Parshas Toldos - Sources of the Mei HaShiloach

"And truly, everywhere that one enters himself into uncertainties in the service of God and into matters that need clarification, if the matter is clarified for the good then he is greater than one who just removed himself from all doubts. Yet this is only for the seed of Yaakov..." (Mei HaShiloach)

Betzalel, slightly ticked off after a long day in his Ancestral Homeland somewhere between Jericho and Jerusalem. All Jews have an ancestral homeland. Some Jews even live there. When will you?

Dear friends. The chassidic writings do not exist in a vacuum. They are a response to a history of Bibilical Commentary going back to Sinai. So in order to know why the writings of the Chassidic masters, such as Rav Mordechai Yosef of Isbits, were such a novel conception (a "chiddush, in Hebrew) you need to develop the patience to study the classical commentaries, such as, with our example below, Rashi, Ramban, and Rabeynu BaChayei. Then your yield from the Masters of Chassidus will be all the richer.

Ramban, Introduction to the Book of Exodus.

The book of Genesis is the book of creation. The actions of the Patriarchs are a kind of creation of their progeny. This is because all of their actions are pictures of things to come, hints that tell of all future events. Then after the creation is finished, He started a new book to show the events that emerge from those hints in the stories of the Patriarchs.

(Keep the above in mind when considering how the qualities of the Jew were hinted at in the personality of Yaakov, and how Chazal saw the seeds of the behoavior of Roman and later european society in Eisav.)

Genesis. Chapter 25

And the children jostled to and fro within Rivka’s womb, and she said, “why is this happening to me?’ and went to ask of God. (She went to the house of study and asked the wise Shem, who told her God’s answer.) And He said, “there are two peoples in your womb, and two nations shall separate from your loins. One nation shall struggle with the other, and the older one will serve the younger one.”


As Rav Shlomo Carlebach once said, "you can't really learn the chumash without the Mei Hashiloach, (the commentary of Rav Mordechai Yosef of Isbitza.)" From the classical commentaries, we receive a fairly black and white picture, Esav BAD, Yaakov GOOD. but having the patience to get through the classical commentaries and to the bottom of the page with the Mei HaShilaoch, you will see that it is not so simple.


Rashi

Separate from your loins – one will go to wickedness and the other to honesty.
One nation will struggle with the other – they will not be equal in greatness. When one rises the other shall fall. This is as it is written (Ezekiel, 26), “I will fill the ruin.” Of which our Sages said, “Tsur (a Roman – or Edomite - city) was only filled from the destruction of Jerusalem.” (Only when Jerusalem and the Jews were defeated, did the Roman city of Tsur became great.”)

Genesis, Chapter 25, continued.

And the boys grew, and Eisav became a hunter, a man of the field. And Yaakov was a simple, honest man, sitting in the tent. And Yitschak loved Eisav because of the catch in his mouth, and Rivka loved Yaakov.

Rashi

A man of the field – He was an idle man, hunting birds and animals with his bow and arrow.
Simple, honest – Yaakov was not expert in all of these (forms of deception), but rather spoke his heart. Anyone who is not clever in the ways of deception is called, “tam.” Simple, whole hearted, or honest.

Rabeynu Bachayei

Eisav would hunt in two ways. He was literally a hunter of animals, but he would also trap people with his words. When he saw his father he would ask him clever questions, such as, “do you have to tithe salt and straw?” In this way he tricked his father into being proud of his sun, the hunter-scholar. He asked Eisav, “where have you been all day,” and Eisav would answer, “in the houses of study learning such and such a law and such and such a matter.” At that moment, Yitschak’s holy spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) would scream out, crying, “He who dissembles with his lips and lays up deceit within him, when he speaks fair, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart.” (Mishlei, 26:25)

Ask yourself, "If Yitchak was a prophet, how could it be that he did not know that Eisav was just currying favor with him? How could he not have known that he was an evil man?"

Now, with the above commentaries in mind, consider the following teaching of the Mei HaShiloach.

“and Yitschok loved Eisav because of the taste of the meat he would trap (or, he would trap with his mouth),” (Bereshit, 25:28)

This is explained (Bereshit Rabba, 63:10), “that he would deceive his father into thinking that he was a scholar with fancy dilemmas in Torah, like how can one tithe salt and straw.” You can not understand this explanation literally, for surely Yitzchak Avinu was not mistaken in thinking he was actually genuine, when he was clearly cheating him. Yet from the beginning, Yaakov and Eisav were equal in their greatness. However, Eisav decided to make himself make himself more appealing in his father’s eyes, so as to find favor in his father’s sight. This accomplished, Yitzchak would pray to G-d to give his son Eisav more wisdom. Yaakov, however, went in the way of simplicity and said, “what need have of this? If I am worthy in the sight of G-d, He will cause the heart of my father Yitschok to pray for me.” Eisav’s way was not honest in Yaakov’s view, for this way needs clarification (“birrur”), for who can say if this way will be accepted, and perhaps he is only doing it to deceive. Since Yaakov Avinu had separated himself from all uncertainty, his heart trusted only in G-d.

And truly, everywhere that one enters himself into uncertainties in the service of G-d and into matters that need clarification, if the matter is clarified for the good then he is greater than one who just removed himself from all doubts. Yet this is only for the seed of Yaakov, since they have found a stronghold in G-d, that He will clarify all for the good, so it is permitted for him to enter into uncertainties. Yet whoever does not have this stronghold, it is forbidden for him to enter into uncertainty, in the way that Eisav entered himself into matters that were later clarified as being evil.

For the Holy One, blessed be He, will make it clear that all of Israel's actions are for the good, as is explained on the verse, “it will be tsedaka for us.” (Parshat Vaetchanan) For all who are not from the seed of Yaakov, it is good before Him for them to limit themselves with all kinds of constrictions, as is explained concerning converts, for whom it is forbidden for them to enter into uncertainties.

So therefore, when Yitzchak saw that Eisav was entering himself into these matters, he said that if they are clarified for the good, then Eisav would become greater than Yaakov, yet the blessed G-d then bared witness to him that Eisav’s intentions were not for the sake of Heaven.

Also within Israel, we find that there are some souls who may permit themselves to enter into uncertainty more than others, even though they both come from the seed of Yaakov. Take, for instance, Shimon and Dinah. Levi did not want to take her because he feared that maybe his intentions were not completely for the sake of Heaven, as all the tribe of Levi exist with the fear of G-d before them always, taking care to remove themselves from all doubts. This as it is said (Malachi, 2:5), “וָאֶתְּנֵם-לוֹ מוֹרָא וַיִּירָאֵנִי - and I gave them to him for the fear, etc.” Because of this He brought out of them Cohanim who would enter, “before Me and inside (the Holy of Holies),”and therefore their life was clarified immediately as explained in Parshat Korach (with the tribes, on the verse “and G-d said”). Shimon, however, entered himself into uncertainty, saying, “G-d forbid I would consider myself licentious,” and marrying Dinah. Thus he entered himself into a situation that needed clarification, saying he trusts that G-d will make it clear that it was good, that his intention was not only to take her out from Shchem and all his intentions were for the sake of Heaven. Therefore the tribe of Shimon needed all these kinds of clarifications, such as Zimri who also said that his intention was good, as explained in its place (Parshat Balak). And in the future, when the tribe of Shimon will be clarified, its level will be greater than Levi.