Eisav was a man who knew how to hunt, a man of the field. And Yaakov was an innocent man, dwelling in tents (Bereishis 25:27).
We all know about the vast difference between Yaakov and Eisav. No two brothers could be farther apart. But they weren’t always like that. When the Torah describes the point when each went off on his own way, it says that Eisav became a איש שדה, “a man of the field” and Yaakov was a איש תם יושב אהלים, “an innocent man, dwelling in tents.” Rashi explains that “a man of the field” means an idle person, and “dwelling in tents” refers to the tents of Torah study.
Is idleness really the worst thing that could be said about Eisav?! Why didn’t the Torah mention how immensely wicked he was? And regarding Yaakov, is the fact that he sat and learned all that can be said about him? There are plenty of people who sit and learn, but are not outstanding tzaddikim.
The answer is in their differing approaches to time management. This marked the enormous difference between them.
Eisav was idle. He loved to be free from responsibilities. He ran away from all effort and labor. And this is the root of all evil. A person by nature is born wild, and is liable to do all sorts of wrong things. He has a yetzer hara from day one. He is like a field, which without constant care and cultivation will just sprout weeds and thistles. If a person has too much time on his hands, if he doesn’t work on himself with fiery inspiration, he is bound to end up in a bad place.
But Yaakov placed himself solidly in the tents of Torah learning, where he steadily developed himself with long, hard work. This is how he reached the peak of kedushah.
This is true not only regarding a person’s general approach to life but also regarding specific segments of the day. Let’s say someone comes home in the evening and sees it as his daily window of opportunity to take it easy and not be bothered, to just enjoy himself. During these hours, he is a “man of the field,” an idle person, and is susceptible to all sorts of spiritual hazards.
It is different with someone who has a shiur that he goes to at night, or a chavrusa, thanks to which all the hours of his day are fully utilized for positive activities, until he goes to sleep. And even when he eats, even when he goes to sleep, it’s not because he got bored of just sitting around idly, but rather because this is the time to eat and this is the time to go to sleep. Whenever he doesn’t have to take care of his business, he devotes himself to Torah and tefilah. Such a person follows the ways of Yaakov Avinu.
