Likkutei Sichos Vol. 30 – Vayishlach 1
1. In the prohibition of the sciatic nerve (gid hanasheh), the Written Torah itself provides a reason for the prohibition: “Therefore, the children of Israel do not eat the sciatic nerve which is upon the socket of the thigh until this day, because he touched the socket of Yaakov’s thigh in the sciatic nerve.”
This reason also determines the specific details of the prohibition: the prohibition applies only to the nerve that is on the socket of the thigh; a bird—which does not have a socket of the thigh—its nerve is permitted; there is a dispute between Rabbi Yehudah and the Sages whether the prohibition of the sciatic nerve applies only to the right thigh or also to the left thigh, and the reason for their disagreement is that according to Rabbi Yehudah, the angel touched only Yaakov’s right thigh, while the Sages hold that “he dislocated both of them” (“he struck both until they were dislocated from their place and rose up”), and therefore both are forbidden.
This requires explanation:
In explaining the reason given in the verse, “Therefore the children of Israel do not eat… because he touched…,” the commentators write that it is “to remember the strength of Yaakov and the miracle that G‑d performed for him,” meaning, it is not merely a remembrance of the angel of Esav touching the socket of Yaakov’s thigh, but of the entire event of Yaakov’s struggle and his salvation from the angel.
The reason that a remembrance is made specifically for this salvation—even though we find explicitly in the Written Torah several miracles and acts of salvation with Avraham, and also with Yaakov himself, and yet no remembrance was established for them for generations—is explained by the Sefer HaChinuch (and other commentators) in the “roots” of this mitzvah: it is “a hint to Israel that even though they will endure many troubles in exile at the hands of the nations and at the hands of the children of Esav, they should be confident that they will not be lost, but their offspring will endure forever.” That is, this salvation is connected to a most fundamental matter in the life of the Jewish people.
According to this, we need to understand: when a “remembrance” is made for a particular event or matter, the act of remembrance should resemble the event being recalled—such as the remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt on Pesach, which is by performing “all the acts of this night in the manner of freedom”; the remembrance of the act of Creation on Shabbos is by refraining from work, and so on.
Why, then, is the remembrance for such a fundamental and general matter (the salvation of Yaakov, which is an allusion to the salvation of the entire Jewish people from the children of Esav) only in the specific prohibition of the sciatic nerve (which is just one detail of the event)? Moreover:
The prohibition is limited in its manner and details according to the specifics of the event of the touching of Yaakov’s thigh, as above (even though, seemingly, these details are not significant in the overall event and salvation)—and this is not a “remembrance” that fits the (general) salvation, and so on.
Furthermore: since the Torah is precise in writing the reason for the prohibition [to the extent that, according to the Sages, this verse (“Therefore the children of Israel do not eat…”) “was said at Sinai, but was written in its place to make known for what reason it was forbidden to them”—meaning, it is so important to know “for what reason it was forbidden” that this verse was written immediately, not at the place it was spoken]—it is reasonable to say that these two extremes in the prohibition of the sciatic nerve (a remembrance for a most general event; and its “limitation” to a specific detail of that event) are not a decree of Scripture whose reason is unknown, but rather, they have an (intelligible) reason.
2. This will be understood by first explaining one of the advantages of G‑d’s providence over the Jewish people [which is the content of the mitzvah of the sciatic nerve, as above—to recall the protection and providence of G‑d over His people Israel, that they should not be lost, G‑d forbid, in the exile among the nations] as compared to His providence over other creatures—and by way of introduction:
It is well known—the explanation and innovation of our teacher the Baal Shem Tov regarding G‑d’s providence over His world: that there is individual Divine providence not only over human beings, but over all creatures—even animals, plants, and inanimate objects. For many Jewish sages before the Baal Shem Tov held that individual providence applies only to each and every human being, whereas with animals, plants, and inanimate objects there is only a general providence over the species; but the Baal Shem Tov explained and innovated that even the specific (events of) inanimate objects, plants, and animals are according to His Divine providence.
[As has been discussed many times, all the concepts explained in the teachings of Chassidus have their source in the revealed part of Torah (either explicitly or at least by way of allusion). The same applies to this matter—that there is explicit proof from the revealed Torah that individual Divine providence applies even to inanimate objects, plants, and animals (a proof brought by the Alter Rebbe—the one whose day of joy and redemption is Yud-Tes Kislev)—from the words of our Sages in Tractate Chullin: “Rabbi Yochanan, when he would see a shalach (a bird ‘that draws fish from the sea’), would say, ‘Your judgments are like the great deep.’” And Rashi explains: “You prepared the shalach to judge and carry out Your vengeance upon the fish of the sea, to kill those destined to die.” It is thus explicitly clear that there is judgment and justice even regarding the individual fish of the sea, to the extent that G‑d arranges for a specific bird to kill this particular fish that is destined to die.]
The Baal Shem Tov explained the nature of this individual Divine providence: “Not only are all the specific movements of the created beings of each species under the individual providence of the Creator, blessed be He, but furthermore, a particular movement of a specific created being is connected to the overall purpose of creation. Even a single movement of a particular blade of grass fulfills the ultimate Divine intent in the matter of creation.”
[As has often been discussed, there is a simple analogy for this from human life: The way of a woman of valor, a successful homemaker, is that in addition to carefully supervising all the details of what is in her home—so that everything is in its proper place and all is conducted with precise order—furthermore, every single item in her home has a part in the overall purpose of running the household. Everything is accounted for and precise, so that nothing is lacking and nothing is superfluous—nothing is missing for the running of the home, and nothing is extra (serving no purpose for that goal).
If this is so in the life of a simple homemaker, how much more so—infinitely more so—regarding the Creator and Ruler of the world: In addition to the fact that every detail of the events of all the created beings in G‑d’s world is under His providence, each one of them is also relevant to the fulfillment of the ultimate Divine intent in creation.]
3. It is understood that even according to the Baal Shem Tov’s view (that there is individual Divine providence over all created beings), there is a fundamental difference between the individual providence over all creatures and G‑d’s providence over the Jewish people.
As the Previous Rebbe brings in the name of the Baal Shem Tov: Even though individual Divine providence applies to all created beings, even to the smallest detail, nevertheless, the nature of the individual providence over “His close nation” (the Jewish people) is impossible to imagine or comprehend (“This cannot be depicted at all… whatever concerns a Jew is under individual providence in a way that cannot be understood”).
From the plain meaning of these words, it is understood that this superiority applies also to the particularity of the providence itself—that is, to what degree every single detail is watched over by Him, and how it fulfills the ultimate Divine intent.
It is known that there are various levels and modes of providence—among them, in the language of Scripture, “The eye of G‑d is upon those who fear Him,” “The eyes of G‑d are upon the righteous” (with one eye or with two eyes). The difference between them would seem (at first glance) to be not in the “particularity” of the providence, but only in its manner; for example, whether the providence is clothed and concealed within the ways of nature, or whether it is open and revealed to all (even to the point of bringing about miraculous conduct, etc.).
But from the plain continuation of the Previous Rebbe’s words (in the name of the Baal Shem Tov) cited above, it is implied that the superiority of the providence over “His close nation” is not only in its manner, but also in its particularity. That is, although individual Divine providence applies to all created beings—even to the point that every detail is relevant to the fulfillment of the general purpose of creation—nevertheless, there is a wondrous superiority in the providence over every single detail of “His close nation” (and such a superiority that is beyond intellect).
4. The explanation of this may be as follows:
Although all created beings “exist only because of the truth of His existence” and are watched over by Him, nevertheless, G‑d’s (primary) will and choice is only in Israel, as it is written, “He chose us from among all the nations,” and it is said, “I have loved you, says G‑d… Was not Esav a brother to Yaakov? Yet I loved Yaakov.”
It can be explained that this is also the meaning of our Sages’ statement that the world was created “for the sake of the Torah… and for the sake of Israel”: Israel and the Torah are the purpose of creation (as our Sages said, “I was (not) created (except) to serve my Creator”), meaning that G‑d’s will and choice is in them themselves.
By contrast, the rest of creation is not an end and purpose in itself, but only an “intermediary” through which the intent of G‑d in Torah and Israel is fulfilled. As our Sages said, “They were created only to serve me,” meaning that His will is not in them for their own sake; they are only “servants” (“means”) for Torah and Israel.
The nature of will (and choice) is such that when one desires (and chooses) a certain thing, it is possible for the desire to extend equally to all parts and details of that thing (with the same intensity), despite the differences in importance and quality among the details (in terms of their own content). [So much so that if even one detail of the thing is missing (even a seemingly small and secondary detail), the entirety is lacking, since the will is not complete.]
This is similar to what we find regarding the mitzvos, which are the supernal will (the decree of the King): although there are vast differences among the mitzvos of the Torah—our Sages speak of “the lightest of the light” and “the most severe of the severe”—nevertheless, they said, “Do not sit and weigh the mitzvos of the Torah,” but rather, one must be equally careful with all the mitzvos. For despite the differences between the mitzvos in their content (in the language of the Chinuch, the “roots of the mitzvah”) and the like, they are all His will, “Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us,” and this is truly equal in all the mitzvos. Just as G‑d desires the severe mitzvos, so too does He desire the lighter ones—with the same will.
[It can be said that because of this aspect of mitzvos, we sometimes find that if one detail is missing, the entire whole is lacking. For example: a convert who accepts upon himself the entire Torah except for one thing (even something of rabbinic origin) is not accepted; likewise, “one who says that the Torah is not from G‑d—even a single verse, even a single word… he is a denier of the Torah,” “and there is (in this) no difference between ‘the sons of Cham: Cush and Mitzrayim, and the name of his wife was Mehetavel…’ and ‘I am the L‑rd your G‑d…’”]
5. Based on this, we can understand the superiority of the individual Divine providence over Israel, “His close nation,” compared to the individual providence over the rest of creation:
With regard to other created beings, although every single detail is relevant to the fulfillment of the general purpose (as explained above), nevertheless, since the importance of the details depends on their own quality
[Like the human body: although its perfection is when it possesses all its limbs (including even hair and nails), still, one cannot at all compare the importance of the limbs upon which the soul depends to the other parts of the body (and certainly not to the hair and nails, which are the most secondary details)]
therefore, the providence over each and every detail is “each according to its own level” (to the extent that it “serves” the Torah and Israel).
By contrast, with Israel, “His close nation,” since G‑d’s providence over them is a result of His will and choice in them, it follows that in addition to the fact that there is providence over every single detail (and in such a way that every detail fulfills the general purpose in creation), the manner of providence over the details is not only according to the individual importance of each detail (where there are differences according to the importance of the detail), but rather, the providence is equal for all. For from the perspective of His will and choice in Israel, every single detail of them “matters” equally.
6. Based on all this, we can explain the reason why the “reminder” of the salvation of Yaakov was established specifically in one detail of the event, and even within that, there is precision regarding the detail of the detail (whether it is only the sciatic nerve of the right thigh, or also of the left, etc.)—for through this, the nature and manner of G‑d’s providence over Yaakov our father (and consequently—also over the Jewish people, the children of Yaakov) is expressed:
G‑d’s providence is in such a manner that not only is every single detail watched over by Him (and even more so—that every single detail is relevant to the fulfillment of the general purpose), but furthermore, when it comes to the fulfillment of His will, the most important details and those that seem secondary and insignificant are all watched over by Him equally.
This point is emphasized in the mitzvah of the sciatic nerve, where the commemoration of the entire event of Yaakov’s salvation was established specifically on a detail within a detail of the event—to teach us that even a seemingly secondary detail was relevant to the overall salvation.
7. However, the matter is still not entirely clear. For it is true that by establishing the commemoration in a detail within a detail of this event, it alludes to the greatness of G‑d’s providence over the Jewish people, in the manner of providence over every single detail as explained above. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, it would seem more appropriate to establish the commemoration on a general aspect. In other words: by establishing the commemoration in such a manner, it would seem that the commemoration of the overall salvation is lacking—for after all, the sciatic nerve is only a detail of the event.
The explanation of this can be given by first introducing another concept regarding the relationship of the Jewish people to the Holy One, blessed be He: Regarding the Jewish people it is said, “For the L‑rd’s portion is His people,” meaning that they are like “a part of the essence,” similar to a son who is a part of his father’s essence. That is, in addition to the fact that G‑d chose His people Israel and loves them (where there is still a sense of two entities—chooser and chosen, lover and beloved), they are, so to speak, a single essence.
[As is the well-known analogy from the Maggid of Mezritch, “that even before the Jewish people were created, their form was engraved in thought, as our Sages say, ‘Israel arose in thought’”—that is, even “before the Jewish people were created” as a separate existence, “their form was engraved in thought.” It can be said that this is the precision of the word “engraved”—for engraving is from within and of itself, since Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, are entirely one.]
It is known that “when you grasp part of the essence, you have grasped it all,” for the “essence” is present in its entirety in all of its parts.
Similarly, we find an example of this in the matter of mitzvos—“One who is engaged in a mitzvah is exempt from another mitzvah,” which means that “it is as if he fulfills the other mitzvah as well,” for every mitzvah contains within it all the other mitzvos. It is explained that the Supernal Will in the 613 mitzvos is an essential will, and therefore, by grasping “part” of this will (fulfilling one mitzvah), one grasps it all, and it is as if he fulfills the other mitzvah as well.
In the same way, we find regarding the Jewish people—that even “one soul of Israel” is “an entire world,” to the extent that (in the laws of saving a life) we sometimes find that “one soul of Israel” has the same importance as many or as the entire community. To the point that if non-Jews say to a group of Jews, “Give us one of you and we will kill him, and if not, we will kill you all,” all should allow themselves to be killed rather than hand over a single Jewish soul. One explanation for this is that in every “part” of the collective of Israel, “the whole is grasped”—that is, in the “essence” found in every Jew, the essence of the entire community is present.
8. With this, we can understand on a deeper level the greatness of the individual Divine providence over Israel, His close nation:
In those matters where this unity between Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, is expressed and revealed (that they are “a part of the essence”), the providence over them is such that (not only does G‑d watch over every single detail of theirs, and in such a way that in many respects every detail is equally relevant to the fulfillment of the general purpose, but furthermore) in every single detail of this providence over His people Israel, “the whole is grasped”—the entire essential bond between them.
And so it was in this event of Yaakov’s salvation from the angel of Esav, which was a most general matter in Yaakov’s life, reaching to his very essence.
For this reason, the commemoration was established regarding the salvation of Yaakov (not in a general matter, but) specifically concerning a particular detail within a detail (as explained above)—to teach the deepest concept in the Divine providence and protection that the Holy One, blessed be He, extends over Israel: that this providence—as it is manifest in Yaakov, who is the essence of the collective of Israel, and whose soul “contained within it all the souls of Israel from the beginning of time until the end of time”—is such that in every single detail, down to the smallest and most seemingly insignificant point, “the whole is grasped.”
(From talks on the eve of Shavuos 5746; Simchas Torah 5718)