The Torah tells us (32:25), עלות עד עמו איש ויאבק השחר, "A man battled with Yaakov until the morning." Who was this person? Rashi tells us that this man was עשו של שרו, Eisav's malach, the yetzer hara. It wasn’t a person but the yetzer hara battling with Yaakov Avinu. The wrestle is called ויאבק, which can also mean dust (see Rashi), and it alludes to the dust they raised by their wrestling. ויאבק is gematriya הכבוד כסא, Hashem's holy throne, as the Baal HaTurim points out because the dust of this battle rose up to Hashem's throne.
Yaakov's struggle with the yetzer hara went up to Hashem's throne, because Hashem has immense pleasure from these battles.
A king's crown is made from gold, diamonds, and precious gems, but there are also areas on the crown where there is nothing at all. Those empty spaces add beauty to the crown. The crown wouldn’t be so beautiful if the gems covered each inch of it without any separations. The empty spots hint at the tests we endure. They seem empty, insignificant, and undesirable, but these tests give our avodas Hashem its beauty and splendor.
Overcoming Setbacks
A bachur who had gone off the derech was on his path of return. Once, he said to the yungerman helping him in his teshuvah: "I had difficult tests on Shavuos. The yetzer hara told me to go to the pubs I hung out in when I wasn't religious. Baruch Hashem, I didn’t listen. Instead, I stayed home and read a novel. I'm happy about that. But when I compare myself to other young men my age, I feel so far behind. I’m sure others had an inspirational Shavuos, studying Torah all night long, and then they davened Shacharis with hislahavus. After Shacharis, they danced with joy. But all I did was read a novel. How do I compare with them?"
This is indeed a good question. How would we answer this bachur? Certainly, the young men who spent hours serving Hashem in beis medresh had a better Shavous.
The wise yungerman replied: "In the Beis HaMikdash, the levi'im sang inspirational music while the kohanim put fats and blood on the mizbeiach. Who brought greater pleasure for Hashem, the levi'im or the kohanim? The Torah writes נחוח ריח (a pleasant scent for Hashem) in reference to the kohanim, but it doesn’t state נחוח ריח about the levi'ims music. It seems Hashem had more pleasure from the kohanim's service, with blood and fats, than the wonderful, inspirational singing of the levi'im. Similarly, we can feel certain that your struggles against the yetzer hara created a greater nachas ruach before Hashem than the exalted avodah of your peers because you passed a great test, and that is most precious to Hashem."
Lessons from the Divrei Yisrael
The Divrei Yisrael (יבוא אם ה"ד) discusses how the "Polish ganavim" would steal: They developed a technique to get the store owner out of the store and leave it unattended. The thief comes to the store and takes an item off the shelves. He smiles at the store owner, sticks out his tongue at him, and then runs off with the item without paying. The incensed store owner runs after him and leaves his store unattended. Several ganavim then enter and empty the store of its valuable merchandise.
The Divrei Yisrael writes, "What does a wise merchant do? He says, 'Let the thief have what he grabbed.' He doesn't run after him and, therefore, doesn’t lose the rest of his money. He guards the store, which is much wiser."
The Divrei Yisrael explains that the yetzer hara uses the technique of the Polish ganavim. He causes a person to transgress a relatively minor transgression. The person becomes very upset and feels dejected, and now he is in the yetzer hara's hands. As the Kotzker zt'l would say, "The yetzer hara doesn't want the aveirah. He wants the depression that comes after the aveirah" because then the person can fall to very low levels.
The lesson is to keep on trying. Even if we lose a battle, we have to continue fighting, or we will lose so much more.
We can compare this to an airplane caught in turbulence. The plane is tossing up and down, but it must keep on flying. What else can it do? What is the alternative? To stand still? It will spiral downwards.
We can also draw an analogy from the business world: Someone's business was enduring a financial crisis. The expenses were greater than the income, and there were unpaid debts that needed to be paid up. The store owner has two options: He can give up and close his business, which will still leave him in debt and make it impossible for the company to recover. Another approach is to borrow more money and to keep the business alive. The tide can turn, and he can be successful again.
The Divrei Yisrael zt'l said that this lesson is alluded to in this week's parashah (32:9) אם לפליטה הנשאר המחנה והיה והכהו האחת המחנה אל עשו יבוא, "If Eisav comes to one camp and strikes it down, the remaining camp will escape."
If Eisav, the yetzer hara, wins a battle, don't allow yourselves to fall into his hands. Salvage whatever you can.
Hints from the Parashah
Another hint from this week's parashah is in the following words (32:26, 32) יכל לא כי וירא לו ויזרח ...עמו בהאבקו יעקב ירך כף ותקע ירכו בכף ויגע לו ירכו על צלע והוא פנואל את עבר כאשר השמש, "When [the malach] saw that he could not prevail against [Yaakov], he touched the socket of his hip, and the socket of Yaakov's hip became dislocated as he wrestled with him. And the sun rose for him when he passed Penuel, and he limped on his thigh."
The Avodas Yisachar zt'l explains that although Yaakov was hurt, he kept on walking. And then Hashem healed him. He writes, "A primary aspect of avodas Hashem is to keep on moving without stopping. The holy sefarim explain that one must do his obligations, and not pay attention to his wounds (aveiros) r'l... Sometimes, there is darkness, and he almost can't speak a word of Torah and tefillah. Nevertheless, he should not give up. He must do whatever he can to be strong."
Another hint is from the pasuk (33:3) וישתחו אחיו עד גשתו עד פעמים שבע ארצה, "[Yaakov] went ahead of them and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came close to his brother." The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 78:8) asks: Why did Yaakov bow specifically seven times? It is to correspond to (Mishlei 24:16) שבע וקם צדיק יפול, "Even if a tzaddik falls seven times, he will get up again."
By bowing down seven times, Yaakov was teaching us that even if one bowed to Eisav seven times (which means he obeyed the yetzer hara and bowed his head to its influence), he could lift himself again and begin again as if nothing ever happened.
It states (32:29) אם כי שמך עוד יאמר יעקב לא ויאמר ותוכל אנשים ועם אלקים עם שרית כי ישראל, "[The malach] said, 'Your name shall no longer be called Yaakov, but Yisrael, because you have commanding power with [an angel of] Hashem and with men, and you have prevailed."
Rashi writes that אנשים, men, refer to Eisav and Lavan. But we wonder, is this called ותוכל, prevailing and winning the battle? He was lamed by Eisav, and Lavan tricked him a hundred times. Is that called winning a fight? The answer is that he continued even after being lamed and tricked, and with that attitude, one prevails.
The Power of the Tzaddikim
The Bas Ayin (Rebbe Avraham Dov ben Rebbe Dovid zy'a) Chazal (Chulin 7:) "Tzaddikim are greater after their passing than when they were alive." This is particularly so on their yahrtzeit because that is when their holy ruach (spirit) hovers and rests on their grave to bring salvations to those who daven there and seek Hashem's compassion.
