We see that Yaakov Avinu after being in the home of Lavan wasn’t the same Yaakov Avinu who arrived there. Previously, Yaakov had been afraid of Esav. But now, it appears that he had no fear at all. The evil side had lost its grip. The klipah had been quashed. What changed?
What changed was that Yaakov was in the home of Lavan—and precisely there—in an environment filled with dishonesty and deceit—he remained true to who he was. While everyone around him behaved with dishonesty, Yaakov remained honest. This is an incredible level. It is one thing to remain ehrlich when we’re at home, in our own environment, but it’s another level altogether to keep one’s integrity in an atmosphere steeped in dishonesty.
The Tosher Rebbe zt”l, in his Sefer Avodas Avodah, explains that this is why Yaakov Avinu first needed to remain in the academy of Shem v’Ever for fourteen years to toil in Torah—because in order to prevail over the forces of tumah in the house of Lavan, he needed to fortify himself with holiness and loftiness in order to withstand it.
