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Vayishlah - The Angels in Our Lives

 

Parashat Vayishlah begins with the words, וישלח יעקב מלאכים לפניו אל עשו אחיו – "Yaakov sent ahead angels to his brother, Esav."

 

Rashi clarifies that the word מלאכים in this pasuk should be understood as a reference to מלאכים ממש – actual angels.  These weren't human messengers whom the Torah describes with the term מלאכים, but rather were actual angels.

 

This explanation is supported by the fact that in the preceding pesukim, we read that as Yaakov left Haran and made his way to Eretz Yisrael, he encountered מלאכי אלוקים– "angels of G-d."  It seems that Yaakov sent them to his brother.

 

It is interesting to note that angels play a very significant role in the story of Yaakov Avinu.  When he set out from his hometown to live in Haran, he dreamt of angels going up and down a ladder that extended from the ground to the heavens.  While in Haran, as he struggled working for his corrupt uncle, Lavan, an angel appeared to him in a dream.  As mentioned, he encountered angels on his way back home.  And, our parashah tells that he was later attacked by a mysterious assailant, identified by the Rabbis as שרו של עשו– the angel of his brother, Esav.

 

What are we to make of this aspect of Yaakov's life?  Why were angels such a big part of his story?

 

We can perhaps answer this question in light of the Gemara's teaching (Shabbat 119b) about what happens in our homes every week on Friday night.

 

The Gemara says that when a person walks home from shul on Friday night, he is accompanied by two angels – one "good" angel and one "bad" angel.  If his home is properly set up for Shabbat, then the "good" angel gives the person a berachah that his home should be that way the next Shabbat, too, and the "bad" angel has no choice but to answer "amen."  But if the house is not properly arranged for Shabbat, then the "bad" angel wishes the person that this should happen the next Shabbat, too, and the "good" angel is forced to answer "amen."

 

I want to ask a simple question about this teaching.  Why can't I have two good angels with me when I come home from shul on Friday night???  Why does there have to be a "bad" angel? 

 

The answer is that these "angels" reflect our experiences during the previous week, what's happening in our lives.

 

Life is full of surprising twists and turns.  So many unexpected things happen in our lives – some good, and some bed.  At every step of the way, Hashem sends us "angels," people and circumstances.  Sometimes they are wonderful, and sometimes they are challenging.  This is life.  Nobody has a perfectly good life, and nobody has an entirely bad life.  Every one of us has a life with both "good" angels and "bad" angels, with both blessings and hardships.

 

When we begin Shabbat, we carry with us both sides of the equation, the good and the bad.  The question is how we handle this combination of good and bad.  If we succeed in properly preparing for Shabbat, in creating a beautiful, upbeat atmosphere in our home despite whatever challenges we're dealing with, then our lives are truly blessed – by both the "good" angel and the "bad" angel.  If we can think positively and experience joy and contentment despite our struggles, then our lives are beautiful – with both the good and the bad.

 

There is perhaps nobody in our history who dealt with more unexpected twists and turns than Yaakov Avinu.  On the one hand, he was very blessed – he had a large family, children who were all tzadikim, and a large fortune.  On the other hand, he dealt with so many harsh challenges.  He was pursued by his brother.  He was deceived by Lavan for twenty years.  His daughter was abducted and violated.  His beloved son was sold into slavery by his brothers. 

 

Yaakov encountered numerous different "angels" over the course of his life.  He had angels that helped and protected him.  And he had an angel that violently attacked him and that he struggled to overcome, ultimately succeeding.

 

The key to a happy life is not to wait until all the "bad" angels disappear.  That will never happen.  The key to a happy life is to do what we do every Shabbat – make our homes and our lives beautiful despite what we're dealing with. 

 

If we do this, then we will have defeated the "bad" angels that we encounter along the way, by not allowing them to get in the way of our efforts to live a happy, fulfilling life. - Rabbi Joey Haber

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https://itorah.com/weekly-inspire/the-angels-in-our-lives/15/30674