English translation — ויצא ג

Sicha 3<pg>141</pg>

A.

On the verse<sup>1</sup>

"And Yaakov arose and carried his sons and his wives upon the camels" Rashi cites "his sons and his wives" and explains "He placed males before females, but Esav placed females before males, as it is stated<sup>2</sup>

And Esav took his wives and his sons etc.'"

From the surface level of Rashi's language it appears,

that in this commentary his intention is to explain the difference between the two verses — that regarding Yaakov it is said "his sons

(and afterwards)

and his wives",

and regarding Esau the opposite — "his wives

(and afterwards)

and his sons".

But,

as discussed many times: when there is some difficulty and contradiction in the plain meaning of Scripture from one verse to another,

Rashi in his commentary does not stand upon it to resolve it in the first verse,

since there is no difficulty yet,

but in the second verse,

in the place where the question arises.

And according to this it is not understood in our case,

what is the difficulty in the verse here that there is need for commentary and explanation,

and because of which Rashi was compelled to bring here about the conduct of Esau recounted later in Parshat Vayishlach?

[The source of Rashi is indeed from the midrash on the verse here³,

but Rashi's commentary, after all, its subject,

first and foremost,

is the plain meaning of the verse,

and it is not his way to cite except midrashim that are necessary for the plain meaning of Scripture⁴].

2.

Also one must understand:

At first glance, there is no explanation in Rashi's words regarding the reason for the difference between the aforementioned verses; Rashi only emphasizes what the difference is,

that Yaakov preceded males to females and Esav preceded females to males,

but he does not explain the content of these conducts,

whether for superiority or for inferiority.

Commentators on Rashi⁵

explain,

"Because Esav..

would precede his wives⁶

before children, for his wives were his main intention, only that the children came from him through the desire of his wives⁷

but Yaakov did not marry his wives except to establish the offspring of the twelve tribes, and his sons were the cause for him to marry a wife; therefore his sons come first, as they are the cause for his wives, and Esav's wives are the cause for his sons, etc.'".

And based on this, it is well that Rashi did not explain this matter in his commentary here,

because this difference between the conduct of Jacob and Esau was already explained in Rashi's commentary earlier: both regarding Esau's conduct in lust for women,

that "all 40 years Esau would take women from under their husbands and oppress them"<sup>8</sup>

(from which it is also understood regarding his conduct after his marriage)

; and regarding the opposite conduct of Jacob,

that "he did not take his wives except to produce offspring" — is already explained above,

that he did not take a wife until he was 84 years old when "his days were fulfilled" and he said "When will I establish<pg>142</pg>

the twelve tribes"<sup>9</sup>

(and until then he engaged in Torah<sup>10</sup>,

and in a manner that "he did not lie down at night"<sup>11</sup>),

and this was his intention when he said to Laban "Give me my wife etc."<sup>12</sup>,

that only "to beget offspring he said so"<sup>13</sup>.

But based on this it is not clear to the other side: what does Rashi innovate in his commentary here?

After all, the substantive difference between the two types of precedence he does not explain in his commentary here, but relies on what is understood from what he already explained earlier; and regarding the change in precedence itself, there is no need for Rashi's comment,

because it is something explicit in the verse itself

(that by Jacob it says "his children" before "his wives" and by Esau it says the opposite).

3.

One must still understand

(as the commentators have elaborated¹⁴)

: also by Jacob it is stated¹⁵

"And he took his two wives and his two maidservants and his eleven children",

behold it is explicit that Jacob also preceded his wives to his children,

and Rashi does not comment on this at all!

We already found above¹⁶

that when Yaakov said to Lavan "Send me away and I will go etc." he placed his wives before his children — "Give me my wives and my children"^*16

; and later by Moshe it is stated¹⁷

"And Moshe took his wife and his sons."

And although the commentators¹⁴

elaborated on the reasons for the differences between these verses and what is stated in this verse — nevertheless,

it is still not understood: after Rashi writes in a general manner that Yaakov "placed males before females",

i.e. that this is the conduct befitting a righteous man — how is it possible that Rashi remains silent in all these places and does not explain in what way they are different, being exceptions to the rule that Rashi stated that Yaakov "placed males before females"?

[And as discussed many times,

that this very thing that we find lengthy discussion among the commentators of Rashi,

this one resolves it this way and that one that way etc.,

compels us to say that there is a most simple reasoning that ab initio negates all the length of the discussion; for it is not reasonable to say that Rashi is ambiguous and relies that a five-year-old studying Scripture will understand the resolutions of the commentators — when among the commentators themselves there is discussion of this one building and that one contradicting].

4.

And it may be said,

that Rashi resolves all this in his precise wording "he mentioned males before females, and Esau mentioned females before males" — for at first glance it is not understood,

why did Rashi not use the language of the verse: "his sons..

his wives",

"his wives..

his sons"?

But his intention in this is to emphasize,

that this that Yaakov gave precedence to taking his sons is not because as his sons

(his seed)

he considered them more than his wives

— for indeed, on the contrary: the regular and appropriate order is — that a person gives precedence to his wife over his children,

both because his wife is their mother,

and comes before his sons

(and because of the honor of his wife<sup>18</sup>),

and<sup>19</sup>

—<pg>143</pg>

that if he precedes them before his wife,

this is the opposite of the guidance in the conduct of honoring a mother —

but because he preceded males to females²⁰,

for in the life

(and his occupation with)

of Yaakov the males are the main thing,

as understood simply.

And this is the reason that in all the verses

(also by Jacob)

that we find in them the precedence of the women to the children Rashi did not comment anything,

because there is no question in them,

since this is the appropriate conduct

(to give precedence to the mother over the children)

;

The question arises specifically in our verse "And he lifted his sons and his wives" — that he gave precedence to his sons over his wives,

contrary to the order of creation²¹

and honoring a mother

(and contrary to honoring his wife)?

[And of course there is no wonder

(from the aspect of honoring a mother)

about Jacob's sons themselves — how they went up on the camels before their mothers,

because it is simple that they could not refuse and oppose the will of their father Jacob²²,

rather the question is regarding Jacob's conduct,

how he instructed them to go up on the camels before their mothers,

is not this conduct contrary to the aforementioned?]²³.

And therefore Rashi explains "he preceded males to females" — and changes from the language of the verse "his sons..

his wives" — for the precedence of "males to females" compels and determines even when the discussion is

(as in this verse)

— the precedence of his sons over his wives

(who are their mothers)^*23.

5.

But Rashi is not satisfied with this alone — for in this conduct of Yaakov

(with whom the males were the main thing)

there is no novelty,

seemingly²⁴.

And therefore Rashi continues "And Esav preceded females to males, as it is said 'And Esav took his wives and his sons etc.'"; this change and emphasis in Rashi comes to emphasize the difference and the distinction between the conduct of Yaakov and the conduct of Esav

(also in this matter),

because "Esav preceded females to males".

That is to say:

When one learns about the conduct of Esav "And he took..

his wives and his sons and his daughters",

there would be room to say,

that the reason that Esav placed his wives before his sons and daughters is because outwardly<pg>144</pg>

he pretended to be a person who conducts himself with honor and politeness,

and as he was precise in honoring a father,

not to cause pain to his father<sup>*24</sup>,

and on the contrary,

he endeavored to cause him nachas ruach<sup>25</sup>

and honor etc.

And so in our matter,

that when he took his family with him,

he conducted himself with politeness and good manners and placed his wives before his sons and daughters.

And this is what Rashi innovates — that the reason that Esav took his wives first was

(not because of his conduct in a civilized manner and etiquette,

but rather)

because "he placed females before males"^*25.

[And based on this, a further precision in this Rashi will be sweetened,

that when he brings the verse regarding Esav, he is precise to write "And Esav took his wives and his sons etc."²⁶,

that the word "etc." refers to the continuation of the verse "and his daughters" — and nevertheless he did not cite it in the commentary.

And this is,

Since according to Rashi's commentary there was no precedence of his wives over his children except only because "he placed females before males",

behold from now there is no place to bring the conclusion of the verse "and his daughters",

for it is like a proof to contradict

(that

(Regarding his seed,)

also Esau placed his sons before his daughters²⁷)]

6.

The inner meaning of the Torah in Rashi's commentary:

The inner reason that Rashi brings regarding the conduct of Esav — "And Esav preceded females to males,"

in the verse that speaks about Yaakov — it can be said,

with an introduction:

Although according to the order of the Torah precedence is to males,

and in the language of the verse²⁸

"And he will rule over you" — nevertheless we find sometimes also precedence to females,

and as explained²⁹

before this regarding the first of the Patriarchs Avraham.

And on the contrary — one of the promises for the future is that then "a female will surround a man"³⁰

(and as explained about this³¹,

that then the superiority of women will be revealed).

And based on this, one can say that this is the hint in what Rashi brought here this matter of the precedence of females to males

(by Esau)

— because also by Jacob,

the order of holiness,

there exists such a conduct,

except that this is not in the service of Jacob in his own right,

but rather "the service of Esau" that is within Jacob.

And the matter: it is explained elsewhere³²

that also Esau,

since he is the son of Isaac,

was born with powers and ability to serve God³³

according to his unique way in accordance with his nature and the qualities of his soul³⁴,

and moreover<pg>145</pg>

From this he was the firstborn for service to the Holy One, blessed be He³⁵.

Rather, in his free choice "he went out" and separated³⁶

from the holiness of Yitzchak.

And this is the hint in Rashi's language

— "And these are the generations of Yitzchak,

Yaakov and Esav mentioned in the parshah": that Esav is one of "the generations of Yitzchak"

(relates to him as his son),

he is

(only)

Esav the "mentioned in the parshah",

namely Esav as his service and conduct was supposed to be according to Torah.

And since Esav separated from the holiness of Yitzchak,

behold also the service of Esav had to be done by Yaakov — in addition to the service of Yaakov on his own,

upon him to do also the service — in holiness — that was originally intended for Esav.

And likewise it can be said in our matter: that the conduct of Esau in the precedence of females to males is a poor and lowly conduct etc. — this is as Esau went out and separated from the holiness of Isaac; but this conduct also has an aspect of superiority as Esau

(and his service)

"Say in the portion"³⁸.

7.

The explanation of this:

Male and female — man and woman — also indicate two modes in the service of God,

the service of the intellect and the service of the heart.

And regarding the distinction in this between man and woman,

that the main aspect of the intellects

(and the study)

is in the man³⁹,

and the uniqueness of the woman

(in relation to the man)

is in the matter of feeling and the emotions.

And an advantage in each one:

The virtue of the intellect and the mind is — that a person sees and grasps with the eye of his intellect the truth of the thing as it is

(without admixture of "bribe" and inclinations of human nature)

; but not so a person's emotion and his attributes "grasp" the thing in accordance with the inclinations and desires of the person;

And on the other hand there is an advantage in the attributes over the intellect,

for the nature of the intellect is a matter of coldness,

without excitement,

and consequently in measure and limitation; but not so when a person has emotion about some matter,

then from the side of the warmth and the excitement in this, his connection and his involvement in the matter is with great intensity.

And likewise the distinction between the two orders — he preceded males to females,

or females to males:

The order of creation in general is in the manner of "he will rule over you"

(males before females)

— for the desired order is,

that the mind should rule over the heart⁴⁰,

that is,

the emotions need to be

(but it needs to be said)

guided by the intellect.

For if a person goes after the inclinations of his heart,

this matter is liable to harm not only the brain in the head but also the feeling in the heart itself; and only when the emotions are guided and directed by<pg>146</pg>

the intellect that is in the brain,

then the desire of the heart

(and consequently the conduct of the person)

is as it should be.

However, sometimes there is a situation where a person is compelled to serve his Master above the order of reason and intellect,

and this is when there are many concealments and coverings and obstacles to the service of God,

that then it is not sufficient to serve God in a measured and limited way according to reason and intellect,

but rather one needs a more elevated service,

which is above the limitation of the intellect.

And this is revealed specifically in the service of the heart

(and as is known⁴¹

that the essence of the soul is revealed specifically in the heart,

and not in the brain).

And this is the hint in Rashi that Yaakov "preceded males to females and Esav preceded females to males": the service of Yaakov,

"a wholesome man, dwelling in tents"⁴²,

is service according to order,

males before females,

first the service of the intellect and through this comes to the service of the heart

(and the heart influences the rest of the parts of the body)

;

But in the service of Esav — "a man of the field"⁴³,

service in a place of concealment and hiding⁴⁴

— the order is the opposite,

females before males,

for in this service it is impossible to suffice with service that is in measure and limitation according to order,

but rather there must be service that is above order,

that is above measure and limitation,

as above.

And it can be said that this is also one of the explanations in this that in the future "a female will surround a male" — because,

all⁴⁵

the revelations of the future depend on "our deeds and service throughout the time of the exile",

meaning that then all the elevations that were made through our service during the time of exile will be revealed.

And one of the main elevations in the service during the time of exile — and especially in this our last exile

(the exile of Esau,

Edom)

in which there are many concealments and hidden things etc. — is the service of self-sacrifice⁴⁶,

which is above reason and intellect,

which is revealed primarily in the heart.

8.

Based on this, we can also explain the inner reason that this matter — that "Esau placed females before males" — is brought in Rashi in connection with the story of Jacob's flight from Laban and his preparation to meet Esau:

Explained in many places⁴⁷

the reason that Yaakov sent angels to Esav

(as related in the adjacent portion,

Vayishlach⁴⁸),

because Yaakov was already prepared then for the state of the future,

that then there will be "And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esav"⁴⁹,

except that afterwards the angels informed Yaakov that Esav is still on a very low level,

and on the contrary,

"he is going to meet you and four hundred men with him"⁵⁰

— meaning that he is in a completely opposite state,

and consequently they still need to go through the exile of Esav

(Edom),

and the completion of the clarification will be in the days of Moshiach,

as Rashi explains in the portion of Vayishlach⁵¹.

And this is the hint in Rashi here,

regarding Yaakov's flight from Lavan: when Yaakov's exile by Lavan was completed

(that is,

Yaakov finished his work with him and the clarification of Lavan was completed)

and Yaakov's preparations began for his work with<pg>147</pg>

Esav,

behold, as Yaakov saw Esav — he saw him as he is in his root

("Say in the portion —"),

namely as he is after the clarification and refinement as in his root and ready for the redemption,

that then the precedence of "females to males" will be for superiority,

"A female shall surround a man",

so may it be for us with the coming of Mashiach our righteousness,

very soon.

(From sichos of Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei,

and Vayishlach 5742,

Shabbos Parshas Nasso 5744)