This week's section is called Vaishlach, "And He sent." It mainly describes the meeting between Jacob and Esau, twin brothers whose relationship had been broken twenty years earlier. When Jacob was to meet Esau, he prepared a welcome in several ways: he prepared a gift, offered a prayer to God, and even prepared for war.
However, the first thing Jacob did was send (hence the name of the parashah) a group of people to meet Esau and see how he was doing. They returned with the report that Esau was coming toward him with four hundred armed men...
The correct way to say "sent ones" in Hebrew is shluchim, but in this case, the Torah says malachim, which literally means angels (see Genesis 32:4). Rashi, one of the leading commentators on the Torah, explains that here, Jacob sent "truly angels," and that is why the Torah says malachim.
Our sages explain that one can find fantastic insights in Rashi's commentaries, beyond their aid to understanding the Torah text. Indeed, one of the most beautiful aspects of Hasidic philosophy is that it doesn't limit itself to just one aspect of the Torah, such as its literal meaning (pshat), allusive indications (remez), allegories (drush), or mystical secrets (sod). Rather, by utilizing these four levels of understanding, Hasidism reveals a new and deeper dimension of the Torah: how it applies to daily life in humanity's approach to God. In other words, Hasidism uses all the concepts of the Torah to reveal the divine reality in all things, so that humanity may unite with God in every aspect of life.
Therefore, not only in Rashi's commentary there are very profound matters, but in all the commentaries and ideas expressed by the great rabbis accepted by the Jewish people throughout the generations, there are practical teachings for everyone.
The Maggid of Mezritch, the chief disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Hasidic movement, took Rashi's words on this verse ("truly angels") and explained that Jacob sent the "reality" of the "angels," that is, their materiality, while the spirituality of the angels remained with Jacob. However, it is difficult to say that Jacob separated the angels into body and soul and sent only their bodies to Esau. Therefore, the Maggid's explanation is that, even while with Esau, the angels' "souls" remained united with Jacob.
This explanation has a very interesting symbolism for us: Esav represents the world around us, with all the difficulties and conflicts we encounter. Jacob symbolizes God, who "sends" angels, that is, our souls, to Esav, to refine him and work with him for a future encounter, when the world is ready for the coming of Messiah and the revelation of God's essence.
But for the angels to truly affect Esau (that is, for each of us to refine the world around us), they had to be united with Jacob—their souls, their spirituality, their focus—had to be with Jacob. This means that the only way we can refine ourselves and the world around us is by being united with God, with our focus on Him. As long as our spirituality is wasted on useless passions and our strength focused on societal values (money, power, beauty, etc.), not only will we be unable to change the world, but, God forbid, the world will affect us.
Our strength as a people and as individuals within a people, a strength to educate our children in Torah and Mitzvot, a strength to found communities where mercy and helping others are commonplace, a strength to refine and elevate the entire world, lies in our connection with God, which we achieve through the study and observance of the precepts of the Torah.