The Purpose of Ascent is Descent
Picture this: a lone pearl diver rocking gently on the surface of the sea. He tilts his face toward the sky and draws in one long, steady breath – a breath that fills his lungs and steadies his heart. Then, without hesitation, he plunges beneath the waves. Down he goes, deeper and darker, searching through the silence for hidden treasure – the pearls waiting inside rough, unassuming shells. When he finally surfaces, jewels in hand, he takes just enough air to dive again. The ascent is never the point; it's only the preparation – the inhalation before the next descent. The very purpose of his rising is to make possible his next descent.
Likewise, R' Nachman teaches (Likutei Moharan 22:11): צָרִיךְ לִהְיוֹת יְרִידָה קֹדֶם הָעֲלִיָּה כִּי הַיְרִידָה הִיא תַּכְלִית הָעֲלִיָּה (There must be a descent before an ascent, for the descent is the very purpose of the ascent). Every rise leads inevitably to a fall that opens the way to a higher ascent. Yet that descent is not a detour; it is the very תַּכְלִית [tachlit, ultimate purpose or goal] of the ascent that came before. The soul climbs only to gather breath, light, and strength from above, and then it must plunge again into the depths to redeem what lies hidden there. What seems like a fall is, in truth, the fulfillment of the climb.
R' Nachman brings two examples to illustrate his point: David's sin in the matter of Batsheva, and the sin of the Jewish People with the golden calf. Regarding these transgressions, R' Yochanan said in the name of R' Shimon bar Yochai (Avodah Zarah 4b): לֹא דָּוִד רָאוּי לְאוֹתוֹ מַעֲשֶׂה וְלֹא יִשְׂרָאֵל רְאוּיִן לְאוֹתוֹ מַעֲשֶׂה (David was not worthy of that deed, and Yisrael were not worthy of that deed). So why did they commit those sins? The Gemara explains (Avodah Zarah 4b-5a): אֶלָּא לָמָה עָשׂוּ? לוֹמַר לָךְ שֶׁאִם חָטָא יָחִיד אוֹמְרִים לוֹ: כְּלָךְ אֵצֶל יָחִיד, וְאִם חָטְאוּ צִבּוּר אוֹמְרִים לוֹ: כְּלָךְ אֵצֶל צִבּוּר (But why did they do it? To tell you that if an individual sins, we say to him, 'Go to the individual,' and if the community sins, we say to it, 'Go to that community').
In other words, Hashem didn't merely allow those moments of failure – He actively orchestrated them. As R' Nachman explicitly states: אֶלָּא שֶׁנָּתַן הַשֵּׁם יִתְבָּרַךְ לָהֶם מִכְשׁוֹל לְטוֹבַת הָעוֹלָם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה שָׁם: לְהוֹרוֹת תְּשׁוּבָה (Rather, that Hashem, may He be blessed, gave them a stumbling block for the good of the world, like our Rabbis of blessed memory said there, 'to teach teshuvah').
Rather shocking, is it not? Their descent wasn't a lapse in Divine hashgachach. Rather, it was a 'guided descent' – Heaven itself pushing them downward so future generations who would sin would have someone to turn to – an individual to learn from, or a community to identify with – and not despair of doing teshuvah. Thus, it is through the descent that we uncover the true purpose of the ascent: to bring the light of Torah into the dark places, and to turn every fall into a new level of teshuvah. As R' Nachman concludes: שֶׁזֶּהוּ בְּחִינוֹת יְרִידָה תַּכְלִית הָעֲלִיָּה (This is the concept of 'descent is the tachlit of the ascent').
Now what does any of this have to do with Parashat Toledot? In a word – everything. You might even say that 'descent is the tachlit of the ascent' is the overarching theme of the entire parashah.
Consider the opening. After twenty years of marriage, Rivkah finally gets pregnant – but she senses – she knows – that something is not quite right inside her. What does she do? The pasuk says (Bereshit 25:22): וַתֵּלֶךְ לִדְרֹשׁ אֶת־יְיָ (And she went to inquire of Hashem). Inquiring – seeking higher da'at. What was the essence of this inquiry? The Midrash says (Bereshit Rabbah 63:6): וַהֲלוֹא לֹא הָלְכָה אֶלָּא לַמִּדְרָשׁ שֶׁל שֵׁם וְעֵבֶר, אֶלָּא לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁכָּל מִי שֶׁהוּא מַקְבִּיל פְּנֵי זָקֵן כְּמַקְבִּיל פְּנֵי שְׁכִינָה (But, did she not go only to the Beit Midrash of Shem and Ever? Rather, this comes to teach you that whoever greets the face of an elder is as though he greets the face of the Shechinah). Although on a physical level she went to the leading tzaddikim of her generation, it was considered as if she had encountered the Shechinah itself. And the next pasuk says (Bereshit 25:23): וַיֹּאמֶר יְיָ לָהּ (And Hashem said to her). Rashi says: עַל יְדֵי שָׁלִיחַ; לְשֵׁם נֶאֱמַר בְּרוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ וְהוּא אָמַר לָהּ (Through a messenger – it was told to Shem through ruach ha-kodesh, and he told her). Even though she inquired of Shem and it was he who gave her the nevuah, the Torah considers it as if Hashem gave the nevuah directly to her. And that's a subtle, yet important point.
How come? This was her moment of ascent – receiving nevuah from Hashem! What an exalted experience, to be entrusted with a revelation about the destiny of nations. But then came the descent. For from that moment on, Rivkah had to live with the unbearable knowledge that one of her sons was a rasha gamur. Every day she nursed him, every day she dressed him, every day she watched him grow – knowing, with prophetic certainty, that this child she loved was her other son's mortal enemy. Her ascent had filled her with Divine light, but that light sent her down – into years of hidden anguish, forced to carry her nevuah in silence, to live among the shadows of what she knew but could never say – knowing that one day she was going to have to act on that nevuah and orchestrate the rather messy and morally tangled charade of dressing up Ya'akov to resemble Esav. Only someone who has truly ascended can descend like that – to love what must one day be lost, to nurture what will one day oppose, and to keep faith with the One who sent her down. Truly, her descent was the very tachlit of her ascent.
Then we come to Ya'akov himself (Bereshit 25:27): אִישׁ תָּם יֹשֵׁב אֹהָלִים (A simple man, dwelling in tents). Which tents? Rashi explains: אָהֳלוֹ שֶׁל שֵׁם וְאָהֳלוֹ שֶׁל עֵבֶר (The tent of Shem and the tent of Ever). This was Ya'akov's ascent – day after day immersed in Torah, learning from the greatest Sages of his generation. Yet even this exalted stage was not an end in itself. Its purpose was to prepare him with the da'at and inner strength to claim the bechorah – the birthright – for its true spiritual purpose, rather than watch it squandered and debased through the indifference of his ungrateful brother, who sold it away for a bowl of lentil stew. Again, ascent only for the purpose of the descent.
What about Yitzchak? When he lived in Gerar, Hashem blessed him beyond comprehension (Bereshit 26:12): וַיִּזְרַע יִצְחָק בָּאָרֶץ הַהִוא וַיִּמְצָא בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִוא מֵאָה שְׁעָרִים וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ יְיָ (And Yitzchak sowed in that land, and in that year he found a hundredfold, and Hashem blessed him). The Torah describes how his wealth multiplied until he became exceedingly great – an unmistakable ascent. But immediately afterward, jealousy arose (Bereshit 26:15): וְכׇל־הַבְּאֵרֹת אֲשֶׁר חָפְרוּ עַבְדֵי אָבִיו בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיו סִתְּמוּם פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיְמַלְאוּם עָפָר (And all the wells that the servants of his father had dug in the days of Avraham his father, the Philistines sealed and filled with dirt). Once again, blessing gives way to obstruction, yet even this descent had purpose: Yitzchak dug again, uncovering the living waters his father had left behind. Later, when Hashem appeared to him in Be'er Sheva, we read (Bereshit 26:24): וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו יְיָ בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא וַיֹּאמֶר אָנֹכִי אֱלֹקֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיךָ אַל־תִּירָא כִּי־אִתְּךָ אָנֹכִי וּבֵרַכְתִּיךָ וְהִרְבֵּיתִי אֶת־זַרְעֲךָ בַּעֲבוּר אַבְרָהָם עַבְדִּי (And Hashem appeared to him that night and said, I am the G-d of Avraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you, and I will bless you and increase your progeny for the sake of Avraham My servant). Here, he was lifted even higher – receiving a direct revelation of Hashem! – only to face renewed hostility from Avimelech and his men who came to contend with him once more. Yitzchak's life, like the pearl diver's, reveals the pattern: each blessing from above sends him down again to unearth the hidden wellsprings below.
We will end with one more example: the incredible ascent of Ya'akov when he received the blessings that Yitzchak had actually intended to give to Esav (Bereshit 27:27-29): רְאֵה רֵיחַ בְּנִי כְּרֵיחַ שָׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר בֵּרְכוֹ יְיָ׃ וְיִתֶּן־לְךָ הָאֱלֹקִים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ וְרֹב דָּגָן וְתִירֹשׁ׃ יַעַבְדוּךָ עַמִּים וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְךָ לְאֻמִּים הֱוֵה גְבִיר לְאַחֶיךָ וְיִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לְךָ בְּנֵי אִמֶּךָ אֹרְרֶיךָ אָרוּר וּמְבָרְכֶיךָ בָּרוּךְ (See, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field that Hashem blessed. And may G‑d give to you from the dew of heaven and from the richness of the land and an abundance of grain and fresh wine. May peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; be a lord to your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you and blessed be those who blessed you). And not only that – which, in and of itself, seems almost unfathomable to surpass – Yitzchak then blessed Ya'akov – after knowing that Ya'akov had deceived him (Bereshit 28:4): וְיִתֶּן־לְךָ אֶת־בִּרְכַּת אַבְרָהָם לְךָ וּלְזַרְעֲךָ אִתָּךְ לְרִשְׁתְּךָ אֶת־אֶרֶץ מְגֻרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַן אֱלֹקִים לְאַבְרָהָם (And may He give to you the blessing of Avraham, to you and to your progeny with you, to inherit the land of your sojournings which G‑d gave to Avraham). Yes, the blessing of inheriting what would become known as Eretz Yisrael – the crowning jewel of all blessings.
What a high! What an astonishing ascent! And then what? Rivkah finds out that Esav was planning on killing Ya'akov and so Yitzchak and Rivkah send Ya'akov away from home to go to her brother's home in Padan-Aram. And to prepare him for that descent even more, Hashem sent him up even higher. As Rashi explains (Bereshit 28:9): שֶׁנִּטְמַן בְּבֵית עֵבֶר י"ד שָׁנָה וְאַחַר כָּךְ הָלַךְ לְחָרָן (That he hid himself away in the Beit Midrash of Ever 14 years, and after that, he went to Lavan). Thick darkness. Deep exile. Ascent for the purpose of descent.
Some understand it the other way around – that Hashem engineers our descent in order that we would ascend. But R' Nachman turns that idea completely upside down. Our purpose is not to ascend for the sake of ascent. Our purpose is to be the pearl diver. Yes, we are to ascend – these are times of wondrous gifts – but their real purpose is to go down and bring up the pearls, to fix ourselves and the world around us. Each soul rises only to breathe in light – and then dives again, carrying that light into the depths until every hidden pearl has been brought up from the sea. That's the true meaning of tikkun olam.
