1. The Puzzle of the Third Wholeness
On the verse “And Yaakov arrived shalem {whole} to the city of Shechem,” our Sages say (in the Gemara) — and Rashi brings this in his commentary on the Torah — that “shalem” means: “shalem in his body, shalem in his possessions, shalem in his Torah.” This that {Rashi} explains “shalem in his body, shalem in his possessions” is fitting, as the Midrash explicitly explains {it as such}: “Shalem in his body — for it is written, ‘and he was limping on his thigh, etc.’ Shalem in his possessions — even though {for nine years} our father Yaakov honored Eisav with that gift, etc. {he did not feel the loss}’” (And similarly in Rashi’s commentary on the Torah: “Shalem in his body — that he was healed from his limp. Shalem in his possessions — that nothing was lacking from that entire gift {to Eisav}”).
However, regarding “shalem in his Torah,” the Midrash provides no explanation. {And when we turn to} Rashi’s commentary {where he adds it to the list}, we find an apparent contradiction: In his commentary on the Talmud, he explains {that “shalem in his Torah” means} “he did not forget his learning due to the hardship of the journey,” {I.e., he was complete in learning despite the hardships his journey entailed}. But in his commentary on the Torah, he says “he did not forget his learning in Lavan’s house,” {I.e., despite the distractions in Lavan’s house}.
We must understand: What is the reason for the change between the two explanations? Moreover: Seemingly, the opposite is more logical — in his commentary on the Torah, where Rashi explains the plain meaning of Scripture (pshuto shel mikra), it would have been more fitting to say specifically (the explanation {he gave} in the Talmud) “he did not forget his learning due to the hardship of the journey,” and not “{in} Lavan’s house.” {Why?} Because the verse states, “And Yaakov arrived shalem to the city of Shechem,” which, according to the plain meaning of Scripture, implies that the {state of being} “shalem” is a novelty connected to Yaakov’s arrival in Shechem.
[In the Midrash it states that Yaakov was immediately healed from his limp (through “the sun rose for him”), and similarly regarding the gift — “The Holy One, Blessed be He, filled his lack and returned everything to him immediately.” According to this, he was already “shalem in his body, shalem in his possessions” when he arrived in Sukkos (more than eighteen months before he came to Shechem). However, according to the simple meaning (pshat), all of this happened in a natural way — both the healing of his hip and the replenishing of the lack in his possessions. This, then, is the innovation of the verse “And Yaakov arrived shalem to the city of Shechem”: that upon arriving in Shechem he became shalem, because only then did he become completely healed in his body, and {only then} was the lack “from that entire gift” filled (through the “fruitful and multiplying” of his flocks, etc.)].
{This phrasing is understandable} according to the explanation “he did not forget his learning due to the hardship of the journey” — it makes sense to say that upon arriving in Shechem [where he settled, as the verse continues, “and he purchased the parcel of land, etc.”] he was “shalem in his Torah,” despite the “hardship of the journey” that he had endured until his arrival in Shechem. But according to the explanation “he did not forget his learning in Lavan’s house,” this aspect of being “shalem in his Torah” has no connection to his arrival in Shechem; {for} this “wholeness” was {already} his upon leaving “Lavan’s house” {before the journey even began}. Why, then, does Rashi say in his commentary on the Torah — the plain meaning of Scripture — “that he did not forget his learning in Lavan’s house”?
(This is not a question {of logical impossibility}: How can one say such an explanation “that he did not forget his learning in Lavan’s house” when the verse explicitly states “And Yaakov arrived shalem (only upon arriving) to the city of Shechem”? For we can answer: The verse does not say “shalem (only) in his Torah,” but rather “shalem” (in general). We can argue that the intent of the verse is that only upon arriving in Shechem did Yaakov become completely “shalem” in all three things (his body, his possessions, and his Torah) — {and yet,} regarding his Torah alone, he was indeed shalem even earlier. {Our} question, however, is: Since one can learn that “shalem in his Torah” is also connected to Yaakov’s arrival in Shechem (“due to the hardship of the journey”) — why does Rashi choose to connect it, in his commentary on the Torah, specifically to the time when Yaakov was in the house of Lavan {which strays further from the the simple implication of the verse}?! )
2. Where Are the Children?
We also need to understand: In the Midrash a fourth thing is brought in which Yaakov was “shalem:” “Shalem in his children, for it is written regarding him ‘If Eisav comes to the one camp and strikes it, etc.,’ therefore here {in our verse it confirms that he was} shalem in his children.” The question is: Seemingly, this accomplishment (of “shalem in his children”) is also understood according to the way of pshat (not only in the Midrash, by way of drush). Why {then} does Rashi (in his commentary on the Torah) bring the language of the Gemara specifically, where “shalem in his children” is not mentioned?
This is even more puzzling: In the beginning of Parshas Lech Lecha, regarding the Holy One Blessed be He’s blessing to Avraham “And I will make you into a great nation, etc.,” Rashi explains: “Because the journey causes three things: it diminishes procreation, it diminishes money, and it diminishes the name; therefore he needed these three blessings {in which} He promised him regarding children, etc.” We see {from this}, that a blessing regarding children is a primary matter that one ensures when there is a possibility that a decrease might occur in it (through the wandering of the journey). {If so,} then by the verse “And Yaakov arrived shalem” (from that “road which I am going”) Rashi should seemingly have explained that “shalem” means (also) “shalem in his children”?
3. Is Safety the Same as Wholeness?
We can understand this {by first addressing} a general wonder regarding Rashi’s commentary: Learning the verse “And Yaakov arrived shalem,” after the lengthy narrative of how Yaakov was saved from Lavan and Eisav, it would seem that the main explanation of “And Yaakov arrived shalem” is simply — he arrived whole, unharmed by Lavan and Eisav. {And indeed,} Rashi himself immediately explains (in a heading following this one): “Upon his arrival from Padan Aram — like a person who says to his friend, ‘So-and-so emerged from the lion’s teeth and arrived whole.’ So too here, ‘And he arrived shalem from Padan Aram’ — from Lavan and from Eisav who attacked him on the way.”
But {here} Rashi says — {as} the plain meaning of Scripture — that “And Yaakov arrived shalem” refers (not to his rescue from the danger of Lavan and Eisav, but) to a general “wholeness” regarding his body, possessions, and Torah? And furthermore — from where does he derive this? {Even} in this {explanation} itself there is a wonder: {Rashi explains that} “shalem in his body” does not mean saving his body from danger, but “that he was healed from his limp”!
[We cannot say the need {for an alternative explanation} is from the word “shalem,” which implies that previously there was a lack (and only a lack), and afterwards it was made whole, because (in addition to the fact that in the Rashi following this (mentioned above) he explicitly uses the word “shalem” in connection to rescue “from the lion’s teeth,” {thus inferring salvation, and not specifically replenishment}, {even} from this Rashi itself it is implied so, for) Rashi says “shalem in his Torah — that he did not forget his learning”; we see, that even though in actuality there was no lack in him, it is fitting to say “shalem” regarding it, due to the possibility of a lack — so {seemingly} we could say the same regarding his rescue from Eisav and Lavan].
4. Restoration vs. Protection
The explanation for this is: Immediately after Yaakov left for Charan, the Holy One Blessed be He promised him “Behold I am with you, and I will guard you wherever you go, etc.,” which (according to the plain meaning of Scripture) means first and foremost — guarding from Eisav and Lavan (as Rashi explains there: “Because he was afraid of Eisav and Lavan”).
Consequently, the verse does not need to emphasize that the Holy One Blessed be He’s promise was fulfilled and Yaakov arrived “shalem” from Eisav and Lavan — this is self-understood {and needs no verse to tell us God kept His word}. (Similar to Avraham, whom the Holy One Blessed be He promised (as above Section 2, regarding the instruction “Go for yourself, etc.”) “And I will make you into a great nation, etc.,” that the wandering of the journey would not diminish the “three things” for him. {There} we do not find that the verse emphasizes anywhere that ‘so it was’ {by stating} “And Avraham arrived shalem” (or the like).)
Why {then} does the verse say it regarding Yaakov? This compelled Rashi {to} learn, that here it is not speaking about a “wholeness” which is included in the promise of Holy One Blessed be He, “Behold I am with you and I will guard you, etc.,” but {instead, he explains it to be} regarding specific events which were likely to cause Yaakov not to be shalem, despite the aforementioned promise of the Holy One Blessed be He. {And regarding these concerns, the Torah confirms that} nevertheless “Yaakov arrived shalem.”
{Now,} from the fact that the verse says “shalem” simply {without qualification}, it is obvious that this was not only in one detail, but “shalem” literally in all his details — and these are the three matters Rashi enumerates:
- “Shalem in his body — that he was healed from his limp”: This that Yaakov was “limping on his thigh” was a result of his war with the “Prince of Eisav,” an angel, a messenger of the One Above. And since this is a matter done to Yaakov (for whatever reason) by an angel of the Holy One Blessed be He, it is understood, that this is not related to, and covered by, the promise “and I will guard you” from Eisav and Lavan {which only protects from enemies, not Divine agents}.
- “Shalem in his possessions — that nothing was lacking from that entire gift”: Even after giving Eisav “that entire gift,” Yaakov remained with great wealth, as understood from the simple meaning of the verses. Consequently, even if the lack of the gift had not been filled for Yaakov, it would not have diminished the fulfillment of the Holy One Blessed be He’s promise “and I will guard you... I will not forsake you...” (which means he will have “bread to eat, etc.” {basic sustenance}). Nevertheless, {the novelty is that} the Holy One Blessed be He filled his entire lack “from that entire gift.”
- “Shalem in his Torah — that he did not forget his learning in Lavan’s house”: The possibility that Yaakov might forget his learning in Lavan’s house was not due to the influence of being together with Lavan the Wicked, for on this Yaakov prayed “And I will return in peace” — {and Rashi explains that to mean} — “‘shalem from sin’, that I not learn from Lavan’s ways,” which was fulfilled (and as Yaakov sent word to Eisav “I lived with Lavan the Wicked, and I kept the 613 commandments and did not learn from his evil deeds”). Rather, {the fear of forgetting was} because Yaakov was occupied in Lavan’s house with great devotion to his work as a shepherd (as one must do according to Torah) — as he said “With all my strength I served, etc.,” “I was by day... and by night, and my sleep wandered from my eyes”; and in this manner he worked “twenty years.”
It is understandable the distinct novelty {here}, that despite all this {intense labor and distraction}, “he did not forget his learning in Lavan’s house.” This novelty, however, is not connected to the Holy One Blessed be He’s promise “and I will guard you wherever you go, etc.” [For had Yaakov occupied himself with this manner of labor while in his own home, in the Land of Canaan, he would also have needed a special blessing not to forget his learning]. This, {then} is the novelty in the verse “And Yaakov arrived shalem” — shalem in his Torah — that he did not forget his learning in Lavan’s house.
5. Rashi’s Precision
Based on this, the two aforementioned wonders (above Sections 1-2) regarding Rashi’s commentary fall away automatically: Rashi cannot bring the matter of “shalem in his children” — that Eisav was unable to harm Yaakov’s children (“If Eisav comes, etc.”) — for this is included in the Holy One Blessed be He’s promise “and I will guard you, etc.,” and the verse does not need to relate it, as mentioned above.
And for this reason Rashi {also} cannot explain in his commentary on the Torah that “shalem in his Torah” means “that he did not forget his learning due to the hardship of the journey” — because this matter too is included in the Holy One Blessed be He’s promise “and I will guard you wherever you go,” that Hashem will guard him from any undesirable matter that his going — including the wandering of the journey — might cause (“and guard me on this path that I am going”); similar to the Holy One Blessed be He’s blessing to Avraham that his wandering of the journey would not diminish the “three things” for him {mentioned in section 4 above}.
6. A Promise for Every Exile
From the “wine of the Torah” {deeper meaning} in Rashi’s explanation: We have discussed previously, that Yaakov’s journey to Charan alludes to the journey of his children, the Jewish people, (as “the stories of the fathers are a sign for the children,”) into exile; {Thus} the verse “And Yaakov arrived shalem to the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan, upon his arrival from Padan Aram” {teaches us on a deeper level}: The Holy One Blessed be He promises every Jew that he will return shalem, “whole,” from exile.
{On this inner meaning} Rashi clarifies and adds: This that Lavan and Eisav cannot (on their own) harm a Jew and he (Yaakov) arrives “shalem” to the Land of Israel — is obvious; this is not the innovation of “And Yaakov arrived shalem.” Regarding this, the Holy One Blessed be He promised from the outset, before they went down into exile — “Behold I am with you and I will guard you wherever you go,” and no one has the power to touch a Jew, Heaven forbid.
The innovation is, that even in those matters which seemingly — due to the order as it is arranged from Above — there is room for exile to cause a deficiency in a Jew, to the point where a lack actually occurs (similar to Yaakov) — the verse “And Yaakov arrived shalem” says that this lack is not a true one; it is only a temporary matter, because ultimately the lack becomes nullified and “Yaakov arrived shalem.” And these are the three matters Rashi states, as {explained in the section to} follow.
7. The Purpose of Pain
“Shalem in his body — that he was healed from his limp”: One of the {unique} elevations in the Divine service during the time of exile is — the service of Mesiras Nefesh {self-sacrifice}. For this reason, the sufferings of exile, etc., come (Heaven forbid). {They are here} as a test, {as it states:} “The L-rd your G-d is testing you, etc.,” in order to evoke the element of Mesiras Nefesh within Jews.
This {on a deeper level} is the matter of the “Prince of Eisav” who “touched the socket of Yaakov’s hip.” As the Ramban explains the words of the Midrash on this verse: “He touched all the righteous who were destined to descend from him — this is the generation of religious persecution (shmad),” {i.e.}, this is an allusion to the sufferings of exile in the most severe manner (Heaven forbid); for these sufferings are in order to awaken within Jews their Mesiras Nefesh.
{Here lies the danger:} One might think, Heaven forbid, that since these sufferings do not truly come from “Eisav below,” but from the “Prince of Eisav” — {meaning} they come from Above in order to bring out Mesiras Nefesh in Jews — {one might therefore think} they are a true reality which has permanence, Heaven forbid. Therefore {the verse} assures: “shalem in his body — that he was healed from his limp” — that after one carries out the service of exile, the sufferings become completely nullified, {just like Yaakov, that} “he was healed from his limp” in a way that he is shalem.
{This can happen,} because from the outset this was not a true reality, but only a test to reveal the strength of a Jew’s Mesiras Nefesh.
8. Transforming the “Plunder” of Exile
“Shalem in his possessions — that nothing was lacking from that entire gift”: The purpose of exile is not only that the Jew himself should emerge from it whole and shalem, but that he should also transform the matters of exile and make them “his possessions,” transforming them into holiness. {This is} similar to how Yaakov was not only personally saved from Lavan and Eisav, but he took with him a vast amount from Lavan, regarding which Lavan said “All that you see is mine”; Similarly, {Yaakov} accomplished a transformation (is’hapcha) within Eisav himself, that instead of Eisav wanting to kill him, “Eisav ran... and embraced him... and kissed him,” to the point that according to the opinion of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai it was “with all his heart” (even though “it is a known law that Eisav hates Yaakov”).
[This is the preparation for the time when “Saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the Lord shall have the kingdom”: not only will Eisav be judged, but “the Lord shall have the kingdom” — he {Esau} will recognize the sovereignty of the Holy One Blessed be He. In the words of the Rambam: “He {Mashiach} will fix the entire world to serve Hashem together, as it is stated: ‘For then I will turn to the nations, etc., to all call in the name of Hashem, etc.’”]. Just as Yaakov accomplished this through the “gift” (preceded by prayer) that he sent to Eisav, so it is with every Jew: In order to refine and transform the matters of the world (“Eisav”)
