Is Jacob Ethical? part 4

I have pointed out that Jacob, far from being the "cheat" he is often portrayed as, was, in fact, the righteous man thrown into difficult situations, with his decisions and actions effecting eternity; both for his descendants and the world. Esau is the cunning charlatan, ready to use any and all means to achieve his goals.
The rabbis of the Talmud spoke of Esau as a murderer, a bandit, a rapist. He is the very paradigm of evil, headed for an inevitable  confrontation with the House of Israel. The rabbis, who were suffering great persecution under Rome, saw Rome as the essence of the power and evil of Esau. Rome, and its physical and cultural heirs were seen as Esau, always ready to persecute and deter any efforts to apply the teachings of the Torah. It is an historical fact that the Colosseum in Rome was built with the spoils of the Temple. "If someone tells you that Rome prospers and Jerusalem is in ruins, believe him. That Jerusalem prospers and Rome is in ruins, believe him. That both prosper or both are in ruins, do not believe him". The struggle between the two brothers, already fought in Rebecca's womb, continues.
In Kabbalah, however, there is a very different picture. Abraham is the attribute of Kindness; giving. Isaac is the attribute of Severity; restraint. Jacob is the attribute of Mercy; giving when called for, restraining when called for. This attribute is also called Beauty (Tiferet), for it is the perfect, beautiful balance. Esau is seen not as intrinsic evil, but of a power of good that is unbridled and capricious, expressing itself in acts which HE saw as good, but where, objectively speaking, evil. Think of an atomic explosion. It can, in a nuclear reactor, be controlled (usually!), and provide energy for man. Uncontrolled, it can be a bomb, bringing death and destruction for all. When the brothers were struggling in the womb, the rabbis say that when Rebecca passed a house of idolatry, Esau wanted to get out of the womb and run to it. When she passed a place where G-d was worshiped, Jacob wanted to run to it. But the evil inclination comes only at birth. Why would Esau run to idolatry while in utero? One Kabbalistic interpretation is that Esau wanted to run and destroy the idolatrous temples. Jacob proffered to ignore them, concentrating on the true service of G-d instead.  Once Esau was born, and grew up, he ran to act upon  his righteous indignation. Once there, he saw the art, heard the music, and went over to the Other Side. When one is on a spiritual quest, one may come to G-d, delight in His service, and set an example for his fellow man.However, one may also begin to feel that he is justified in stealing, killing, raping in the Name of G-d. It was these characteristics that Jacob saw as so dangerous.The Kabbalah teaches that before our world, there existed a world of Chaos (Tohu), which was far higher than our world, but completely unbridled. It self-destructed, leaving throughout the Universe sparks of great holiness, which have fallen so far down that they vivify Evil itself. But when a spark is elevated and redeemed, it becomes a source of great good for our world. So Esau is seen as the world of Chaos. Jacob is our world. Jacob seeks not the destruction of Esau, but his rectification. At Jacob's and Esau's last encounter, Jacob promises to meet him later. It never happened. The Book of Obadiah is about that eventual "meeting". But will it be a violent clash, or major surgery to rid Esau of his evil, and harness his great inner strength? Will there be vengeance...or reconciliation? These continue to be two distinct views in our tradition. How it will play out, is known only to G-d.
In my next installment, I will discuss the interaction of Jacob and Laban.