The Small Jugs: Holy Money through Faith

1“And Yaakov was left alone, and a man wrestled with him.”¹ On this Chazal said: “R' Elazar said: He stayed behind for some small jugs. From here we learn that tzaddikim hold their money dearer than their bodies.”² Taken at face value, these words are hard to understand. How can one say of tzaddikim at all that their money is dear to them? Stranger still is the claim that it is dearer to them than their own bodies.

2Chazal said further in the same passage: “Rav Shmuel bar Nachmani said: He appeared to him as an idolater [Esav's angel, to Yaakov]. Rav Shmuel bar Acha said: He appeared to him as a Torah scholar.” What did Chazal mean by this? What difference does it make whether the angel appeared to Yaakov as an idolater or as a Torah scholar?

3In the same passage Chazal also said: “Behei'avko imo, ‘when he wrestled with him,’ teaches that the two of them raised the avak, the dust, of their feet up to the Throne of Glory.” This too is among “the words of the wise and their riddles,”³ and we must understand it.

4aPerhaps we can explain all this through the words of my holy ancestor⁴ in his sefer Toldos Adam. He comments on the verse in Parshas Vayeira where Avraham tells his guests, “And wash your feet.” Rashi explains: “He thought they were Arabs who bow down to the dust of their feet, and he was careful not to bring idolatry into his house.”⁵ This is puzzling. How could there be such a form of idolatry, bowing down to the dust of one's feet, a thing with no substance at all? The Toldos Adam explains it this way. It is a great principle in avodas Hashem, the service of Hashem, to know that everything comes from His power, and not to say in our hearts, “My strength and the might of my hand made me this wealth.”⁶ This is the foundation of faith: to recognize that everything is from Hashem, for He makes everything in the world and brings it into being, as the verse says, “And You give life to them all.”⁷

4bOnly Israel can recognize and understand this. The nations of the world fall short of grasping it, and in everything they do in this world they always say in their hearts, “My strength and the might of my hand.” That is the meaning of “bowing down to the dust of their feet.” They imagine that their wealth and riches came to them through their own pursuit and their business dealings, for which they toil, running about on their feet. This counts as idolatry, for by it they deny faith in Hashem, Heaven forbid. This is what Rashi meant by “he was careful not to bring idolatry into his house”: Avraham took care that his guests should not enter his house with this heretical way of thinking. That is the gist of his holy words.

5The tzaddikim trust only in Hashem. They believe that “a person does not so much as bruise his finger below unless it is decreed upon him from Above.”⁸ Through this faith they rectify money, freeing it from the pull of greed. Because they recognize that all the money they have comes entirely through Hashem's power and from Him, they bring the money in their possession into holiness. So even their money is like a holy thing.

6This lets us explain Chazal's statement that Yaakov “stayed behind for some small jugs.” Yaakov Avinu had rectified his money through faith, as the tzaddikim do, and so he had brought all the money in his possession into holiness. His money was like something holy. That is why he stayed behind for the small jugs: they were holy things, and it was not at all out of a desire for money, Heaven forbid. Chazal meant the same when they said, “From here we learn that tzaddikim hold their money dear.” Tzaddikim hold their money dear not out of a desire for money, Heaven forbid, but because they have served the Creator with it, for His honor. [When Chazal said that it is dearer to them than their bodies, they meant that for this reason tzaddikim put themselves in possible danger. The Pri Tzaddik of R' Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin cites a teaching in the name of the Yid HaKadosh of Peshischa, R' Yaakov Yitzchak. A tzaddik, he taught, is obligated to benefit from anything connected to him, even at the cost of mesirus nefesh, the readiness to give one's life.⁹ So Yaakov Avinu, who knew that the small jugs were his, that they belonged to his soul and had been created for his sake, risked his life to bring them across.]

7aThis also lets us understand Yaakov Avinu's wrestling with Esav's angel.¹⁰ Yaakov Avinu had come to rectify money and bring it into holiness, so Esav's angel came against him and fought him on this very point. The angel wanted to dampen Yaakov's faith that money comes from Hashem, and the faith of the generations to come as well, and to plant false beliefs in his heart, Heaven forbid. He knew that Yaakov Avinu was the chosen one of the Avos, and that if he managed to influence Yaakov, he would thereby influence all of Klal Yisrael for all generations. That is why he fought Yaakov over this, scheming to hand those corrupt beliefs down to the generations to come, Heaven forbid.

7bWe can explain that this is the point of Chazal's disagreement over whether the angel appeared to Yaakov as an idolater or as a Torah scholar. “These and these are the words of the living God”:¹¹ each sage was explaining a different point. Rav Shmuel bar Nachmani, who said that the angel appeared to Yaakov as an idolater, explains what Esav's angel fought Yaakov with. The angel fought in the manner of an “idolater”: he wanted to instill in Yaakov the feeling that money comes to a person from his own strength and the might of his hand, which, as the Toldos Adam explained, is a form of idolatry. Rav Shmuel bar Acha, who said that “he appeared to him as a Torah scholar,” explains what Yaakov fought the angel with: it was Yaakov who appeared to Esav's angel as a Torah scholar. That is, Yaakov walked in the ways of the tzaddikim we described. Through the great power of their service, tzaddikim can elevate money to give their Creator pleasure and satisfaction, so that through them it becomes like a holy thing.

8We may say that Chazal hinted at this when they read “and a man wrestled (vaye'avek) with him” as teaching that the two of them raised the avak, the dust, of their feet up to the Throne of Glory. The dust of the feet hints at bowing down to the dust of one's feet. That is what Esav's angel tried to bring into Israel and instill in it, to corrupt the faith that everything comes from Hashem's power. Yaakov Avinu, in contrast, rooted that faith firmly, and by this he overpowered the angel and defeated him. He showed that everything is from Hashem, that “He is the One Who gives strength to make wealth,”¹² and that “my strength and the might of my hand” has no reality at all. That is the meaning of “up to the Throne of Glory”: Yaakov showed that money comes only from Hashem's power.

9In this way we can also explain why Esav's angel struck Yaakov in the gid hanasheh, the sciatic nerve, and in his leg, of all places. Following our approach, we may say that this hints at “the dust of their feet,” the very point at which the angel sought to strike Yaakov and dampen his faith.

10Our approach also explains the Midrash on this verse, “And Yaakov was left alone”: “R' Berechiah said in the name of R' Simon: Just as it is written of the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘And Hashem alone will be exalted,’ so too of Yaakov: ‘And Yaakov was left alone.’”¹³ But what connection or likeness do these two verses have to each other at all? The verse “And Hashem alone will be exalted” speaks of the days of Moshiach, so what does it have to do with our passage?

11According to what we have said, however, the comparison fits well. We know that in the days of Moshiach everyone will recognize the power of Hashem's kingship, that everything comes from His power. That is what the Midrash means: “Just as it is written of the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘And Hashem alone will be exalted,’ so too of Yaakov: ‘And Yaakov was left alone.’” When Yaakov Avinu fought Esav's angel over this foundation of faith, he handed down to the generations after him a pure influence, a taste of what Israel will be privileged to receive in the Time to Come. He let this understanding shine even into the days of gloom and the darkness of exile. As the verse says, “And a man wrestled with him … until the break of dawn”: his battle lasted for all the days of exile, until the redemption comes. Through his influence we believe, even today, that everything comes from Hashem's power. That is the meaning of “alone”: Hashem is One, and there is none besides Him.

12Our words also explain a teaching of Chazal in the Midrash: “All those gifts that Yaakov Avinu gave to Esav, the nations of the world will one day return to King Moshiach in the Time to Come.”¹⁴ But this is puzzling. We know that in the days of Moshiach Israel will reach great levels, and money, it would seem, will surely count for nothing. If so, what is so remarkable about the Holy One, blessed be He, returning the gifts to Israel?

13aWe can explain this along the lines of what my holy ancestor, zt"l, wrote about the gifts in his holy sefer Toldos Adam. He comments on the verse “And he took from that which came into his hand a gift for Esav his brother,”¹⁵ and notices its wording: what is meant by “that which came into his hand”? He explains it through the principle we have already seen. The foundation of avodas Hashem is to know that everything a person accomplishes and does in this world is done entirely by Hashem's power. The feeling of “my strength and the might of my hand” should not arise in his heart. Rather, he should know with certainty that Hashem, and no other, gives him the strength to make wealth.

13bThe tzaddikim, who constantly serve Hashem in this way, immediately search for ways to rectify their money whenever they sense a blemish in it. We know of earlier tzaddikim that when they received pidyon nefesh money¹⁶ and sensed that it was not pure, they would not use it, and some tzaddikim used such money only for lowly needs. Along these lines we may say that Yaakov Avinu, too, was afraid that the money he had gained through Lavan might not be pure, so he gave it to Esav as a gift. That is the meaning of the verse “And he took from that which came into his hand.” He took the money that he sensed was of the kind that “came into his hand,” money on which rested the kelipah, the husk of impurity, of “my strength and the might of my hand.” That money he gave to Esav his brother, and he would not use it for his own needs. That is the gist of his holy words.

14On this basis we can also explain the verse further on, “And Yaakov came whole (shalem) … and he encamped before the city.”¹⁷ Rashi and Chazal say: “Whole in his body, for he was healed of his limp; whole in his money, for he lacked nothing even after that entire gift; whole in his Torah, for he had not forgotten his learning in the house of Lavan.”¹⁸ At first glance this is hard to understand. “Whole in his Torah” and “whole in his body” make sense, but what is the point of “whole in his money”? Great wealth is a very unseemly thing, as the verse says, “One who loves money will never be satisfied with money.”¹⁹ All the more so for Yaakov Avinu, the chosen one of the Avos, described as “Yaakov, a wholesome man.”²⁰ What importance could money have had for him?

15Chazal said something else that needs explaining: “‘And he encamped (vayichan) before the city’: Rav said, he instituted coinage for them.”²¹ This too seems surprising. What need did Yaakov Avinu have to institute coins for the people of the city? Was he a coin merchant?

16The Toldos Adam's teaching lets us explain properly what “whole in his money, for he lacked nothing even after that entire gift” means. Yaakov brought his money to the level of wholeness, and he reached it by giving Esav all the money in his possession that did not come from a pure source.

17We should take a lesson for ourselves from Chazal's words. By becoming whole in his money, Yaakov Avinu instilled and rooted this power in his descendants after him as well. Even in the dark days of exile our money can be completely kosher, without any flaw, through our faith that Hashem is the One Who provides and prepares food for all His creatures.

18In this way we can explain Chazal's saying about Yaakov Avinu, “He instituted coinage for them.” As is well known, “the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children,”²² and Chazal say, “Go out and pave the way before your children.”²³ So Yaakov Avinu wanted to point out and pave this path for the generations to come, so that they would know that Hashem is the One Who gives strength to make wealth, and that “not by strength does a man prevail.”²⁴ By this he made money whole and rectified, so that Israel would be able to serve Hashem through money. That is the meaning of “He instituted coinage for them.” The word tikein, “instituted,” also means “rectified”: he worked to bring coinage and money to their rectification and completeness. [In other words, their money should be rectified, with only its good side in it and not its evil side. (Although he did this for the people of Shechem, that was before the giving of the Torah, when the nations had not yet been set apart from Israel. He wanted to show the way and give his children a sign that Hashem can be served in matters of coinage as well.)]

19This properly explains the Midrash about the gifts, which says that in the days of Moshiach they will be returned to Israel. In the days of Moshiach Israel will reach great and wondrous levels, as the verse says, “For the earth will be filled with knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea,” and as another verse says, “Not a hunger for bread nor a thirst for water, but to hear the word of Hashem.”²⁵ Then everyone will recognize and know that there is none besides Him. Through this Israel's money will be rectified to complete perfection, since Israel will know that everything comes from Hashem's power and His providence. So it is fitting that in the days of Moshiach Israel will receive back the money that Yaakov Avinu gave Esav and will bring it all into holiness, so that through Israel this money, too, will be rectified.

20This is also the meaning of Chazal's statement that the kingdom of Greece would say to Israel, “Write on the horn of the ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel.”²⁶ Why on the horn of an ox, of all things? We can explain that the ox alludes to strength. The Greeks wanted to plant in Israel the belief that everything a person does is only “my strength and the might of my hand,” just as Esav's angel had schemed to instill in Israel. That is why they said, “Write on the horn of the ox that you have no portion in the God of Israel.” Over this the Chashmona'im, the Hasmoneans of the Chanukah story, fought them and prevailed.

21May Hashem grant that we be privileged always to stand firm in the battle against the false beliefs that Esav's angel sought to plant among Israel. May the Holy One, blessed be He, help us to know that everything comes from His power, for Yaakov Avinu fought this battle also to pave the way for the generations to come. May Hashem grant that we be able to serve Him in this way, at least in part, so that our money is whole, without any blemish. So may we continue in the way of our fathers and thereby bring near the redemption, with the coming of the righteous redeemer. Amen, may it be His will.