Tanach · Acharonim on Tanach · Or HaChaim · Torah
Or HaChaim on Genesis 32:11/אור החיים על בראשית ל״ב:י״א
אקָטֹנְתִּי וְגוֹ׳. אָמְרוֹ מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וְאַחַר כָּךְ מִכָּל הָאֱמֶת, וּמִן הָרָאוּי הָיָה לוֹ לְהַקְדִּים הָאֱמֶת וְאַחַר כָּךְ הַחֶסֶד שֶׁהוּא לִפְנִים מִשּׁוּרַת הַדִּין, נִתְכַּוֵּן לוֹמַר שֶׁחֶסֶד אֵל אֵין כֹּחַ בָּאָדָם לְשַׁלֵּם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן, וְאֵלָיו יִקָּרֵא אֱמֶת כִּי אֵין לוֹ תַּשְׁלוּם מֵאָדָם, כְּאָמְרוֹ (איוב לה:ז) ״אִם צָדַקְתָּ מַה תִּתֶּן לוֹ״, וּכְפִי זֶה יִקָּרֵא חֶסֶד שֶׁל אֱמֶת עַל דֶּרֶךְ אָמְרָם זִכְרוֹנָם לִבְרָכָה (בראשית רבה צו:ה) חֶסֶד הֶעָשׂוּי עִם הַמֵּתִים קָרוּי שֶׁל אֱמֶת.
1 קטונתי מכל החסדים, "I am not worthy of all the kindnesses, etc." Jacob first mentioned חסדים, kindness, and then אמת, divine assistance, which he felt he had qualified for. Actually, Jacob should have mentioned the אמת before mentioning the חסדים, something he was not even entitled to. He mentioned the חסדים first because they are something that it is impossible for man to repay to G'd. He called it אמת because man is incapable of requiting these acts of kindness. We know this from Job 35,7: אם צדקת מה תתן לו, "even assuming that you were righteous, what can you possibly give to Him?" This is why services rendered for the dead are called חסד של אמת, seeing that the dead cannot repay us (Bereshit Rabbah 96,5).
בעוֹד יְכַוֵּן לוֹמַר שְׁנֵי פְּרָטֵי הַטָּבָה: הָאֶחָד הַחֶסֶד שֶׁנִּתְחַסֵּד עִמּוֹ ה׳ בְּרוֹב טוֹב, וְהַשֵּׁנִי שֶׁהֶעֱמִידוֹ בְּיָדוֹ וְלֹא נְתָנוֹ לְלָבָן לְגָזְלוֹ וּלְחָמְסוֹ וְשָׁמַר לוֹ הָאֱמֶת, פֵּרוּשׁ שֶׁהֶעֱמִיד בְּיָדוֹ אֶת הַחֶסֶד. וְיֵשׁ לְךָ לָדַעַת כִּי לִפְעָמִים יִתְחַסֵּד ה׳ עִם אָדָם וְיִהְיֶה נִגְזָל מֵהַזּוּלַת לִהְיוֹת בְּחִירִי, וְה׳ יָשׁוּב יְרַחֲמֵהוּ תְּמוּרַת הַנֶּחְסָר, וְהִנֵּה מְצִיאוּת זֶה הוּא חֲצִי נֶחָמָה לַנִּגְזָל וְלֹא נֶחָמָה שְׁלֵמָה, כִּי תָּמִיד חוֹשֵׁב בְּחֶסְרוֹנוֹ אֲשֶׁר גְּזָלוֹ הַגַּזְלָן לִשְׁתֵּי סִבּוֹת: הָאַחַת שֶׁיַּחְשׁוֹב כִּי אִם לֹא הָיָה גּוֹזְלוֹ הָיָה לוֹ לְתוֹסֶפֶת הַגָּזוּל וְהַנּוֹסָף, וְהַשֵּׁנִי עַל כָּל פָּנִים יִכְאַב לִבּוֹ עַל הַגַּזְלָן אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִצְלִיחַ. מַה שֶׁאֵין כֵּן אִם יַעֲשֶׂה ה׳ הַשְׁלָמַת הַגְּזֵלָה מֵהַגַּזְלָן עַצְמוֹ שֶׁיּוֹצִיא בָּלְעוֹ מִפִּיו, נֶחָמָה זוֹ נֶחָמָה. וְהוּא מַה שֶׁעָשָׂה לְיַעֲקֹב שֶׁהָיָה מְשַׁלֵּם לוֹ מִנִּכְסֵי גַּזְלָן עַצְמוֹ הוּא לָבָן, דִּכְתִיב (בראשית לא:ט) ״וַיַּצֵּל ה׳ אֶת מִקְנֵה אֲבִיכֶם וַיִּתֵּן לִי״, שֶׁהָיָה מוֹצִיא בָּלְעוֹ שֶׁל לָבָן מִפִּיו וּמַחְזִיר מָמוֹנוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב, וְהוּא אָמְרוֹ וּמִכָּל הָאֱמֶת, וְנָכוֹן.
2Jacob also wanted to mention separately two kinds of favours that G'd had done for him. The first was the kindness that He displayed for him by providing Jacob with an abundance of material wealth. The second was the fact that G'd had enabled Jacob to hold on to his gains and that G'd did not allow Laban to steal them from him forcibly and thereby displayed His truth. You must appreciate that there are occasions when G'd does show a person kindness whereas that person is subsequently deprived of his gains by outsiders exercising their free will. G'd in turn compensates the person who has suffered such a robbery. In such instances the person in question has experienced partial comfort only. He would have felt much better if he had not been robbed of what G'd had granted him in the first place. He will never forget that he had once become the victim of a robbery. He will imagine that if he had not been robbed he would now be still better off, not realising that G'd had only compensated him for what he had been robbed of. Secondly, the fact that G'd did not interfere with the robber will continue to bother such a person. He would have felt completely at ease had G'd restored to him the very goods the robber had taken. Jacob had experienced this latter kind of personal supervision by G'd as we know from 31,9, where Jacob described how G'd had saved his cattle from Laban and restored them to him. When Jacob spoke about "all of G'd's truth," this is the kind of interference by G'd which he had in mind.