The daily chizuk from The Rav, Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a – Rabbi Shimon says that Esav truly wanted to return in Teshuvah. Why didn’t he succeed?

“And Esav ran to meet him, and he embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept” (Bereishis 33:4).

“And Esav saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Yitzchak his father. So Esav went to Yishmael and took Machalas, the daughter of Yishmael son of Avraham, the sister of Nevayos, in addition to his wives, as a wife” (ibid. 28:8–9).

Sunday, 24 Kislev 5783 – Studying Ketzos HaChoshen: it goes over a sugya in the Gemara 10 times. These are his holy words:

“I don’t understand what’s happening here. It says: ‘and he kissed him’ (‘And Esav ran to meet him, and he embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept’ [Bereishis 33:4]).

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says: He kissed him with all his heart. Here, Esav truly kissed Yaakov.

Rabbi Shimon disagrees with the Rabbanan (the Sages), because the Rabbanan say that Esav kissed Yaakov only outwardly—not from the heart. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai comes and says: No. This was a real moment of regret. Esav truly cried. He was saying, ‘Yaakov, forgive me for wanting to kill you. I regret it.’

It is written that Esav wanted to do Teshuvah for real: ‘And Esav saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Yitzchak his father. So Esav went to Yishmael and took Machalas, the daughter of Yishmael son of Avraham, the sister of Nevayos, in addition to his wives, as a wife’ (ibid. 28:8–9).

Rabbi Shimon says that Esav truly wanted to convert—but if he wanted to return in Teshuvah, at that very moment he needed to go to yeshivah.

You want to convert? You need to open a Gemara!

First thing: a thought of Teshuvah comes to you? Open a Gemara! Open Ketzos HaChoshen!

Ketzos HaChoshen is the easiest thing in the world. The Ketzos explains every sugya ten times—explains it from every side, every sugya from every direction.

A person learns Ketzos HaChoshen—even if he’s out of his mind, he’s confused; right now he wants to make a wedding; he needs to get a billion dollars, half a million—where will I get half a million from? It will fall to you from Heaven! Don’t worry!

The ceiling will open and (abundance will pour down).