And Yaakov came complete."

And from this that the verse says "complete" simply is proven,

That this was not only in one detail,

Rather "complete" according to its simple meaning in all its details — and these are the three matters that Rashi enumerates:

"Whole in his body that he was healed from his limp": That which Yaakov was "limping on his thigh" was a result of his war with "the angel of Esav"<sup>35</sup>

— an angel<sup>36</sup>,

a messenger from the Above<sup>37</sup>.

And since this is a matter that was done to Yaakov

(for whatever reason<sup>38</sup>)

through an angel of the Holy One, blessed be He,

it is understood,

that this has nothing to do with

(that which is guarded in)

the promise "and I will guard you" from Esav and Lavan<sup>,3</sup>.

"Whole in his property that nothing was lacking from all that gift": Also after giving Esav "all that gift" there remained with Yaakov a great fortune,

as is understood from the plain meaning of the verses<sup>40</sup>.

And consequently,

even if with Yaakov the lack of the gift would not have been filled,

it would still not have diminished him

In the fulfillment of the Holy One Blessed be He's promise "and I will guard you etc. I will not forsake you etc."

(which means that he will have "bread to eat etc."⁴¹).

Nevertheless, the Supreme One fulfilled for him the entire lack "from all that gift".

"Complete in his Torah that he did not forget his learning in the house of Laban": the giving of place that Jacob should forget his learning in the house of Laban,

is not because of the effect of Jacob's being together with Laban the wicked

— about this Yaakov prayed "and I will return in peace" — "whole from sin, that I will not learn from the ways of Lavan"⁴²,

which was fulfilled⁴³

(and as Yaakov sent to tell Esav "with Lavan the wicked I sojourned and the 613 commandments I kept and I did not learn from his evil deeds"⁴⁴)

Only because⁴⁵

Yaakov was in the house of Lavan occupied with great dedication to his work as a shepherd of sheep

(as one must do according to Torah⁴⁶)

— and as he said "with all my strength I served etc."⁴⁷,

"I was by day etc. by night and sleep fled from my eyes"⁴⁸

; and in this manner

he worked "twenty years"⁴⁹.

is understandable the greatest wonder,

that not looking at all this,

is "he did not forget his learning in the house of Laban".

— the wonder is however not connected with the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, "and I will guard you wherever you go etc."

in the land of Canaan,

he would also then have needed a special blessing not to forget his learning].

and this is the wonder in the verse "and Jacob came complete" — complete in his Torah — that he did not forget his learning in the house of Laban.

5.

Based on this, also fall away automatically,

the two above-mentioned difficulties

(the above, section a-b)

on Rashi's commentary:

Rashi cannot bring the matter of

"complete in his children" — that Esav could not touch the children of Yaakov

("If Esav comes, etc.")

— this is indeed included in the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, "and I will guard you, etc." and the verse does not need to tell it,

as above.

And from this reason Rashi cannot explain in his commentary on the Torah⁵⁰

that "complete in his Torah" means "that he did not forget his learning because of the burden of the road" — because also this matter is included in the promise of the Holy One, blessed be He, "and I will guard you wherever you go etc.",

that the Almighty will guard him from every undesirable thing that the journey — including the turmoil of the road can cause

("and guard me on this way which I am going"⁵¹)

; in the manner of the blessing of

the Holy One, blessed be He, to Abraham that his turmoil of the road will not diminish from him the "three things".

6.

The meaning of the Torah [according to] Rashi's commentary:

It was said⁵²,

that Jacob's journey to Charan alludes to the journey of his children⁵³

— the children of Israel

(And the deeds of the fathers are a sign⁵⁴

for the children)

— in exile; the verse says "And Jacob came whole to the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan, on his coming from Padan Aram": The Almighty promises every Jew that he will return whole and complete from exile⁵⁵.

Rashi explains and adds,

that that which Lavan and Esav can

(see there)

not touch a Jew and he

(Yaakov)

arrives "whole" to Eretz Yisrael — the matter is a simple thing,

this is not the innovation of "And Yaakov came whole"; for this the Almighty had promised from the outset even before one went down into exile — "And behold, I am with you and I will guard you wherever you go etc.'",

and no one has power to touch a Jew, G-d forbid.

The novelty is,

that even in the matters which seemingly — from the perspective of the order as it is set up from Above — there is a place that exile should effect a lack in a Jew,

until that in actuality a lack becomes

(like by Yaakov)

— the verse says "And Yaakov came whole",

that the lack is not a true one; it is only a matter for the time being,

but ultimately

the deficiency becomes null and "And Jacob came complete".

And these are the three matters that Rashi says,

as follows.

7.

"Whole in his body, healed from his rib":

One of the superior aspects in the service in the time of the exile is — the service of self-sacrifice⁵⁶.

And therefore come, heaven forbid, the sufferings of the exile etc. — as a test,

"The Lord your God tests you etc."⁵⁷,

in order to bring out among Jews the matter of self-sacrifice.

And this is the matter that "the angel of Esau" "touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh",

and as the Ramban<sup>58</sup>

explains the words of the Midrash on the verse<sup>59</sup>

: "He touched all the righteous who were destined to come from him, this is the generation of persecution" — so this is the hint to the sufferings of the exile until in the most severe manner, G-d forbid,<sup>60</sup>

; which the sufferings are in order to awaken among Jews their self-sacrifice<sup>61</sup>.

One could think, heaven forbid,

that since the sufferings truly do not come from Esau below,

but from "the angel of Esau"<sup>62</sup>

— they come from above in order to bring out from Jews self-sacrifice — they are a true reality that has a permanence, heaven forbid; upon this comes the assurance: "Shalem

In his body that was healed from his rib— then after one conducts the service in exile,

the sufferings become entirely nullified,

"healed from his rib" in a manner that he is complete⁶³.

Because this was from the outset not a true reality,

but only a test⁶⁴

to reveal the strength of self-sacrifice of a Jew.

8.

"complete in his property, that nothing was lacking from all that gift":

The purpose of exile is not only that the Jew himself should emerge from it whole and complete,

but that he should also transform the matters of exile and make them his property<sup>65</sup>,

converting them into holiness.

In the manner that Jacob was not only himself saved from Laban and Esau,

but he took from Laban a vast multitude concerning which Laban said "everything that you see is mine"<sup>66</sup>

; likewise — he brought about the transformation in Esau himself,

that instead of that which Esau wanted to kill him,

it was "and Esau ran etc. and embraced him etc. and kissed him"<sup>67</sup>,

until that according to the opinion of Rashbi<sup>68</sup>

it was "with all his heart"

(although "it is a known law that Esau hates Jacob")<sup>69</sup>.

for the time of "And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's"<sup>71</sup>

: Not only will one judge Esau,

but "and the kingdom shall be the Lord's" — he will recognize the kingship of the Holy One, blessed be He.

And in the language of the Rambam<sup>72</sup>

"and he will perfect the entire world to serve the Lord together, as it is said<sup>73</sup>

for then I will turn to the peoples etc. to call all of them in the name of the Lord etc."].

And just as Yaakov accomplished this through the "gift"

(in the introduction to prayer)

That he sent to Esau,

About this is by every Jew,

That in order to clarify and transform to holiness the matters of the world

(Esau<sup>74</sup>)

And especially of exile,

He needs

(After the introduction of the work of prayer)

To use from his money etc. like a "gift" — give from his time for plowing,

Sowing<sup>75</sup>,

Your work which you do<sup>76</sup>

— Which should have been in Torah study — and the question arises: Torah, what will become of her?<sup>75</sup>

— To clarify the world

(Esau)

He descends into the world and occupies himself with physical matters, plowing etc.

(In the well-known expression<sup>77</sup>

: To dress oneself in "the garments of that which is clarified")

In order to be able to effect upon the world.

Thereby the question can arise: Since the service is

(Not in a manner of trial,

Which is not a true reality,

But)

A matter of clarification of the world,

To remake the world,

Which is a true reality,

And consequently there is a deficiency "in his money"

(— In order to accomplish the clarification)

— I.

— I.

e.

e.

The descent of his powers and his time into the physicality of the world is, heaven forbid, a permanent thing

— one is assured,

that even the deficiency

(and descent)

is only temporary,

and in the end a Jew becomes and remains "complete" also "in his property".

When one goes toward the redemption,

one takes along also the

physicality and assets of a Jew,

in a manner that it becomes complete — as perfection,

elevated and included in holiness.

9.

"Complete in his Torah, that he did not forget his learning in the house of Laban":

The concept of Torah study in its completeness requires a separation from the world.

And along these lines, as we find by Jacob,

that he was "dwelling in tents"⁷⁸

and was hidden in the study hall of Shem for fourteen years⁷⁹.

A Jew argues: Since one demands of him to occupy himself with the "clarifications" of exile in the place of exile,

it is therefore not possible that he should maintain during action his lofty level in Torah.

One tells him,

that Yaakov "did not forget his learning in the house of Lavan": regarding the previous two matters — his body and his property — there can be temporarily a deficiency in practice,

only afterwards it is completed; but regarding Torah,

by Yaakov there can be from the outset no deficiency.

Because

(as the saying of my father-in-law, the Rebbe,⁸⁰

"Only our bodies are given over into exile and subjugation to the kingdoms,

but our souls they did not drive into exile,

and into subjugation to the kingdoms they were not given over."

Is the intention in this not only

(as the simple meaning of the language)

in the concept of exile in its simple sense,

that the kingdoms have no control over a soul,

but moreover: that also the service with exile does not touch the

(inner aspect of the)

soul which is higher than exile⁸¹.

The descent of this man into exile to refine the matters of exile pertains only to the external aspect of materiality,

but in the soul itself which is "in exile not driven away",

no descent is applicable, heaven forbid.

And therefore "his Torah study was not forgotten in the house of Laban" — the Torah that Jacob learned while being "hidden" in separation from the world,

remained with him completely also in the house of Laban.

And the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children⁸²,

so every Jew has the empowerment of Yaakov,

that he should not only be "shaleim" when emerging from exile,

but even during the exile itself,

finding himself "in the house of Lavan",

he can be on a level of "he did not forget his learning" — his spiritual matters remain whole,

"shaleim in his Torah".

(From the sicha of Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach 5743)