When Yaakov Avinu heard that Eisav was approaching with four hundred warriors, he was afraid, as it states (32:8), ויירא לו ויצר מאד יעקב “And Yaakov became very afraid and distressed.”
Daas Zekainim m'Baalei HaTosfos says we should translate the pasuk as follows: מאד יעקב וירא, Yaakov was very afraid, ויצר לו, and he was upset with himself for being afraid. Hashem promised that He would protect Yaakov, as it states (28:15) עמך אנכי והנה תלך אשר בכל ושמרתיך, "Behold I am with you, and I will guard you wherever you go," and now Yaakov was afraid of Eisav. Yaakov asked himself, "Why am I afraid? What happened to my strong emunah and bitachon that I used to have?"
Yaakov said (32:11), הזה הירדן את עברתי במקלי כי מחנות לשתי הייתי ועתה, “I crossed this Yarden with my staff, and now I have become two camps.” Reb Chaim Volozhiner zt'l explains that also in this pasuk, Yaakov is lamenting that he lost his bitachon and trust in Hashem. הזה הירדן את עברתי במקלי כי, Yaakov said, "My bitachon used to be so strong that all I had to do was place my staff in the Yarden, and the waters split before me. מחנות לשתי הייתי ועתה, but now I've divided my camp into two groups to prepare myself for war. What happened to my bitachon?"
The Degel Machaneh Efraim zt'l, a grandson of the Baal Shem Tov zt'l, tells us in this week's parashah about a miracle that happened to his grandfather. The Dnieper is a mighty and large river that cuts through the Ukraine. The Baal Shem Tov once crossed the Dnieper without a ship or physical contraption. The Baal Shem Tov said he didn't use Hashem's name (practical kabbalah) either. He crossed the river with emunah peshutah, simple emunah in Hashem. He believed Hashem could do anything, so he put his belt onto the water (I think he sat on it) and crossed the river.
This is because when one has emunah in Hashem and doesn't consider nature to be a deterrence for Hashem, miracles will happen for him.
The Gemara (Taanis 25.) tells us that one Friday night, Reb Chanina ben Dosa saw that his daughter was sad. He asked her, "My daughter, why are you sad?" She replied, "I accidentally used vinegar instead of oil to light the Shabbos lights." Reb Chanina ben Dosa replied, "My daughter, why should you care? The One who said that oil should give light shall say that vinegar should give light."
The Shabbos lecht remained lit for hours, and they used those lights for Havdalah.
This is because Hashem can do anything. He can have vinegar give light like oil, and He can split a river. With emunah peshutah that Hashem can do everything, miracles can occur.
The Degel Machaneh Efraim writes that this could be how Yaakov Avinu crossed the Yardan. It states in the pasuk (32:11), במקלי כי הזה הירדן את עברתי, “I crossed this Yarden with my staff..." He crossed the Yarden with his emunah. He believed that Hashem could do anything, Hashem can split the river before him, and that is what occurred.
The Degel Machaneh Efraim writes that במקלי is gematriya יעקב. The pasuk is saying הזה הירדן את עברתי במקלי כי, that he crossed the Yarden with his name, "Yaakov," which represents the attribute of emes and the attribute of emunah. במקלי, with my emunah, הירדן את עברתי, “I crossed over the Yarden."
1. Once, Reb Avraham Genichovsky zt'l accidentally dropped his watch, and it stopped working. He brought it to a watchmaker, but the repairman told him all it needed was a new battery. Reb Avraham asked, "Isn’t it an unusual coincidence that the battery should stop working the moment the watch fell? It would seem more likely that the fall caused something to break inside." The watchmaker explained that when the watch fell, it stopped working for a moment. The battery was weak. It had enough power to keep the watch working but not enough strength to get it to start again. Reb Avraham Genichovsky repeated this story to his students and explained that their emunah should be so strong that if for a moment, they fall, they should have enough strength to pick themselves up and continue with their emunah. Chas v'shalom, if their emunah is weak, when they fall and have questions, they might have trouble getting back to themselves and their emunah.
