"ויבא יעקב שלם עיר שכם .../Ya'akov safely arrived (lit. arrived
complete) in the city of Shechem
…" (Breishis 33:18) Chazal
and the commentaries discuss the significance of this statement. What is the pasuk teaching us when it tells us
that Ya'akov arrived "complete"?
The Sfas Emes as well discusses this.
Ya'akov experienced
many hardships in his lifetime. In fact,
from the time he fled to Lavan until he came to Egypt , a period of fifty three
years, he knew many hardships. Fleeing
from the wrath of his brother Esav, he arrived penniless at the house of his
uncle Lavan. Lavan allowed him no
peace. For twenty years he slaved for Lavan. If not for the grace of God he would have
left Lavan as penniless as he arrived.
Not in spite of his
suffering but rather as a direct result of it, he arrived "complete". Shlomo HaMelech teaches us, "כי שבע יפול צדיק וקם .../For the righteous may fall seven times and
then arise …" (Mishlei 24:16)
Conventionally, we understand this to mean that if the righteous fall even
seven times, he will still arise. However,
the Sfas Emes understands that arising is a direct result of falling. The righteous rise specifically because they
suffer.
We find this concept in
a Zohar[1]
explaining the pasuk, "רבות
רעות צדיק ומכולם יצילנו ה'/The
afflictions of the righteous are many, but God rescues him from them all."
(Tehillim 34:20) Literally, the
pasuk says, "There are many afflictions – the righteous." The Zohar asks that it would be more proper
for the pasuk to say, "רבות
רעות לצדיק/There are many
afflictions for the righteous." The
Zohar answers, according the Sfas Emes, that pasuk is teaching us that afflictions
are not the lot of the righteous. Rather,
the hardships and evils that the righteous experience actualize their
righteousness.
Evils and hardships
are a powerful test. How can we cope
with suffering that we experience? The
natural tendency is to be angry with God.
Why has this evil been wrought upon me?
The Sfas Emes explains that God uses affliction in order to bring out
our righteousness. He helps us to become
complete through our experience.
This is
the meaning of the end of the pasuk, "... ומכולם
יצילנו ה'/… and God rescues
him from them all." The Sfas Emes
explains the word, יצילנו/He rescues them, as He separates them. We find this understanding in the following
pasuk, "ויצל ה'
מקנה אביכם ויתן לי/God took
away your father's livestock and gave it to me." (Breishis 31:9) Here the word, ויצל certainly does not mean to save. Rather it means to separate. God separated the livestock from their father
Lavan and gave it to Ya'akov. Here too,
the Sfas Emes understands the word יצילנו to
mean that God separates the righteous from incompleteness through the
affliction. The result is and addition
of shleimus/completeness that did not exist before.
May we merit understanding
our suffering experiencing its positive benefits.
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