Fool the Yetzer Hara and Do a Good Job on Him!
Shimon and Levi did a beautiful trick on the city of Shechem. A masterpiece of deceit. Two young boys should wipe out an entire city, and they made good fools out of them. They killed the king “Chamor” and his prince “Shechem”, and came out ahead with plenty of booty. You even get rich on the deal! They bring their sister Dina safely & from now on she’s protected from the wicked Canaanim because she’s married to Shimon.
There is no doubt that this Gevaldige story is a Siman on how the Shevotim dealt with their Yetzer Hara! They took after their father Yaakov, upon whom Eisav said: וַיַעְקְב נִי זֶה פַעֲמַיִם (Bereishis 27:36) – He did a sneaky job on me twice! Here is the Tzaddik Ish Tam tricking Eisav twice! For sure, Eisav is also a Remez for the Yetzer Hara, and Yaakov is always tricking Eisav, i.e., his Yetzer Hara. הֱוֵי עָרוּם בְּיִרְאָה (Berachos 17a) – Be shrewd and cunning in Yiras Shamayim!
וְהַנָחָש הָיָה עָרוּם (Bereishis 3:1) – The “snake” was “cunning”. We have to give the Nachash (snake) (which symbolizes the Yetzer Hara) his own treatment. For good reason Yaakov and his sons were physically super strong; it was a Mashal for: אֵיזֶהוּ גִּבּוֹר, הַכּוֹבֵש אֶת יִצְרוֹ – Who is truly strong? The person who overcomes his own desires.
