After his encounter with Esau, the Torah says that Jacob went to Shalem, a town in the territory of Shkhem. Shalem, in addition to being the name of the town, means "whole" or "complete" in Hebrew. Based on this, the Talmud says that the verse is not describing Jacob's geographic location, but rather his physical, spiritual, and financial well-being: "Rav said that Jacob was whole in his body, his Torah, and his money." (B. Shabbat 33a)
Rashi adds some detail and says that Jacob was physically whole in the sense that he had healed from the limp he suffered when wrestling with the angel. Moreover, he was spiritually whole in these sense that he had not forgotten any of the Torah that he had learned while living with Lavan for fourteen years. Lastly, he was financially whole because giving the enormous gift to Esau had not affected his status as a wealthy man. (If Oprah gave someone a gift worth a hundred million dollars, she'd still be a billionaire!)
Wholeness is a good goal, and its definition will vary from person to person. A cancer patient who has survived for five years can rightly consider himself "whole" even though other people might be healthier in the medical sense. Likewise, people who struggle in school because of learning disabilities but who persevere and graduate can consider themselves whole even though others might get better scores or get into more prestigious schools. Life is about overcoming challenges, not avoiding them.
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