Seven Levels of Teshuvah: Yaakov Part Two

Yaacov, Tiferet and Going Against the System:
The Midrash says that Yaacov’s bed was complete1. On a basic level this means that he was the only one of the patriarchs

who merited that all of his children followed in his ways. On a deeper level this means that he had twelve very different children. Yet, they formed a solid whole. They were a perfect balance. This is the definition of Tiferet; balance. The only way that the system can be broken without the system breaking is by God maintaining the balance.

Yaacov, the balancer, is the one in whose merit we were given the Oral Law which has infinite possibilities.2 It is impossible to ever finish studying the Talmud. It is impossible to calculate the numbers of questions and situations to which the Oral Law must constantly be applied. The Oral Law itself can go against the system. The Sages can instruct us not to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah when it falls out on Shabbat. It is important to interject that there is definitely a system to the Oral Law. There are rules for its applications just as there are rules for Teshuva. However, it reflects the infinite possibilities of both Yaacov and of Teshuva.
1 Sifra, Bechukotai 2:8

2 Tanchuma Noach 3