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Why did Yaakov place his children before his wives when moving, while Esav did the opposite? The Midrash frames this as "lev chacham b'yemino" versus "lev kesil b'smolo"—a chacham focuses on eternality through children, while a kesil pursues temporal fulfillment through marriage. The shiur develops the yesod that the purpose of marriage is not companionship but chinuch—producing and nurturing the next generation.
The shiur opens with a Midrash on Parshas Vayishlach that contrasts Yaakov and Esav's ordering of their families. The Midrash (Perek Beis, Yud Gimel) states: "Lev chacham limino v'lev kesil lismolo"—the heart of the wise is on his right, the heart of the fool on his left. It connects this to the fact that Yaakov placed his children before his wives ("Vayakam Yaakov vayisa es banav v'achar kach es nashav"), while Esav placed his wives first ("Vayikach Esav es nashav achar kach banav"). Rabbi Zweig explains that yemin (right) and smol (left) represent fundamental philosophical orientations. Yemin represents eternality, chesed (חסד), and hispashtus (expansion/continuity), while smol represents temporal existence, gevurah, and tzimtzum (constriction/limitation). When a person's focus is eternality—represented by the right side—his primary concern is children, who are the vehicle of eternality. The wife becomes the heichi timtzah (means) to achieve that end. When a person's focus is temporal existence—the left side—the primary concern is the marital relationship itself, and children become merely a byproduct, sometimes even an unwanted one.
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Why does the Midrash connect Pharaoh's expulsion of the Jews to the mitzvah of shiluach hakan? The shiur develops a chiddush that Pharaoh's sin wasn't only drowning the children, but the insensitivity of expelling the parents afterward. The deeper analysis reveals that Pharaoh may have valued the Jews greatly and wanted to control them—making his expulsion an act of tremendous cruelty, not liberation.
Why does Moshe respond to the splitting of the sea with shirah rather than praise or thanksgiving? Rashi's use of "al libo" reveals that shirah is an emotional expression—a response of love to love. When Hashem shows personal care, the only adequate response is "I love You too," not mere gratitude or praise, and this principle applies to all relationships.
Bereishis 33:1, 36:6 (Parshas Vayishlach)
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