Parasha: Vayishlach · Aliyah: First (Chesed)

וישלח, He sent, etc. Why did the Torah say: לפניו, ahead of him, a word which appears to be superfluous? The word אחיו also needs justification. Who did not know that Esau was Jacob's brother? Even the words ארצה שעיר שדה אדום, "to the land of Se-ir the field of Edom," need an explanation. What difference would it make to the angels where Esau was located? Furthermore, why did the Torah use the expression ארצה instead of לארץ? Although Yevamot 13 states that wherever the letter ל is required at the beginning it can be substituted for by the letter ה at the end, this does not explain when the Torah chooses one method rather than another.

The verse wants to justify the expression "he sent angels." Why did Jacob employ heavenly beings without a pressing need? He could have accomplished the same thing by employing human messengers! The Torah says לפניו, to tell us that since Jacob had already met with these angels and they had obviously come to help him, he was permitted to use them as messengers for a task that human messengers might prove inadequate for. Jacob reasoned that seeing that these messengers would meet an important man such as Esau, he might not consider messengers of a lower order as appropriate to his stature (compare Bereshit Rabbah 75). Esau might not have responded to any other messengers at all. It is also possible that Esau would immediately pounce on Jacob's human messengers as the eagle does when he swoops out of the skies, thus not giving him any warning before attacking him. For all these reasons Jacob was justified in employing celestial beings to act as his messengers. Perhaps he also hoped that when Esau became aware that he, Jacob, had celestial beings do his bidding he would desist from his planned attack on Jacob altogether. The Midrash we quoted above refers to those angels as being garbed in "fiery garments, riding horses of fire, etc."

The reason the Torah mentions the word "his brother," is to emphasize that Jacob despatched the messengers in a spirit of brotherliness and that he accorded Esau the honour due to an older brother. He was afraid of engaging Esau in warfare in case the latter should invoke his father's merits.

Another approach is also possible. The Torah emphasizes: אל עשו in order to tell us that on the one hand Esau hated him; on the other hand, the Torah wrote אל אחיו, to tell us that he did not hate him, that he was his brother. The messengers should be guided in their approach to Esau according to the frame of mind they would find him in. Since only celestial beings could divine Esau's frame of mind with any certainty, Jacob had to send celestial messengers to accomplish this task.

Still another possibility is that Jacob's strategy was to send messengers to Esau before Esau had a chance to hear about his approach from another source. This is in line with the various Midrashim in which Jacob is criticised severely for not letting sleeping dogs lie, for demeaning himself by repeating so many times "your servant Jacob," etc. He chose to send angels who would not have to exert themselves by excessive travel. To the angels the whole universe appeared no greater than four cubits do to us mortal human beings. When the Torah reports that Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to Esau, the word לפניו, before him, is an allusion that the angels were still literally in his presence although they performed their mission to Esau who was quite a distance away. The reason that the Torah wrote ארצה שעיר instead of לארץ שעיר, is to emphasize that the angels did not actually have to go anywhere. All they had to do was to face in a different direction. The reason that the field is called "Edom" is that they would arrive at Esau's, i.e. the field of Edom, before the latter had a chance to even to get under way towards Jacob.

This verse may also be understood as alluding to three different historical periods during each of which Esau's conduct would be different. One period finds Jacob and Esau in a brotherly relationship. This is alluded to by the words: "to Esau his brother." This period would extend until the destruction of the Holy Temple. Even though there were times prior to that when the Edomites were subjugated by Israel, such periods were relatively brief. During a different period in history, after the destruction of the Holy Temple until the end of the present era (before the advent of the Messiah), Esau would occupy a lofty position on earth and Israel would not even be considered by it as of any importance at all. This is the period which is alluded to here by the words ארצה שעיר, with the vowel patach under the letter א. This vowel underlines the superior position of Esau. The third period is the one we are hoping for when Edom will become an inheritance (for the Jewish people). This period is alluded to by the words שדה אדום, i.e. that Edom will be ploughed over as predicted by the prophet.

ויצו אותם לאמור, He instructed them to say, etc. We must first understand the reason for the word לאמור, seeing that Jacob had already said to these messengers: "thus you shall say." Perhaps Jacob meant that they should tell Esau that they had been instructed to say precisely the words they were about to say. Otherwise, Esau might form the impression that the messengers related to him with deference and called him "his master," being aware that he was the senior brother and that it was only common courtesy to address him in that fashion, but that Jacob himself had never uttered the word אדון in relation to his brother. Jacob wanted to be sure that Esau realised that he himself had addressed him as אדון, master. He did so in order to remove any vestige of hatred and jealousy Esau might still, harbour against him in his heart. Were this not the true reason it is difficult to understand why Jacob should refer to Esau as his master even while Esau was not present. We must conclude therefore that Jacob used this term of flattery in order to avoid a possible war between himself and Esau.

עם לבן גרתי, "I have sojourned with Laban, etc." What precisely did Jacob tell Esau in this speech that Esau had not known? Perhaps it is the custom between brothers who are on good terms with one another to exchange details about their experiences in life. Jacob may have done so in order to show that he considered himself on good terms with Esau.

In addition Jacob may have acted very cleverly by implying that there was no point in Esau behaving in a hostile manner, that Laban had already tried this for many years and it had not benefited him at all. The words: עם לבן גרתי were a veiled reference to the wickedness of that man. If he, Jacob, after so many years in the house of that man returned now as a wealthy man with a large family this was proof that it paid to be on good terms with a man such as he. He added: ואחר עד עתה, I delayed my return until now, meaning that all of his wealth had not been acquired in a short period of time but that his success had been ongoing. When he added that he had acquired a substantial amount of wealth, he intimated that his wealth notwithstanding he described himself as junior, as "a servant" to his older brother. His words were designed to melt even a heart of stone.

וישבו המלאכים, The messengers returned, etc. The meaning is that they brought back a reply and said "we have come to your brother, to Esau, etc." i.e. he presented himself as your brother, whereas in actual fact he has remained Esau. "He is also coming to meet you," i.e. as a brother, but since he has taken four hundred armed men with him this is proof of his evil intentions against you.

The words "we have come to your brother" may also mean that although he has met us with a happy face i.e. displaying brotherliness, we displayed anger ourselves seeing that he has remained Esau true to form. This is what the Midrash we have quoted meant when it described the messengers as appearing garbed in fiery garments riding on fiery horses. The reason the messengers did not bring back a definitive evaluation was because outwardly Esau displayed brotherliness whereas in his heart he was still the same old Esau, hating Jacob.

ויירא יעקב, Jacob was afraid, etc. He prepared himself to either kill or be killed. He was very afraid of being killed; he was pained by the possible need to kill Easu in self-defence. This is why the verse mentions מאד, very much, in connection with this fear.

Inasmuch as the angels had warned him of Esau's duplicity, that he would pretend to be brotherly, Jacob was afraid not to prepare himself for war in the event Esau planned to kill him while he was unarmed. On the other hand "it distressed him" that the very fact that their encounter would be an armed one might precipitate a war which Esau had not really intended until he saw Jacob armed. His hatred would be rekindled only because he presumed that Jacob confronted him in a fighting stance when he looked at his weapons. As a result of such considerations Jacob divided his camp; the first camp would display friendliness whereas the second camp would be armed and ready for battle.

ויאמר אם יבא עשו, He said: "If Esau were to come to the one camp, etc." In the event Esau would come upon the first camp and defeat it, the second camp which he had prepared for battle would help even the first camp not to be annihilated since as soon as Esau's hostile intentions were obvious the second camp would engage him. Jacob did all this in order to save G'd the trouble of performing a miracle.

קטונתי מכל החסדים, "I am not worthy of all the kindnesses, etc." Jacob first mentioned חסדים, kindness, and then אמת, divine assistance, which he felt he had qualified for. Actually, Jacob should have mentioned the אמת before mentioning the חסדים, something he was not even entitled to. He mentioned the חסדים first because they are something that it is impossible for man to repay to G'd. He called it אמת because man is incapable of requiting these acts of kindness. We know this from Job 35,7: אם צדקת מה תתן לו, "even assuming that you were righteous, what can you possibly give to Him?" This is why services rendered for the dead are called חסד של אמת, seeing that the dead cannot repay us (Bereshit Rabbah 96,5).

Jacob also wanted to mention separately two kinds of favours that G'd had done for him. The first was the kindness that He displayed for him by providing Jacob with an abundance of material wealth. The second was the fact that G'd had enabled Jacob to hold on to his gains and that G'd did not allow Laban to steal them from him forcibly and thereby displayed His truth. You must appreciate that there are occasions when G'd does show a person kindness whereas that person is subsequently deprived of his gains by outsiders exercising their free will. G'd in turn compensates the person who has suffered such a robbery. In such instances the person in question has experienced partial comfort only. He would have felt much better if he had not been robbed of what G'd had granted him in the first place. He will never forget that he had once become the victim of a robbery. He will imagine that if he had not been robbed he would now be still better off, not realising that G'd had only compensated him for what he had been robbed of. Secondly, the fact that G'd did not interfere with the robber will continue to bother such a person. He would have felt completely at ease had G'd restored to him the very goods the robber had taken. Jacob had experienced this latter kind of personal supervision by G'd as we know from 31,9, where Jacob described how G'd had saved his cattle from Laban and restored them to him. When Jacob spoke about "all of G'd's truth," this is the kind of interference by G'd which he had in mind.

הצילני נא, "Save me please!" He used the word נא, a combined form of "please" and "now." He pleaded with G'd not to allow Esau to cause him any losses instead of letting him recoup his losses later on.

מיד אחי, מיד עשו, from my brother's hand, from Esau's hand. Rashi understands the word אחי as a plea that Esau should not treat him like a brother but rather as befitted the wicked Esau. According to this explanation Jacob should only have said מיד אחי עשו, and we would have understood the Torah's meaning from the otherwise superfluous "my brother," seeing that Esau was his only brother.

I believe therefore that the correct meaning is that Jacob prayed and addressed himself to the fact that there were two facets to Esau's character. On the one hand Esau was a son of Isaac and Isaac's merits would assist him. On the other hand, he was a person in his own right, a very powerful person at that; it would require great strength to be saved from attack by such a person. Jacob therefore prayed to G'd that Isaac's merit should not now assist him; this is what he meant by "save me please from the hands of my brother," i.e. although he is my brother. Concerning Esau's being a powerful adversary in his own right, Jacob prayed "please save me from Esau!"

Jacob also had in mind that if Esau were to use the fact that he was his brother as a trick to attack him after feigning brotherliness, G'd should save him from such machinations. He also needed G'd's help, however, if Esau proclaimed his hostility openly.

Jacob also drew G'd's attention to the enormity of Esau's crime if he were to try and murder his own brother, מיד אחי; surely the mere thought of committing such a heinous crime should provide sufficient excuse for G'd to humble Esau; on the other hand, Esau's wickedness (without considering the fact that in this case he set out to murder a brother) was sufficient to warrant G'd's intervention on behalf of Jacob.