Those Dots Won't Go Away... Yet 
(but the apostrophe will - inside joke for hard-copy readers)

Often, before writing the "lead tidbit", I look through past issues of Torah Tidbits to see what was written about in past years for the same sedra. And usually, I try to write about something different. But sometimes there is a message in repetition. So let's talk about the dots above the word "and he kissed him" again. And the mere fact that those dots are still a timely topic for discussion says a lot.

The first part of the sedra sees Yaakov preparing for his encounter with his brother, with Eisav, after many years of separation. The Torah keeps repeating that Eisav was Yaakov's brother — a fact we know well and would not have to be reminded of. Except that part of Yaakov's problem was that Eisav was Eisav on the one hand, and his brother on the other. Yaakov did not know whether to expect enmity from Eisav or love from his brother.

It is important for us to remember that before the face-to-face encounter of the brothers, Yaakov had another encounter, with the guardian angel of Eisav. And that angel attempted to vanquish and destroy Yaakov. AND, he was unable to do so. But he managed to injure Yaakov during the fight.
Then Yaakov meets Eisav. And Eisav embraces Yaakov and kisses him.

Rashi says that the embrace was sincere, in response to Yaakov's bowing and humbling himself before Eisav. About the kiss, Rashi offers two opinions in Midrash. The first is that the kiss was insincere. The second opinion, that of R. Shimon bar Yochai, is that at this moment, the kiss was genuine, that Eisav was truly overcome with brotherly feelings, notwithstanding the sad-but-true fact of Jewish Life, that Eisav hates Yaakov. The angel made that clear the previous night. Eisav and his son Elifaz, and his son Amalek, and their descendants, and their spiritual heirs throughout Jewish History.

Eisav made an overture of peaceful co-existence with Yaakov, which probably was as sincere as the kiss. Yaakov boldly demurred, in order to protect his family and future. 

The first opinion about the kiss implies that Eisav hates Yaakov. The second opinion states the same thing. They only dispute the existence of momentary "lapses" of positive emotion and feeling.

It seems that the famous handshake on the White House lawn of years ago was treated to the same dispute among Jews who wanted to believe that it was sincere and those who were skeptical and suspicious, to say the least.

But in more recent times, the proponents of the "sincerity theory" have greatly dwindled in number. As sad as the "well-known halacha" that Rashi refers to is, it behooves us to see its truth.