Vayishlach: Standing Firm Against the Yetzer Hara’s Doubt and Avak Lashon Hara

Transcript

This Torah class is brought to you by TorahAnytime.com. Shalom Aleichem and Bruchim Habaim. Today we discuss what we read in Parshas Vayishlach, the milchama, the war, combat, Yaakov with Saro shel Esav. The pasuk, Bereishis lamed beis, chaf hei, Vayeiavek ish imo ad alos hashachar. Combat, a war till alos hashachar, and we, as Chazal tell us, this ish was Saro shel Esav. I'd like to talk with the oilam today about a very important topic, a very yesoidisdike part of life, and that is the struggle against Esav, Saro shel Esav, the yetzer hara. It is part of everyone's life, every day and every moment. We struggle. Vayeiavek ish imo ad alos hashachar. The pasuk talks about a physical war. There was actual, there was a war, a fight, a struggle, a wrestle. But it's not only a physical, but it's also a ruchni, it's a gashmi, it's a milchama. What is the milchama, and what is the lesson that we should take from Yaakov Avinu on how Yaakov Avinu approached this struggle? If you look at the pasuk, the word of the struggle is vaye'avek. There's many different leshonos for a milchama. The Torah chose the word vaye'avek, ish imo, to connotate this struggle that Yaakov Avinu has with Sarei Shel Eisav. What is vaye'avek? Says Rashi, two pshatim. The first pshat is it's a lashon of avak, earth. That there was, when a person struggles and he's on the earth, the earth rises, lashon avak. And the second pshat, lashon vayiskasher, that it's a language of kesher, knotted. When two people are wrestling, they knot each other. They're in a knot. They're in a hold, each one on the other. So l'choira, we need to ask, why is it so important to translate the vaye'avek? Is it lashon avak? Is it lashon vayiskasher? True, it's very important to learn pshatova, the translation of words. But is it only that? Is it merely the translation of the words, Vayavok, or there's a deeper meaning, there's a deeper symbol in the Vayavok ish imoi. The Chasam Sofer learns that there's a pshat amok, a tiefa pshat in the two leshonos of Rashi. And what is Vayavok? The wrestle, the duel between Yaakov Avinu and Esav HaRasha. Says Chasam Sofer, sometimes Esav, his mahalach, Esav's war against Klal Yisrael is avak, to make us earth, to put us into earth, to bury us, to burn us, to make us dust. And then there's a time where Esav comes to us, and the milchama is vayiskasher. He tries to connect with us. There's a very famous Beis Halevi, Hatzileini na miyad achi, miyad Esav. Yaakov Avinu fears Esav on two faces of Esav. Sometimes the face of Esav is Esav, that he's an...

Adversary, and sometimes it's Esav, that he's not an adversary, but he's achi, friendly, and that's how he gets us. Zogt Sam Sofer, the same raya and the same concept of this Beis Halevi, Chasam Sofer says in the Vayaavek, sometimes it's avak, it's a dangerous adversary to kill us, and sometimes it's a dangerous adversary, vayiskasher, to connect with us. This is, of course, when you learn the duel, when you learn the fight of Esav with Yaakov on a physical. But we also know, and we also understand from Chazal that this is also a ruchniyusdike battle. This is also the milchama against Esav b'ruchniyus. So in the ruchniyus, what are the two leshonos? What are the leshonos of Vayaavek and Vayiskasher? Efsher k'men zogen, rabboisai, maybe we could understand the two leshonos, the two methods, the two approaches of Esav, of a Vayaavek and Vayiskasher, even when the milchama is ruchni. The Ramban tells us clearly that the milchama was not just a milchama, a battle between Yaakov at that juncture, at that time, but it's actually l'doros. This is the model role of what the milchamah with Esav is going to be throughout the doros, throughout the generations. Ramban says, ma'aseh avos siman l'banim. And this milchamah, this battle that Yaakov has with Esav, is no different, that it's going to be a siman l'banim. Many mefarshim, many explain that that's actually what it means, Vayiga b'kaf yerech Yaakov. It's based on a Zohar, based on the Rishonim. Kaf yerech means where the thigh is, and that means where the children, b'banav yotzei yereicho, that the children of Yaakov will have to be part of this battle, and Esav sees that he can't get Yaakov, then he goes after kaf yereicho, the children, because the milchamah continues with the children. It doesn't end with the battle with Yaakov, and possibly that's the deeper meaning of b'kaf yerech Yaakov, that it's ma'aseh avos siman l'banim, that the war continues. It's not a war of the past, but a war that continues throughout the doros. The Bnei Yaakov will always have to battle this war. Beis Halevi explains that's what it means, ad alos ha-shachar. Vaye'avek ish imo ad alos ha-shachar is a reference to Moshiach. When Moshiach comes, the end of days, when the star, when the shachar arises, we know in the Haggadah we find that they spoke ad alos ha-shachar, the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim, and there too mefarshim explain it means there's a remez. For Yemos HaMashiach, alois hashachar, because in Galus it's dark, and the shachar is the beginning of light, the rise of the light after the Galus. So this is the milchamah vayavek ish imoi, that Yaakov has, that will be and will continue ad alois hashachar. Now it's interesting, Yaakov Avinu has two names: Yaakov and Yisrael. Here he gets the name Yisrael. Later on, the Rabbeinu Shalom tells him, Lo yikarei od shimcha Yaakov ki im Yisrael. Your name will be Yisrael; it won't be Yaakov. We find by Avram, the Rabbeinu Shalom says the same thing: you won't be called Avram, but you'll be called Avram. Sarai will be called Sarah. Yet there's a very big difference. Over there, there was a complete name change, to the point that you can't even say over, you can't even call Avraham Avram. When the Rabbeinu Shalom tells him, Lo yikarei od shimcha, that means it's no more your name, and your new name is Avraham, your new name.

Yet here we find, Vayikra oid Shimcha, and yet the old name Yaakov remains with him, Yaakov and Yisrael. The Ramban discusses, the Ramban tries to understand why in the pasuk, the Vayikra over there means no more to be called Avram, while here it means that plus Yaakov you will be called Yisrael. But the question is, why taka? Why does Yaakov have two names? If it's Ki sarisa im Elokim va'anashim vatuchal, so that should be his new name, Yisrael. Why does he not drop the old name? Why does the Ribono Shel Olam, of giving him a new name, when the Ribono Shel Olam gave him a new name, that should be his new name? I believe the taich, because Yaakov and Yisrael, we all know, is two different bechinos. And the pashut pshat, the two bechinos is Yaakov is the lower bechinah, Yisrael is the higher bechinah. This is already in all the mefarshim. This is nothing that I'm mechadesh; it's an alti yesod. Yaakov is galus, and Yisrael is geulah. Yaakov is yeridah, Yisrael is aliyah. But could be there's another taich in the two names, and why Yaakov Avinu keeps both names. Yaakov is the struggle. Yaakov, his name Yaakov, he got it because he was ma'akev, akev Esav, which means he's always on the heel of Esav, he's on the fight, he's on the go. He's in constant, in constant duel between him and Esav. He's b'akev Esav. The name Yaakov represents the struggle with Esav. The name Yisrael is, as the pasuk tells us, Ki sarisa im Elokim va'anashim vatuchal, somewhat of the hatzlacha, somewhat of the winning, so to speak, of the battle. It's the next stage after the milchama, Ki sarisa im Elokim va'anashim vatuchal. Yet I'd like to point out that it never says that his name Vatuchal. That's not the name. Yaakov Avinu is not called Vatuchal. He should have been called Vatuchal, that he was matzliach. And I always understood because the ikar was not the nitzachon, the winning of the battle, but Vatuchal is more about the battle than it is about the winning. Vatuchal, even the word Vatuchal doesn't mean to be menatzeach. It doesn't mean to overpower, but means Vatuchal, you were able. You're able to keep up in this battle. A lot of times you fight the yetzer hara, you lose by giving up. That itself is another form of—sometimes he overpowers you, but sometimes you give up. The koach of Yaakov. In the milchama against the yetzer hara is not even the nitzachon, but it's the vatuchal. It's the fact that he's able to withstand and stay in the milchama, not to be misya'esh, and therefore the ikar is the serisa and not the vatuchal. It's not about the fact that he was matzliach. It's about the struggle and the ability to constantly keep up in the struggle, to constantly stand in the struggle. So it's about the struggle and not about winning the yetzer hara. I think it's a tremendous yesod. The name Yaakov is the struggle. The name Yisrael is the vatuchal of the struggle, and it's not about the nitzachon. His name is not vatuchal. It should have been vatuchal. It's that he won the battle. And the answer is it's not about winning. It's the vatuchal that he was able, and the ability is the serisa, because the ikar is the serisa to fight. The ikar in the battles of life is

To confront, and not to move back or move away from it. The name Yaakov, rabosai, I think possibly also means struggle. Vaya'avek, we have over here struggle. Vaya'avek is spelled vav, yud, aleph, beis, kuf. Vav, yud, aleph, beis, kuf is the same osiyos as Yaakov. The only thing is, if you take out the aleph and put in an ayin, you have all the osiyos of Yaakov. And there is an interesting Rabbeinu Bechaye, it's also in the Kli Yakar. Vaya'avek is actually vayechavek, which is the second pshat of Rashi, vayiskasher, that they intertwined, because says the Rabbeinu Bechaye, as well as the Kli Yakar, yesod osiyos aleph, ches, ayin, and hei are mischalfos; they're interchangeable. Sometimes if there's an aleph, it could be a ches. It could be read as if it would say ches. It could be as if it would say ayin. If it's as if it would say hei, aleph, ches, ayin, hei are interchangeable. So it's Rabbeinu Bechaye fanart. It's right here. It's in the Kli Yakar. Vaya'avek, the aleph could be an ayin, and Yaakov means struggle. It means vaya'avek, das is Yaakov Avinu, a kämpft. He fights the yetzer hara. Did he know, Yaakov Avinu, what he was up against? Did he know this was שרו של עשו? Pasuk says, Vaye'avek ish imo. Ish is a person, all right? Ish may be a strong person, okay? But at gevustas Yisarei shel Esav. You look at the Medrash, Bereishis Rabbah, perek ayin zayin, os beis, clear that he saw right away, sinit gemen stam a mentsh. He wasn't fighting a regular person. He even thought in the beginning he was fighting a magician. Yeah, as they state in the Medrash, the Medrash says that he meets Esav, saro shel Esav, right? He meets the saro shel Esav. He thinks it's an ish, and the person tells him, Could you take my sheep across this river? So Yaakov Avinu, of course, a baal chesed, he's a nice person, and of course he did it. When he finishes, he comes back, he sees there's more sheep, and he tells him, Could you take these sheep? And okay, he takes those sheep also, and then more sheep, and then the next time he comes back, there's camels and animal. So Yaakov Avinu looks at him and says, Are you a koisim? You must be a magician. And then there's more of the milchama, the way the milchama worked, and he starts to realize, Yaakov Avinu, as is clear in the Medrash, he's not fighting human. He's fighting a koach. And yet he doesn't back off from this milchama. Yet he keeps on fighting. He goes into it and he stays into it, probably knowing it's saro shel Esav. Did he think he was going to win? Someone once told me from the Lelover Rebbe, this deher, he probably didn't think he was going to win. You can't fight a malach. Yet you see that he stood up to the challenge and he fought. Al das is Yaakov. This is the ben Torah, and this is the Yid. Our lives are meant to overcome challenge. As a Yid and as a ben Torah, we know challenges are in front of us, and we don't back away. We stand up to it, up to the challenge to be a Yid. The Zohar Kadosh—there's a very famous Zohar Kadosh that's quoted quite often, usually by those that collect money for yeshivas, by the dinners of a mosad. You'll hear a very interesting Zohar: Vayar ki lo yuchal loi. The pasuk says that Sari Shel Esav realizes that he cannot overcome Yaakov Avinu. Vayiga bkaf yerech Yaakov, the thigh. Says the Zohar, btamchin deorayta.

Which means the support, the leg, the thigh, the foot supports the body. So he hit him in the support, b'tamchin d'oraisa. In the yeshivas, those that collect money will say that means chizukas haTorah, those that support the yeshivas. He knew he couldn't hit in the beis medrash, so he hits in the money that comes to support the beis medrash. Chofetz Chaim takanah says this, famous shmues from the Chofetz Chaim. Chofetz Chaim al haTorah brings it. Reb Aharon in the Mishnas Reb Aharon explains the zohar this way. I've always felt that there's more in this zohar. It's not only about the money that's machzik, but it's everything that's machzik the ben Torah and the yid. You know, a person in this world, the Ribono Shel Olam created him with a support system. The world around him was meant to support him in his avodas Hashem. Reu, the Ribono Shel Olam tells Adam, I created a whole world around you l'shamshcha, to help you and support you, and to back you in your needs, in your avodas Hashem. Possibly Esav hits Yaakov and the bnei Yaakov in that tamchin d'oraisa also, that life and his situation around him, which was meant to support him and help him, it now becomes an adversary. And it becomes part of his struggle. Always felt that the tamchin d'oraisa, of course, refers to the hachzakah, the money, but it has a broader interpretation. It means everything, everything in his world around him, instead of supporting him, will be a hindrance to him. And this year I was zoche to find taka this pshat in the sefer of the Alter from Navardik, Madregas HaAdam, Darkei Bitachon. I see he learns that the taich of tamchin d'oraisa means not only money, but everything around the person, his physical, his emotional state around him becomes now an adversary against him. And this is the noga b'kaf yerech Yaakov, struggles of life. We're learning a big yesod, rabosai. You know, the people wonder, I need to do avodas Hashem. I need to learn. Why is everything so difficult? Everything a struggle, everything that could go wrong goes wrong sometimes. And the answer is, ma'avik. This is the struggle of Yaakov with saro shel Esav, and it's ad alos hashachar. It's in galus till we complete the galus, Moshiach comes, and then maybe we'll have even a better understanding of why the struggles. And why all the nisyonos? I'd like to add depth to this yesod. Vaye'avek is, as we say, we see from Rashi, the Chazal, is shtoib; it's earth. So the Medrash says that the avak was oleh ad kisei hakavod. You know, when people struggle and it's on—it's not a paved ground—the earth starts to rise, says the Medrash. It rose ad, mamash, to the kisei hakavod. What does that mean? Literally rose to the kisei hakavod? Went through all the shivrei rakia, all the way to the kisei hakavod? You look at the Baal HaTurim. Baal HaTurim says, Vaye'avek ish imo is a gematria kisei hakavod. Vaye'avek ish imo, gematria kisei hakavod. I understand the Baal HaTurim is learning that it's part of the vaye'avek was ad kisei hakavod. It wasn't just a detail. Das allein, this itself was the vaye'avek ish imo ad kisei hakavod. It's the gematria of the vaye'avek ish imo. What's the pshat? What does it mean? The Beis Halevi explains that it is a yesod.

It's meant to bring out that the vaya'avek was ad kisei hakavod. It was nogea to emunah, the Ribono Shel Olam. Means it was not just a physical, but it was ad kisei hakavod. It was a ruchni emunah, a fight in emunas Hashem. It's a chiddush a little bit that kisei hakavod is the expression used to connotate emunah. Maybe I always thought there's a little remez here. Ad kisei hakavod is till the person reaches the kisei hakavod, till he stands in front of the Eibishter, in front of his Creator, which means that it's even there, b'shaas misah, Chazal tell us that even when a person is leaving this world, it's a horah could be there bothering him. Lepesach chatas roveitz, it mamash, it goes till the mamash. So maybe that's what it means, ad kisei hakavod, that the milchamah, the sar shel Eisav is till the man reaches ad kisei hakavod. Efshar. But I saw a meidikah haflah. The haflah says the remez to kisei hakavod here is because Amalek. Amalek, we know, is ki yad al kes Kah, milchamah laShem baAmalek, that ein haKisei shalem ad sheyimach shemo shel Amalek. The war, Eisav vezar'a Amalek, is ad kisei hakavod, because the kisei is not shalem ad sheyimach shemo shel Amalek. So Amalek is the milchama that's merumas here in the Sarei Shel Eisav, in the duel, in the battle with the Sarei Shel Eisav. What's the milchama? What is the milchama with Amalek? I understand it's not Purim yet. We're holding Chanukah. But you see now that we need to discuss what is Amalek, the battle here with Yaakov and Esav, and it's ad kisei hakavod v's likta. Amalek makes sfeikos, that we know. Amalek makes question, safek, Amalek. It's famous in the sefarim. Now, how does he make this safek? How does Amalek take something which is clear, which is obvious and is good, and start throwing sfeikos on it? Let's discuss this. Rashi just tells us it's Sarei shel Amalek, Sarei shel Eisav, but he doesn't tell us which sarei shel Eisav, what his name is. The Kli Yakar says it's Samael. Now, it's interesting, the Ben Ish Chai says you're not supposed to say Samael. You're not supposed to say his name out. Chassidim makpid, they say Samach Mem, מסתמא they have the same ikar, and lita they weren't so makpid on it. Maybe the mekor is in this Rashi. Rashi doesn't speak out his name. Rashi just tells us it's Sarei shel Eisav. But the Kli Yakar tells us it's Samael, and the reason why I speak it out is because the Kli Yakar says Samael is not just his name. But it's also his yetzer hara, what his poison is, and that is mesame, mesames ha'einayim. He blinds, ivaron, blindness. Samael is mesame, and of course Kel, and therefore he blinds you to the Eibishter. He makes sfeikos. Possibly that's the pshat in Vaya'avek, or how do you want to blind? How could you blind someone's eyes? One of the methods of blinding, especially during a wrestle and a duel, is to take sand and throw it into his eyes. Avak. When there's sand, you can't see. If you see a sandstorm, you don't see two inches away. So maybe that's the remez of avak, because it's Samael mesames einayim through this avak. And this is the ivaron, the blindness that the yetzer hara gives a person, and because of that he has sfeikos, kematria Amalek is safek, like all the sefarim, especially those that deal with Purim, discuss this yetzer hara of Amalek. I want to—

Dwell into this midah ra. I want to dwell into this hashchasa of Amalek, Vaya'ovek, Samoel shemesames einayim through dirt, and how it's a, so to speak, a killer for Yaakov Avinu. It's part of the milchama against Yaakov. There's a mudik medrash. The medrash says, Vaya'ovek, hikahu b'avak lashon hara. It's a peledike medrash. He got Yaakov Avinu. He's not going to get him by saying, Don't learn. How did he hit him? He hit him b'avak lashon hara. Vaya'ovek, avak. What's the taich? Avak lashon hara is a poison on how to be mesames einayim, how to throw dirt on something. A person is a good person. He's a nice person. His hanhagos are good, and you, through your lashon hara, throw dirt on him. You cloudy his middos. You cloudy his hanhaga to say, Well, it's not the way. It's not what you think it is. And efshar that's why it's called avak lashon hara. Why is it called avak? Maybe, v'al mevarft avak. If you throw a little sand on something which is beautiful, it's machblata, makes something that it's not—you can't see its beauty. It's covered, covered with dirt, covered with earth. And this is— Tayach of a lashon hara. And Esav is this, and as we soon will see, this is really one of the deep rishus and raas of Amalek. We also know Amalek is a misloitzetz. Let's, let's zakeh, is haman, it's Amalek, because that's letzanus. Letzanus is to take something and throw in it a avak, to undermine it, and that's the ambatya retachas of Amalek. What is ambatya retachas? Everyone, they kept Klal Yisrael in awe. Klal Yisrael, ah, Am Hashem, a nation which is beautiful, a nation which was exalted. Ambatya retachas. Nu, they cool it off, mitanu. They took and they were mashpil it. This is the yesod of letzanus, and this is avak. Mevavshteib, benemta sheinim. You have a beautiful painting, you throw dirt on it. The painting is still there, but it's in it. It's in it as a shein. Chazal tell us that the ultimate baal lashon hara, who was the greatest baal lashon hara? Haman. Les diya de bisha ka Haman ha-Amaleki, deChazal in Megillah, yeshnoi am echad mefuzar umeforad bein ha'amim. In his sneaky way, he was able to throw dirt on Klal Yisrael and take a nation which was innocent. And throw doubt, safek, to throw dirt. This is what I believe is the connection between all the different nekudos: Amalek, sfeikos. What is safek? You throw dirt on something, it clouds. You throw dirt into water, it clouds the water, and you don't know, and you can't see. And litzanus, it's all the same nekudah. And this is how Esav gets Yaakov. Yaakov is ish tam yoshev ohalim. Yaakov is pure. Yaakov is Torah. Torah is rain. Lashon hara, machshmutzik. Lashon hara makes dirty something that's clean. Chazal tell us two mande'amarim. This, Vaya'avek ish. What was ish? Ba alav keganef. Esav looked, the saro shel Esav came to him looking like a ganef, like a thief. And the second mande'amar says, ba alav ketalmid chacham. It's yadua...

Rav Shimshon Shmuel brings it down already, that there's a pshat amuk in the two faces that the chachamim are arguing about how sarei Esav came. Keganef, you know he's a ganef. It's, you look at him and you see he's a lowlife. Sometimes they come that way. Sometimes the yetzer hara is clearly lowlife. But then sometimes it's nidmeh lo k'talmid chacham. He polishes, the yetzer hara polishes, a sifrim unsi Torahdik. It's talmid chacham. And I also, if I may humbly say, humbly, there's two types of lashon hara. The avak lashon hara, amalis keganef. It's low, it's thief, it's street. And sometimes it's talmid chacham. It comes with a quote-unquote a das Torah. Sometimes it comes for the sake of Yiddishkeit and Torah, and you have to be careful, because sometimes it looks nidmeh k'talmid chacham, but really what is it? It's a yetzer hara from lashon hara, yetzer hara from lashon hara. And this is where Esav is able to get Yaakov. He's not going to come to Yaakov and tell him not to learn, but he'll come to Yaakov, un machen az ein lernen zol zayn blatedik. He'll dirty it with lashon hara. And this is ad alois hashachar. Chofetz Chaim speaks about how geulah is talui on shmiras halashon. Maybe it's merumaz here also, ad alois hashachar. It's taka bizoiche that we understand the yetzer hara. You know, part of the milchamah is to understand the vaye'ovek ish imo. What is the opponent? And then we need to understand how to stand up to the opponent. And we are bekoach, ki sarisa im Elokim va'anashim. I always ta'ina, sarisa is a lashon sar. It's a lashon of royalty. How do you stand up to Esav and Esav's hashchasa? Sar. Stand above it. Vatuchal. You will stand. You will stay standing. Sar, above, with royalty, a ben Torah, mamlechei rabbanan. Who are the kings? Who are the sarim? Sar, talmidei chachamim. And because we are sarisa im Elokim va'anashim, we over, we exalt, we stand above. We don't go low. We don't fall to the yetzer hara. Mishtethechah, Yiddish expression, mishtethechah. And that's the koach vatuchal. You will remain by standing strong in the face of all the adversary and all the nisyonos. Mishteit, mishteit stark. You stand strong, and the Ribono Shel Olam has given us mais avos siman l'banim in this nekudah, ki sarisa im Elokim va'anashim va'tuchal. You've just experienced another Torah class brought to you by TorahAnytime.com.