Selected and Adapted by Rabbi Dov Karoll Quote from the Rosh Yeshiva Yaakov, in preparing for his meeting with Esav, readies himself not only for battle, but also for an attempt at reconciliation, an opportunity to restore a lost soul to the spirit of Judaism, and to rehabilitate the fraternal love between himself and Esav, his brother. -Harav Mosheh Lichtenstein Taken from: https://www.etzion.org.il/en/encounter-between-yaakov-and-esav Parashat Vayishlach What Yaakov Told Esav Based on a Sicha by Harav Yehuda Arnita I zt"I Based on: https://www.etzion.org.il/en/what-yaakov-told-esav "And I have oxen and donkeys ... - 'oxen' refers to Yosef, as it is written: 'the firstling of his herd, grandeur is his' (Devarim 33) ; 'donkeys' refers to Yissakhar, as it is written: 'Yissakhar is a strong donkey' (Bereishit 49); 'sheep' refers to Israel, as it is written: 'But you my flock, the flock of my pasture .. .' (Yechezkel 34); 'and servants' refers to David, as it is written: 'I am Your servant, son of Your handmaiden' (Tehillim 115); 'and maidservants' refers to Avigayil. .. " (Bereishit Rabba 75:12) Our Sages taught: '"oxen' refers to the anointed one of war... 'donkeys' refers to Melekh HaMashiach." (ibid. 7) What the mid rash seems to be saying is a far cry from the "pshat" of the text. What does the mid rash mean, and what is the real significance of Yaakov's statement, "I have oxen and donkeys, sheep and servants and maidservants ... "? This midrash needs to be understood in light of another midrash which appears later in the parasha: '"Let my lord, I pray you, pass over before his servant, and I shall lead on slowly, according to the pace of the cattle that goes before me and the children, until I come to my lord to Se'ir.' - When will he come? In the days of Mashiach, as it is written, 'And the saviors will ascend to Har Tzion to judge the mountain of Esav.. ." ' (ibid. 78:17) When Yaakov tells Esav that he is on his way to meet him at Se'ir, he isn't referring to the immediate present. Yaakov doesn't mean to go right now to Se'ir; he is referring rather to acharit ha-yamim, when the time comes and the hour is right, and then "the saviors will go up to Har Tzion .. .." Until then, Yaakov says, "I shall lead on slowly" - there is no need to hurry. We learn (Bereishit 36:31), '"These are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom, before there reigned a king over the children of Israel ' - there were eight of them, and Yaakov established (his own) and cancelled the kingship of Esav in their days" (Rashi). Yaakov has an historical perspective. He doesn't live for the moment; rather, with every action he behaves in light of the perspective of the future - there is no need to hurry now, because the kings of Israel will have their hour after the kings of Esav, and hence "let my Lord, I pray you, pass on before his servant." This, then, is the deeper significance of Chazal's words in their explanation of the pasuk, "I have oxen and donkeys, sheep, servants and maidservants .... " Yaakov shows Esav what he has achieved, what is destined to develop from him and where his strength lies - in Melekh HaMashiach, in the anointed one of war, in Yosef and Yissakhar. Chazal are teaching us that we should not view this as a private battle between Yaakov the man and Esav the man, but rather between two nations: the nation of Yaakov - Israel, and the nation of Esav - Edom . This battle will continue through the years and throughout the generations, and Chazal point out to us the message behind Yaakov's strategy - in dealing with his challenges his strategy isn't merely pragmatic, based on the contemporary reality, but rather historic and future-oriented: what will the ramifications of my present actions be for Israel? The expression "ma'aseh avot siman la-banim" is well known, but in light of the above its meaning can be sharpened: we are not referring simply to a pattern or sign, signifying that what happened to our forefathers will also happen to us. There is a profound significance here - the forefathers knew that they were founding a nation, and their sense of mission and responsibility in each and every action was enormous. There is no doubt that when Yaakov went out to engage in a battle against Esav, he weighed his future strength, comparing his descendants and his contribution to the world with those of Esav. Only against the background of such a view could he be confident in the justice of his way and his actions. He would certainly survive and be saved, for he was destined to bring Yissakhar, Yosef and Melekh HaMashiach to the world! A lesson for our daily lives may be learned from this. During our many years of exile, Am Yisrael felt no sense of responsibility towards our history. With the establishment of the State, however, it becomes our obligation and responsibility to understand the historical significance of every step we take. In the course of our contemporary lives we determine the future of the nation and the State! (Originally delivered Shabbat Parshat Vayishlach 5750. Summarized by David Tee, Translated by Karen Fish.) Parashat Vayishlach Coming Home By Rav Yair Kahn Based on: https://www.etzion.org.il/en/parashat-vayishlach-coming-home 1. Yisrael Shall Be Your Name The renaming of Yaakov when he returns to Bet-El (see Bereishit 35:9-15) is strange. After all, Yaakov's name was already changed after wrestling throughout the night with some mysterious being. In dealing with this question, the Ram ban comments: "Your name is Yaakov- means that now you are still called Yaakov, even though the [heavenly] minister of Esav changed your name, since he wasn't sent to you to change your name. However, from now on, your name will not be called Yaakov, but rather Yisrael will be your name." There is an additional, similar, difficulty that must also be addressed. "And Yaakov set up a pillar in the place where He spoke with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured out a drink-offering thereon, and poured oil on it. And Yaakov called the name of the place where God spoke with him Bet-El." Isn't this redundant as well? Didn't Yaakov already erect a pillar in Bet-El after the ladder dream? Hadn't he already renamed Luz as Bet-El when running away from Esav? Why was it necessary to name the location Bet-El a second time? It's not possible that the name was forgotten during the years Yaakov was in Padan Aram, as the name Bet-El is used in the previous section, right before Hashem appears to Yaakov and blesses him (see verse 6). The Ramban deals with this difficulty as well and comments: "He called it that time and time again, to notify that it is true and correct, that this is a house of God, and the Shekhina always resides there." The Ram ban offers local solutions to deal with each of the difficulties. But since the two problems are similar, insofar as both deal with a redundancy, we should at least consider the possibility of a broader solution that takes both repetitions into account. In fact, if we broaden our focus, we will notice that repetition is quite common in the Yaakov story. Indeed, it is so full of repetition that we would almost be surprised if Yaakov were named Yisrael only once. The Torah records Yaakov going to Lavan twice: (see 28:5, 10). Yaakov receives two divine messages calling upon him to return to his homeland (see 31:3; 11-13) . The account of Yaakov running away from Lavan is repeated (see 31:17-18; 21). Of course, one can explain each of the above repetitions independently by suggesting a separate solution to each alleged case of repetition. If successful, this would lead to the conclusion that there is no tendency towards repetition in the Yaakov story. On the other hand, we may concede that there is a trend. If so, we should search for a global solution that could explain the entire trend. We will tread upon the second path. 2 2. Two Independent Missions The dualism that we noticed throughout the Yaakov story seems to be rooted in a section found at the conclusion of Parashat Toldot. In the aftershock of the berakha episode, Esav plans on killing Yaakov. These plans become known to Rivka, who sends Yaakov to the house of her brother Lavan. In order to explain to Yitzchak why Yaakov must leave, Rivka claims to be upset about the Canaanite wives of Esav. An unassuming Yitzchak calls Yaakov in and sends him to the house of Lavan in search of a bride. Based on this reading, the primary reason Yaakov goes to Lavan, is to run away from Esav; the search for a bride is merely camouflage. We may suggest an alternative reading, however. Perhaps the search for a bride is not only camouflage. Maybe there are two independent purposes for Yaakov's journey - Yaakov is sent both to escape Esav and also to find an appropriate wife. In fact, the Torah describes the destination differently for each. Rivka instructs Yaakov to flee "to my brother, to Charan" (27:43), while Yitzchak sends him to "Padan Aram , to the house of Betuel, your mother's father" (28:2).