Parshas Vayeitzei
1. At the end of our parsha, on the verse "And angels of G‑d met him," our Sages say[2] — and Rashi cites it in his commentary on the Torah[3] — that these were "angels of Eretz Yisrael who came toward him to escort him to the land." From the plain wording it is understood that the place where the angels of Eretz Yisrael "came toward him" was outside the land, before he arrived in Eretz Yisrael.
We need to understand: at the beginning of the parsha, on the verse "ascending and descending on it," the Midrash says, "The angels that escort a person in Eretz Yisrael do not escort him outside the land," and as Rashi says even more explicitly, "Angels that escorted him in the land do not go outside the land; they ascended to heaven, and angels of outside the land descended to escort him." So how is it that here, on the return from Charan to Eretz Yisrael, the angels of Eretz Yisrael did go out of the land?
The Gur Aryeh[8] explains that since he was going to Eretz Yisrael, the angels of Eretz Yisrael went out "toward him to guard him" — that there be no hindrance to his arrival in Eretz Yisrael[9] — a guarding that "is incumbent on the angels of Eretz Yisrael" (whereas the guarding of the angels of outside the land — who escorted him up to Eretz Yisrael — was only "that no other harm come to him").
This answer, however, is seemingly not smooth: since we are speaking of the same journey — the travel outside the land on the way to Eretz Yisrael[10] — why are two kinds of guarding needed? The angels of outside the land who guard him on the way naturally guard him from every hindrance all the way to Eretz Yisrael.
From this it is reasonable to say that the angels of Eretz Yisrael "came toward him" only "to escort him" — not for the sake of guarding, but an escort for his honor alone.
This needs explanation: how is it that for the honor of Yaakov (not because of a need to guard him) angels of Eretz Yisrael were sent outside the land, contrary to the rule that "they do not go outside the land"[12]?
And since the question arises from Rashi's own words, and we do not find Rashi explaining it, we must say that from the plain meaning of Rashi's words themselves the matter is understood and clear — to the point that from the outset it is no question that needs answering.
2. One may say the explanation simply: at the beginning of the parsha we are speaking of Yaakov leaving Eretz Yisrael for outside the land; it is understood why the angels of Eretz Yisrael could not escort him further, since the angels of Eretz Yisrael "do not go outside the land." But at the end of the parsha, where we speak of the opposite — Yaakov returning to Eretz Yisrael — they could (and perhaps had to) come outside the land, because it was in order "to escort him to the land"[13]. For this is not in the category of going outside the land at all.
This is even sweeter if one learns that the fact that the angels of Eretz Yisrael "do not go outside the land" is like the halachah[14] (and its rules) of the prohibition to leave Eretz Yisrael for outside the land[15]. The Rambam rules[16] that "it is forbidden to leave Eretz Yisrael for outside the land" — on which one could seemingly ask: we find in the Gemara[17] an "authoritative precedent" of someone who left Eretz Yisrael for outside the land to meet his mother, and as the Meiri[18] says explicitly, "it is permitted to leave Eretz Yisrael for outside the land to meet one's father or one's mother, and likewise for other kinds of honor."
One may say[19] the difference between them: leaving Eretz Yisrael "to study Torah, or to marry a wife, or to rescue from the idolaters" is leaving the land, only it is a permitted leaving;
but when one goes out toward one's father or mother for the sake of honoring one's father and mother, to meet them as they come to Eretz Yisrael, the category of leaving the land does not apply at all.
The plain reasoning: in the other matters (to study Torah, etc.) the purpose of leaving is to do mitzvos and actions outside the land (and usually it is not for a fixed (limited) time[20]); whereas going outside the land "toward one's father and mother" who are coming to Eretz Yisrael is not for the sake of outside the land, but for the sake of (and connected with) Eretz Yisrael (the ascent to Eretz Yisrael), and consequently from the outset it is not in the category of leaving, as explained.
So too in our case: since the angels of Eretz Yisrael, in leaving Eretz Yisrael, came "to escort him to the land," the category of leaving the land for outside the land does not apply from the outset, and consequently no reason is needed for permitting the leaving.
3. Seemingly one could ask on this:
It was discussed once at length[21] that according to Rashi, in the time of the Avos the prohibition of leaving Eretz Yisrael for outside the land did not yet apply[22], and therefore we do not find the Avos taking care about it — for in Rashi's view Eretz Yisrael was then not yet distinguished in its holiness from other lands[23], to the point that in Rashi's view there was then also no change in the ownership of the land.
[And Rashi's explanation[24] of G‑d's instruction to Yitzchak, "Do not go down" to Egypt — that it is because "you are an unblemished offering, and outside the land is not fitting for you"[25] — is not because there was a change and a holiness in the substance of the land, but because[26] Avraham had brought about that in Eretz Yisrael G‑d was "the G‑d of heaven and the G‑d of the earth" — "for I made Him familiar in the mouths of the people"[27]; whereas outside the land G‑d was then only "the G‑d of heaven," but as "the G‑d of the earth" He was not yet recognized, as discussed at length elsewhere[28].]
Accordingly we must understand why, regarding angels, Eretz Yisrael was already then distinguished in such a way that "they do not go outside the land" [for the above matter and reason regarding Yitzchak seemingly does not fit angels].
One may say the explanation simply: the fact that in the time of the Avos Eretz Yisrael did not yet have its special holiness (and likewise ownership, as explained according to Rashi) means that the substance of the land had not yet been sanctified; the holiness was not yet established in the object of the land[29], and therefore for the Avos, being in Eretz Yisrael below, there was not yet a prohibition of leaving for outside the land.
But in its content and essence Eretz Yisrael was always "the inheritance of G‑d, set apart for His Name"[30], a land in which "the desires of the Creator were, for the ladder (of Yaakov's dream) whose top reached heaven was fixed in it"[31]; and just as "the Beis HaMikdash above is aligned opposite the Beis HaMikdash below"[32], which is always so, so too, and similarly, regarding all of Eretz Yisrael — it is only that earlier this was not revealed and established in Eretz Yisrael below.
Accordingly it is understood that although for the Avos (below) there was not yet a prohibition of leaving Eretz Yisrael for outside the land, there was a restraint for the angels, because for the angels (above) the inner content of Eretz Yisrael was already present.
4. The Midrash interprets in detail all the verses at the beginning of the parsha, and elsewhere in the Midrash[36] it says, "The Holy One, blessed be He, showed him the four kingdoms, their rule and their downfall[37]…"; and as the Rambam[38] says in his book of halachah, "the ladder that Yaakov Avinu saw, with angels ascending and descending on it, was a parable for the kingdoms and their subjugation."
And this is not a "side" matter, but "a sign[39] for the children": the matter of exile for the Jewish people comes from "the deeds of the fathers," from Yaakov's going out of the land to exile in Lavan's house[40].
And just as with Yaakov Avinu, his leaving Eretz Yisrael and coming to Charan was not only out of necessity — because he could not stay in Eretz Yisrael, having to flee from Esav — but because[41] "and take for yourself a wife from there… and you shall become a congregation of peoples": his going to Charan and his avodah in the house of Lavan were in order to carry out his avodah of birurim outside the land, to the point that it was specifically in the house of Lavan that he established the foundation of the Jewish people — almost all of the tribes were born there[42];
so too regarding the exile of the Jewish people: the Jews' leaving Eretz Yisrael is "because of our sins we were exiled from our land," but the intent of exile is to carry out the avodah of birurim in every place in the world — as our Sages say clearly[43], "The Holy One, blessed be He, exiled Israel among the nations only so that converts would be added to them." And in the words of our Rebbeim — the well-known instruction[44], "Make here Eretz Yisrael" — to bring about that outside the land become at the level of Eretz Yisrael, a land "that desired (ratzesah) to do the will of its Maker"[45], in the manner of "(Yisrael), for you have striven with G‑d and with men, and have prevailed"[46], which comes through the avodah of each and every Jew to make a dwelling for G‑d in the lower realms[47], to the point that during the time of exile the completeness of the Jewish people is established.
And these are the two kinds of "angels":
The angels of Eretz Yisrael that "escorted him in the land" before going out of the land, into exile, have the role of granting strength from Above for the avodah in the time of exile; and the "angels of Eretz Yisrael" that "came toward him to escort him to the land" are the result of having made Eretz Yisrael out of outside the land: at the completion of Yaakov's avodah outside the land, since he had "made Eretz Yisrael" there through his avodah, the angels of Eretz Yisrael come there — the drawing down of the holiness of Eretz Yisrael outside the land[48].
5. According to the above — that "angels of Eretz Yisrael came toward him to escort him to the land" is connected with the end and completion of Yaakov's avodah outside the land — we will also understand the (inner) reason why the angels came only to escort him (not for the sake of guarding, etc.), which is only a matter of honor —
first noting that this is alluded to in the verse in the expression "And angels of G‑d met (vayifgeu) him" — like the expression (at the beginning of the parsha) "and he encountered (vayifga) the place"[49] (and as the Zohar[50] connects the two verses), from which expression, "and he encountered the place," our Sages[51] learn that Yaakov prayed there, "and we learn that he instituted the evening prayer"[52]. Accordingly one may say that the connection between the expression "And angels of G‑d met him" and sending angels for an escort and honor is like the connection between the expression "and he encountered" and specifically the evening prayer, as will be explained.
Also: "vayifga" means that the meeting is as though unintentional[53]; but there is a difference in this "vayifga" between the two verses above: "and he encountered the place" means that it was as though unintended on Yaakov's part, as our Sages derive from the expression "vayifga" — "to teach you that the land contracted for him"[54]; whereas the expression "and angels of G‑d met (vayifgeu) him"[55] implies that the meeting was as though unintended not only on Yaakov's part but also on the part of the angels of Eretz Yisrael.
One may say that corresponding to this difference in "vayifga" is also the difference in the role of the two kinds of angels: the angels spoken of at the beginning of the parsha were for the sake of guarding, and those at the end of the parsha — for the sake of honor.
6. The explanation:
The explanation (in the inner dimension) is known[56] of why "the evening prayer is optional"[57] — not obligatory like the morning and afternoon prayers: it is because the evening prayer is connected with such a lofty level that it cannot be reached through man's avodah; it is an arousal from Above that an arousal from below does not reach, and it is drawn down as though by itself.
And therefore the evening prayer is learned from the word "vayifga"[58] (unlike "where he had stood"[59], said regarding Avraham's morning prayer, or the expression "to meditate in the field"[60], said regarding Yitzchak's afternoon prayer[61]): since this is a level that is not drawn down through avodah but as though by itself, it emerges that the relation of the drawing down to man's avodah is as though unintentional. And this also accords with the interpretation that "the land contracted for him" — something that does not come in order and through man's avodah, but an act from Above, by an arousal from Above on its own.
Within the level of arousal from Above that the arousal from below does not reach, there are two levels[62]: the arousal from Above that is drawn down in the manner of "for He desires kindness," which comes from Above to arouse an arousal from below; and — the arousal from Above that is drawn down after the completion of the avodah of the lower ones, after all the levels of arousal from Above that come in proportion to the arousal from below have been drawn down. Then the arousal from Above that is far, far beyond the arousal from below is revealed — "a revelation of the very inwardness, from a level that the arousal from below does not reach," higher even than the first arousal from Above (which is only from the external level)[63].
7. According to this, two matters we find regarding the evening prayer[*63] are well explained: In Chassidus[64] it is explained — following the Zohar[65] — that the evening prayer being "optional" (that is, as explained, something above the arousal from below) is because this prayer comes after the avodah of the obligatory prayers of morning and afternoon [as is also so according to nigleh, that the evening prayer corresponds to "the limbs and fats"[66] (of the offerings during the day[67]), "which, if[68] they were not consumed while it was still day, are offered throughout the night"]. That is, after man's avodah in the two prayers (which "they instituted corresponding to the daily offerings"[69]), there comes as the conclusion, completion and fulfillment the drawing down of the evening prayer — the arousal from Above that comes after the completeness of man's avodah.
This is seemingly not understood: the beginning of the day's avodah is from the avodah of the preceding night, according to which it emerges that the evening prayer is not a continuation and completion of the two preceding prayers (morning and afternoon of the previous day), but the first prayer of the twenty-four-hour day[70]; and as the Gemara[71] cites the verse[72], "Evening and morning and noon…"[73] regarding the different times of prayer[74], and the verse begins with "evening"[75].
According to the above one may explain[76]: in the evening prayer there are both matters: the level of the evening prayer at the beginning of the day is the level of the arousal from Above before the arousal from below (mentioned above), an arousal from Above from a level higher than man's avodah, drawn down in the manner of "for He desires kindness" ("optional") — and it comes at the beginning of the day as a granting of strength for the avodah of the day that follows; and the level in the evening prayer that comes after the day's avodah is the arousal from Above that comes after the conclusion and completeness of the day's avodah.
8. One may say that in particular this is the difference between the two verses in our parsha — "and he encountered the place," at the beginning of the parsha, and "and angels of G‑d met him," at the end of the parsha: at the beginning of the parsha, when Yaakov begins — first going out to his avodah — the first kind of arousal from Above is drawn down, which comes as a preface and granting of strength for man's avodah; and therefore "vayifga (the place)" is only in relation to Yaakov — that for him it is as though unintended (as explained above, section 5) — an arousal from Above that comes by itself, not through an arousal from below. After the completion of the avodah in the house of Lavan — and likewise for each and every Jew at the completion of the avodah in the time of exile, after all the drawings-down that are in proportion to man's avodah have been drawn down — the level of arousal from Above from the level of Ein Sof is drawn down in the manner of a gift — and this is the level of "and angels of G‑d met him": the unintended "vayifga" is not only on Yaakov's part (in proportion to man's avodah) but also, as it were, on the part of Above,
because all the drawings-down from Ein Sof come as though by themselves[77].
And therefore it comes in the manner that "angels of Eretz Yisrael came toward him to escort him to the land": the earlier angels were for the sake of guarding — which indicates help and assistance to the person in his avodah (and that guarding is needed); but these angels were only to escort him, a matter of honor alone, as explained. For the arousal from Above comes after there is a "complete place" (no need for guarding — and more), nothing is lacking in the person (including in the drawing down from Above connected with his avodah), and it is drawn down in the manner of a gift.
9. Every matter in the Torah is a lesson in a person's avodah. So too in this matter: the Torah tells Jews that while still outside the land — in exile — before coming to Eretz Yisrael, G‑d sends angels of Eretz Yisrael toward him (outside the land — in the time of exile) to escort him to the land, in order to reveal to Jews the great quality of their avodah, and consequently this gives added strength, encouragement and reinforcement in the avodah.
Even at the time when Jews are still in exile, every Jew is told that not only need he not be daunted by exile and by the ways of the nations, because angels of outside the land go with him and guard him — and "the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps… G‑d is your guardian, G‑d is your shade at your right hand"[78][79], to the point that "kings shall be your nurturers and their princesses your nursing mothers"[80] even in the time of exile[81] — but more:
G‑d sends angels of Eretz Yisrael to escort him, to add to his honor[82]. That is, not being daunted by exile and the ways of the nations is not merely in an exile-like manner, but with breadth and in a redemption-like manner — angels of Eretz Yisrael, in a manner of honor.
And the very knowledge of this gives added encouragement and reinforcement in completing the avodah at the end of the time of exile: not to reckon at all with the ways of the nations, but to go securely on one's way, to complete the avodah of the "small jugs"[83] that still remain to be refined in the avodah of the time of exile;
and this hastens the entry of every Jew and all Jews into Eretz Yisrael with the angels of Eretz Yisrael, in the manner of "I will hasten it"[84],
speedily in our days, truly.
(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei 5743)