The suspensful story of Yaakov and his family's escape from Lavan and their journey to Eretz Yisrael continues to unfold in the opening verses of Parshat Vayishlach. On the verge of a confrontation with his brother Eisav, whose terrible anger at Yaakov for intercepting the blessings intended for him still burned, Yaakov sends him messengers.
The message is addressed: "the land of Sei'ir, the fields of Edom;" and it states: I lived with Lavan and tarried until now. I have material wealth, which I send to my master to find favor in his eyes.
Rav Yosef D. Soloveitchik, zt"l, finds Yaakov's message perplexing.
Why does the Torah repeat Eisav's location, first as Sei'ir, then as Edom? Second, why does Yaakov need to tell him he was with Lavan all these years?
Moreover, Rashi explains that within Yaakov's message that he lived ("garti") with Lavan, is the encoded message that he kept all 613 (taryag) commandments of the Torah. Why the need to employ this anagram? Of what relevance is Yaakov's Torah observance? Finally, why does Yaakov conclude with a list of his material blessings?
How do these points serve the goal of his message-to assuage Eisav's anger and to find favor in his eyes?
The Rav reconstructs Yaakov's stream of consciousness in light of the events of the brothers' last encounter twenty years previous.
For a score of years, Eisav's angry words rang in Yaakov's ears. "You deceived me-" "vayaakveini"-twice, "first taking my bechorah and then taking my berachah. Eisav plays on Yaakov's name to imply that he is the very essence of deception!
In truth, Yitzchak blessed Yaakov twice. Posing as Eisav, Yaakov intercepted the berachah, intended for his brother, for material wealth and comfort. But Yaakov received another berachah - to serve G-d and inherit the Land of Israel - given to him openly and freely by Yitzchak, who knew at that point which son he was blessing.
Furthermore, Yaakov knew that Eisav thought the blessing for the Land of Israel was contingent upon his not marrying a Canaanite woman. Hence, Eisav's marriage to Yishmael's daughter.
The Rav reconstructs Yaakov's message to incorporate these ideas.
"You may be wondering if I still qualify to inherit the Land of Israel," Yaakov is saying to his brother. "Let me first remind you, your address is still the land of Sei'ir. The fields of Edom. I repeat so that you make no mistake. "Furthermore, I have fulfilled the contingency to serve G-d. I may have lived with the evil Lavan, but I nevertheless observed the taryag mitzvot.
"I fulfilled the other stipulation by marrying into my mother's family and not Canaanites. And yes, while the material blessings have also arrived, they mean nothing to me. I give them to you freely."
Yaakov continues this line of thinking when Eisav offers to escort him back to the land of their father. Knowing he must keep his distance from Eisav, Yaakov declines, explaining that his children are weak and slow.
"Let us go at our own pace," Yaakov is saying. "You return to Sedei Edom and allow me to achieve my destiny as I bring my family home to Israel."
In our times as well, the temptations of Eisav's world are powerful and dangerous. Our children are also young and vulnerable. The modern house of Jacob needs to strengthen itself through Jewish education in the home, the school and the shul.
We must fortify ourselves and our children with yirat Shamayim and shemirat hamitzvot. We must avoid the insidious influences of Eisav's world and involve ourselves in tikun olam.
We must remind ourselves that even when G-d bestows upon us material blessings, they are not the essence of life, for as a nation, our goal is to be worthy of the birkat Avraham - to be ovdei Hashem and heirs to the land of Israel.
Mrs. Rookie Billet
Mrs. Billet is Assistant Principal at the Stella K. Abraham High School for Girls, Hewlett Bay Park, NY.
