Philosophers On Fire | Parsha Shiur Vayishlach 5786

For decades, Yaakov had feared and dreaded the moment he would encounter his brother and great nemesis Esav. Yet, despite the decades of animosity, their meeting seems nothing but peaceful. They embrace, they kiss, they weep and then they speak. At some point Esav asks Yaakov about the: ‘All this camp which i met.’ Yaakov explained that its intention was ‘to find favor in the eyes of my master.’ The Baal Haturim explains that Esav was voicing his resentment at the fact that he (once again) felt scammed by Yaakov. Esav reminded Yaakov of an agreement they had made while they were in their mother’s womb. The agreement was that Yaakov gets the ‘world to come’ and Esav gets ‘this world.’ But: ‘in the world to come there is no procreation’ cried Esav. So: ‘how do you come to be in possession of such a large family?’ A Midrash regarding the identity of the Angel who wrestled with Yaakov all night sheds a deeper light into the nature of Yaakov’s fear. There is much discussion in Chassidus about the fundamental difference between Angels and Souls. At its core the difference comes down to what happens when you dip them into ‘A River Of Fire.’ מקורות: רמב״ם הלכות מלכים פרק י״א הלכה ג׳