Parshas Vayishlach - The Wholesome Man

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~

Parshas Vayishlach

The Wholesome Man

By: Daniel Listhaus

וַיָּבֹא יַעֲקֹב שָׁלֵם עִיר שְׁכֶם אֲשֶׁר בְּאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן בְּבֹאוֹ מִפַּדַּן אֲרָם וַיִּחַן אֶת פְּנֵי הָעִיר

“And Yaakov came intact to the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan, upon his coming from Paddan-aram, and he encamped before the city.”

-Vayishlach 33:18

            After fighting with the malach (angel) of Eisav and meeting up with Eisav himself after so many years, the Torah testifies that Yaakov did not merely survive his life's circumstances, but rather emerged complete and intact. Rashi^[1] explains that Yaakov came out complete in every facet a man has to deal with: his body, his money, and his relationship with Hashem.^[2] Indeed, despite the fact that Yaakov was injured while fighting with the malach of Eisav, that he had given a tremendous amount of money to Eisav as a gift in order to appease him, and that he had spent so many years in the house of Lavan, he regained his full strength, made back all his money, and maintained the same relationship with Hashem.

            When we think about the word shaleim, which the Torah is using to refer to Yaakov's completeness, we must think not only about the outcome but about what efforts were put in to yield or merit such a result. It must be that for Yaakov to have come out of such dramatic experiences unharmed, he must have exhibited a personal shelaimos within himself as a complete person in these three areas – the relationship he had with others, represented by his body, the perspective he had about money, reflected as his personal wealth, as well as his relationship with Hashem, expressed in his unwavering growth and belief in Hashem.

            Let us start with Yaakov's shelaimos b'gufo (complete with his body). When Yaakov heard that Eisav was coming with four-hundred men, the Torah^[3] tells, “And Yaakov became very frightened, and it distressed him.” Rashi^[4] explains that the Torah uses a double expression of Yaakov's fear in order to convey a dual message. Yaakov become frightened – for his own life lest he be killed; and it also distressed him that he may come to kill others. The Sifsei Chachomim^[5] is bothered why Yaakov would worry about killing others. After all, Eisav and his men were coming to kill him, if anything it would be a mitzva to protect himself and kill those who were trying to kill him. So, what was Yaakov distressed about?

            The Sifsei Chachomim offers two answers. The first answer is that Yaakov was pained by the thought that he would have to kill Eisav while Yitzchak was still alive. Yitzchak loved Eisav tremendously and would be extremely upset to hear if he was killed in a battle with his brother. Yaakov was very sensitive to this when considering the possibility that he might be faced with the challenge of having to kill Eisav. The Sifsei Chachomim offers an even more extraordinary second answer that really Yaakov was not worried at all about needing to kill Eisav because after all, if someone is coming to kill, they become chayav meesah (worthy of the death sentence) themselves with a din (law) of rodeif (someone chasing to kill) and there would therefore be a mitzva to kill him first. Yaakov was worried, however, that he might end up killing one of Eisav's men. He understood that the potential war on him and his family was one that was being directed by Eisav alone. Eisav’s men were merely doing his bidding and following orders. Furthermore, they themselves would not have been there to kill Yaakov and his family because that would be a job that Eisav would want reserved for himself as personal revenge and therefore Yaakov really did not have a fight to pick with them unless deemed absolutely necessary, much preferring to only minorly injure them enough for them to stop. Indeed, such a thought process is extraordinary. Only moments before meeting with Eisav's army, Yaakov was worrying about the fact that may accidentally come to kill one of Eisav's warriors when he would only want to hurt one of them. Such a level of care and sensitivity for the well being of others even at a time of war is something that we could only dream of achieving, yet it was a feeling that was real and genuine to Yaakov. This accomplishment of care for the well-being of others and to not hurt them any more than necessary was a demonstration of the shelaimos that Yaakov had achieved in this area. It was this shelaimos which merited his complete refuah (healing) from the fight with the malach.^[6]

            Immediately prior to meeting face to face with Eisav, Yaakov carried out one of his strategic moves to try to appease his brother with enormous gifts. Despite the amount that he gave away, he left intact without a dent in his bank account. Clearly there was a real shelaimos that Yaakov exhibited that had showed his genuine care for everything that Hashem had given him, despite how insignificant it may be. Indeed, right before the encounter with the malach of Eisav, the Torah testifies to exactly this trait of Yaakov. The passukim (verses)^[7] describe that while preparing for battle, Yaakov got up in the middle of the night and crossed the Yabok river with his wives and eleven sons^[8] along with everything else he owned. Then, the Torah continues that Yaakov was alone and fought with the malach of Eisav. What happened that Yaakov was left alone? Had he not already crossed the river with his family? Rashi^[9] explains that Yaakov had forgotten some small jars on the other side of the Yabbok so he went back for them.

            When we think about the pennies people throw into fountains or the things that we are quick to leave behind and not care to go back for, it is hard for us to imagine the tremendous amount of care that Yaakov displayed with his property. Keep in mind that Yaakov was not a poor man who had to count pennies, nor did he have nothing better to do than to separate himself and go back for some worthless jars. On the contrary, Yaakov was an incredibly wealthy individual at this point and was under the impression that he was on the verge of going to war. Yet, he went back to save his property, not because he was a cheap Jew, but rather because he had a deep appreciation for everything that Hashem gave him. Even a worthless jar was viewed as incredibly valuable with the perspective that it was handpicked and given to him from Hashem. Certainly, Yaakov had also achieved a shelaimos in respect for property which expressed itself in this way.^[10]

            Yaakov's relationship with Hashem is something which shows itself clearly throughout this part of the parsha as well. After all, the parsha opens with Yaakov sending messenger-angels to Eisav to tell him, “...I have sojourned with Lavan and have lingered until now...”^[11]. Rashi^[12] clarifies that Yaakov was conveying the following message to his brother: “I sojourned with Lavan, the rasha (evil one), yet I kept the six hundred and thirteen mitzvos and did not learn from his evil actions.” Additionally, when it came time to fight Eisav, Yaakov put his complete faith in Hashem relying on the koach ha'tefillah (power of davening). Being able to survive the house of Lavan and emerge as a Tzadik as well as put full faith in Hashem are just some of the ways that Yaakov's shelaimos in his relationship with Hashem expressed itself.

            Perhaps this is what the Torah means when it says that “Yaakov arrived shaleim (intact)”. Not simply that he came intact with a healed body, wealth, and all his learning, but rather that these things replenished themselves automatically from Hashem because Yaakov had achieved real shelaimos in perfecting his perspective in these three areas.

           

            May Hashem help us become shaleim within ourselves and allow that shelainos to be a zechus to protect our lives, money, and relationship with Hashem.

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[1]    Beraishis 33:18

[2]    See also Kli Yakar 33:18 who writes that this these three things are hinted to as an acronym in the word “Shaleim” itself.

[3]    Beraishis 32:8

[4]    Ibid.

[5]    Ibid.

[6]    Note: I am not arguing that it was this specific event which acted as a zechus, rather just showing from here that Yaakov had (already) reached this area of shelaimos. This is just an example of where it shined through.

[7]    Beraishis 32:23-25

[8]    Binyamin was not yet born at the time

[9]    Beraishis 32:25

[10]  This is something that could also be seen in the conversation between Yaakov and Eisav. Eisav's perspective is “yeis lee rav” - “I have plenty; while the perspective of Yaakov is, “yeis lee kol” - “I have everything”. Eisav's attitude follows the passuk in Koheles (5:9) warning that one who loves money is not satisfied with money; while Yaakov's perspective models that which we learn in Pirkei Avos (4:1) - “Who is rich? One who is happy with what he has.”

[11]  Beraishis 32:5

[12]  Ibid. (in his second answer)