Kedushat Levi treats Yaakov's encounter with Esav as a template for spiritual struggle, in which the 'messengers' reflect inner and heavenly forces. The teaching emphasizes that confronting an enemy begins with elevating the encounter to a higher spiritual plane.
והיה כי יפגשך עשו אחי ושאלך למי אתה וכו'(בראשית לב, יח). דהכלל בתחילת התקרבות האדם לה' שיצר הרע מתגבר עליו יחשוב לו שבעבודתו לה' יגיע לו טובות עולם הזה גם כן ובזה מוכנע היצר הרע שלא לקטרג אותו על דבקותו בה' ואחר כך כשכבר מדבק עצמו בה' אז עבודתו רק לעשות נחת רוח ליוצרו ולא לטובת עולם הזה. וזה והיה כי יפגשך עשו אחי ושאלך למי, דהיינו היצר הרע שמכונה בשם עשו שיפגוש במלאכי יעקב שהם מחשבות קדושות של יעקב שממנו נבראו מלאכים והוא יקטרג למחשבות אנה תלך. ואמרת לעבדך ליעקב, אנו מלאכי יעקב שבאמצעות מעשים הטובים אנו נבראים ואל תקטרג ליעקב על מעשיו הטובים, כי מנחה היא שלוחה לאדוני לעשו, שגם לך נוגע הטוב שבאמצעות מעשיו הטובים יגיע לו עולם הזה שעולם הזה היא מנחת היצר הרע: ויאמר לא יעקב יאמר עוד שמך כי אם ישראל כי שרית עם אלהים ואנשים ותוכל (בראשית לב, כט). הענין, כי יש אדם שהוא דבוק תמיד בהבורא ברוך הוא אפילו כשהוא מדבר עם בני אדם ויש אדם שהוא דבוק בהבורא ברוך הוא בעת שעוסק בעבודתו ובתורתו ובמצותיו אבל כשמדבר עם בני אדם אינו יכול לדבק מחשבתו להבורא ברוך הוא והבחינה הא' נקרא ישראל, כי הוא אותיות ישר אל וגם לי ראש והבחינה הב' נקרא יעקב יו"ד עקב. וזהו לא יעקב וכו', כי אם ישראל כי שרית עם אלהים, כלומר שאתה דבוק באלהים אפילו כשאתה מדבר עם בני אדם וזהו עם אלהים ואנשים, ותוכל לדבק מחשבתך תמיד להבורא יתברך:
Genesis 32,17. “when my brother Esau will meet you and ask you to whom these herds belong, etc;” it is a rule that when a person approaches G’d with a request, that the evil urge within him tries to convince him that he is entitled to make whatever request from G’d that he has in mind, and that certain privileges on this earth are part of this entitlement as part of his serving the Lord. The evil urge, in its wisdom, acts as if it had been defeated by not immediately protesting that individual’s request by pointing out to G’d that person’s shortcomings. At a later stage, when such a person has already established a more intimate relationship vis a vis his Creator so that he realizes that his service of the Lord is not meant to secure him rewards on earth, but is meant to provide a sense of satisfaction for his Creator that one of His creatures fulfils his purpose in life, he has reached the stage where the evil urge, also known as Esau, encounters such a G’d-serving person head on. The “angels” of Yaakov, are a euphemism for this person’s thoughts. At that point, attempting to interfere with progress of such a personality towards spiritual perfection, Esau, i.e. the evil urge, asks these “angels” who are the creations of the person’s performance of G’d’s commandments, where they are headed, i.e. אנה תלך. The person is advised (the point of the Torah relating this encounter) to blunt such questions by saying that they have been created by “your servant Yaakov;” he is told to assuage the evil urge by saying that his good deeds are a “gift” to him (the evil urge), seeing that the evil urge is also one of G’d’s creatures and as such entitled to some recognition. Genesis 32,28. “He said: ‘your name will no longer be Yaakov, but Israel, for you have contended both with celestial forces and with human forces and you have prevailed.’” There are people who constantly remain attached to G’d even while they are engaged in conversation with human beings. There are other people, who while engaged in a conscious effort to serve the Lord, concentrate on this to the exclusion of everything else; these people while engaged in mundane activities, such as business conversations with their peers, cannot at the same time remain conscious of their duties towards their Creator. The first type of person deserves the title: “Israel;” as the letters ישר, “upright,” as well as the letters ראש, “head,” are part of that title. The second category of person, (observant Jew) is called יעקב, i.e. י-עקב, meaning that his attachment to G’d is עקב, “secondary,” just as a heel is a secondary and not a primary organ. Esau’s celestial representative acknowledged that Yaakov was a person for the first category, since in his dealings with man he never lost sight of his primary duties to his G’d.