Parasha: Vayishlach · Aliyah: Seventh (Malchut)

אלה בני שעיר החודי, These are the sons of Se-ir the Chorite, etc. The reason the Torah writes this whole detailed chapter is only to tell us how generously G'd endowed the wicked Esau on account of the merit of his father and grandfather. Our sages in Shabbat 85 also explain this in the following words of Rabbi Acha bar Yaakov: "The word Chori means that 'freed' the Chorim [the former inhabitants of Se-ir] of their possessions. In other words, the Torah speaks of G'd handing over their lands to the sons of Esau. We have an interesting statement in Sanhedrin 99 saying that Timna who was prince Lotan's sister, the most highly placed woman in that land, became the concubine of Eliphaz, son of Esau because all her efforts to intermarry with either Abraham, Isaac or Jacob were to no avail. Rather than remain a princess in her own right she chose to become a slave in the house of Esau. When her attempt to belong to the Jewish people became frustrated she became the maternal grandmother of Amalek instead.

אלה בני אצר, These are the sons of Ezer, etc. This verse may be understood homiletically. Yalkut Shimoni on Proverbs 2, asks rhetorically why the Jewish people are frequently poor. G'd answered because He wanted to ensure that they would have enduring riches in the Hereafter (Proverbs 8,21). If someone wants to assure himself of such an enduring inheritance he must be willing to endure poverty or some other problems in this world. The word אצר in this verse is equivalent to אוצר, treasure. People desirous of accumulating treasures in the world to come must be prepared to suffer afflictions in this world, i.e. בלהן, זעון ועקן. Such afflictions will ultimately prove to be blessings.

ואלה המלכים אשר מלכו בארץ אדום, And these are the names of the kings who ruled in the land of Edom, etc,. The Torah enumerated all who intermarried with Edom or supplied kings to Edom to tell us that ultimately they too would be destroyed when Edom would fall. Bereshit Rabbah 83 explains that because Bazrah provided a king for Edom (verse 33), it too would ultimately share the fate of Esau because it had helped Edom to its feet again when it had already been close to annihilation. Isaiah 34,6 refers to that time when G'd is described as killing many in Bazrah, linking it with the slaughter that would take place in Edom. The same applies to the other cities mentioned in our chapter.

This chapter also alludes to the ultimate redemption of the Jews which will be a long time arriving; this is why G'd listed the number of kings who would rule over Edom who in turn preceded the kings of Israel. The author expresses the hope that just as after the destruction of the Temple we experienced a series of kings who ruled over Edom, this in turn would be followed by a series of kings ruling Israel until such time as the final redemption (6000 years) would materialise (based on the assumption that the period of ימות המשיח is the seventh millenium; compare one view in Sanhedrin 99).