In this week's Torah portion, Vayishlach, Jacob recounts his years in Laban's household. Among other things he states, "I have ox(en) and donkey(s)." According to the Midrash, this is an allusion to the donkey of Moshiach, whom the Torah describes as "humble and riding upon a donkey."
A question is asked: Why did Jacob choose to allude to the Final Redemption in precisely this way?
The use of a donkey enables a person to travel more easily, conveying his belongings to a higher or more distant location. In the spiritual sense, it symbolizes the conquest and transcendence over materiality. ("Chamor," the Hebrew word for donkey, is related to "chomer," physical substance). Through refinement of the physical world, the soul is able to attain higher spiritual levels than it could otherwise achieve.
The donkey Moshiach will ride is the same animal that Moses made use of, as it states, "And he mounted them [his family] upon a donkey." It is also the same donkey that was used by Abraham when he went to the binding of Isaac, as it states, "And he saddled his donkey."
Abraham and his servants walked by foot, employing the donkey only to carry their belongings: the pieces of wood and the knife. Neither did Moses ride upon the donkey himself, but only mounted his wife and son on the animal's back. Moshiach, by contrast, will actually ride the donkey.
In the times of Abraham, before the Torah was given at Mt. Sinai, the physical world was not yet sanctified. When the Patriarchs performed mitzvot with physical objects, the physical objects remained unchanged. Materiality did not yet have the power to spiritually elevate. Abraham thus utilized the donkey only for carrying, as the holiness in the objects was limited to the actual time he used them for sanctified purposes.
In Moses' time, the ability to transform materiality into spirituality (through the performance of mitzvot) was granted. The lowest levels of human existence could thus be elevated. This partial conquest of the physical world is symbolized by Moses' mounting his wife and son upon the donkey.
It is only in the era of Moshiach that the superiority of the body over the soul will be fully revealed. At that time, even the highest levels of the soul will be elevated through the refinement of physicality. For this reason, Moshiach will actually ride upon the donkey.
Jacob's declaration thus alludes to his successful refinement of the physical plane of reality during his sojourn with Laban. Indeed, it indicated his readiness for the next step up - the elevation of the soul that follows such refinement.
Reprinted from the Parashat Vayishlach 5762/2001 edition of L’Chaim, a weekly publication of the Lubavitch Youth Organization in Brooklyn, NY. Adapted from Volume 1 of Likutei Sichot
I Have Sojourned ("Garti") with Laban (Gen. 32:5)
Comments Rashi, "The letters of 'garti' are the same as 'taryag' [613, the number of the Torah's commandments]. Jacob declared, 'With the wicked Laban I sojourned, but the 613 commandments I observed.'" With the word "garti" Jacob also implied that throughout his experiences with Laban he viewed himself as a ger (stranger), never even once considering himself "at home." Laban is symbolic of worldly affairs. When a Jew feels that he is only a "stranger" in this world, whereas his true "home" is in matters of Torah, the physical realm does contradict or oppose his spirituality. (Likutei Sichot)
Reprinted from the Parashat Vayishlach 5762/2001 edition of L’Chaim
