Then the

messengers returned to Jacob, saying:

"We

hundred men are with him. (Bereishit 32:7)

It appears to me in this matter

that Esau did not receive the messengers

properly and paid them no heed. Perhaps they did not even come before him for

he did not at all give permission for them to come before him and speak to him

for otherwise, Scripture would have related that Esau questioned them

concerning his brother's welfare and about his circumstances and those of his

household and children. [Scripture further would have told how Esau requested]

that they convey greetings to Jacob and tell him that he is proceeding towards

him to see him, and they would have told it thus to Jacob. Scripture, however,

does not narrate that the messengers transmitted a word in Esau's name. Instead,

he [Esau] kept his wrath in his heart, and he came with his army for the

purpose of doing Jacob evil. Now the messengers had investigated the matter in

the camp, and they knew that he was going to meet Jacob. This is the meaning of

the word vegam ("and moreover") [in the verse, and moreover

he goes forth to meet you], for they said, "We came to your brother

Esau, but he did not answer us a word, and he sent you no greeting, and

moreover, he goes to meet you with might and an army." This was what

added fear to his fear, as Scripture says, And Jacob was greatly afraid, and

was distressed. And so our Rabbis said that the messengers recognized

hatred in him [Esau]. Thus they said: "We came to your brother Esau.

You behave towards him like a brother, but he behaves towards you like Esau the

villain" (Bereishit Rabbah 75; 7). However, in the

end, when Esau saw the great honor Jacob bestowed upon him and how he

prostrated himself before him, bowing to the ground seven times from the

distance until he approached him, his mercy was aroused, and he thought that

Jacob was recognizing his birthright and his pre-eminence, as I have explained.

And with this he was comforted, for the hearts belong to God, Who turns them

wither He will.

(RaMBaN Bereishit 32: 8, Chavel translation)

We came to your

brother Esau – and you found favor in his eyes, as you had spoken. And out of joy at

your arrival and his love for you, and moreover he goes forth to meet you and four hundred men are with him, in your honor. That is the essence of the plain meaning of the verse. And so,

too, Even now he is setting out to meet you, and he will be happy to see you

(Shemot 4: 1).

(RaShBaM

32:7)

The Angels and Our Father Jacob

Yossi Morgenstern

Jacob's

connection with angels stands out both in parashat Vayetze as well as in our

own parasha; it begs for explanation. In the previous parasha these were angels

of God – malakhei Elohim (Bereishit 28:12; 31:2) while in this week's parasha they are human

messengers. The repetition of the term in adjacent contexts has moved me to

think about the meaning of its use in connection with Jacob.

And

were ascending and descending upon it. (Bereishit 28:12)

RaMBaM

did not compose a running commentary on Scripture but he did interpret many of

its verses in his philosophical magnum opus, the Guide for the Perplexed.

Here is what it has to say about Jacob's dream from our parasha:

Although

the two roots naẓab and yaẓab are distinct, yet their meaning is, as you know, identical in all their

various forms… In other instances it denotes continuance and permanence…Whenever

this term is applied to God it must be understood in the latter sense, as, And,

behold, the Lord stood (niẓẓab) upon it (Bereishit 28:13), i.e., appeared as eternal and everlasting

"upon it," namely, upon the ladder, the upper end of which reached to

heaven, while the lower end touched the earth. This ladder all who wish to do

so may climb up, and they must ultimately attain to knowledge of Him who is

above the summit of the ladder, because He remains upon it permanently. It must

be well understood that the term "upon it" is employed by me in

harmony with this metaphor. "Angels of God" (28:12) who were going up represent the prophets…

How suggestive, too, is the expression "ascending and descending on

it"! The ascent is mentioned before the descent, inasmuch as the

"ascending" and arriving at a certain height of the ladder precedes

the "descending," i.e., the application of the knowledge acquired in

the ascent for the training and instruction of mankind. This application is

termed "descent," in accordance with our explanation of the term yarad

(chapter 10). (Guide

for the Perplexed I:15 Friedländer translation)

According to RaMBaM the dream instructs Jacob regarding

the correct way to rule in the world. The yoke of leadership rests upon the

prophets, but before they can go down to the people to teach them they must

first ascend to discover the truth. By coming to know the truth they become

worthy of leading the people.

RaMBaM's interpretation is reminiscent of the parable

for the cave found in Plato's Republic, which describes how the ideal

philosopher-king rules the city. The role of the prophet in Judaism parallels

that of the philosopher for the Greeks. It does not appear merely coincidental

that RaMBaM mentions Plato just two chapters after offering his political

interpretation of Jacob's dream. He writes:

This

principle was not peculiar to our Sages: ancient philosophers and scholars of

other nations were likewise wont to treat of the principia rerum

obscurely, and to use figurative language in discussing such subjects. Thus

Plato and his predecessors called Substance the female, and Form the male. (Guide for the Perplexed I:17 Friedländer

translation)

There is no space here to expand upon the

significance of form and matter for Plato, but the very fact that RaMBaM cites

him in such close proximity to the discussion of Jacob's dream may point to a

reasonable possibility that RaMBaM was thinking of Plato's cave when he

composed his interpretation of Jacob's dream.

Plato's parable of the cave is one of the best known

metaphors produced by that celebrated philosopher. The parable, which appears

in the Republic, tells of a group of prisoners who have been jailed in a

dark cave since their infancy. They are bound by chains so that their heads

remain fixed and facing in the same direction. Behind the prisoners stands a

wall, behind which burns a constant fire that illuminates the cave-wall which

fills the prisoners' field of vision. Creatures bearing statues take their

places between the fire and the wall. The statues are carried high above the

height of the wall, and, being illuminated from behind by the fire, they cast

shadows upon the cave-wall which the prisoners are watching. The prisoners

believe that those shadows constitute real life. One of the prisoners manages

to free himself of his bonds. Something pulls him up a steep dirt path and out

of the cave. He can look around and he sees that creatures are not shadows. He

sees nature, the birds, and the night's heavenly bodies. He can also see his

own shadow.

The prisoner decides to return to the cave in order

to tell the other prisoners about the wonders of the world around them and to

free them. However, when he returns to the cave the other prisoners scoff at

him and claim he is sick. He tries to explain to them about the outside world,

but they scornfully discount his words. If he would execute his plan of freeing

them, the prisoners would have murdered him.

For RaMBaM, ascent of the ladder towards God parallels

the prisoner's escape from the cave in order to see the true light. The

prisoner's return to the cave in order to teach what he has learned to those

left there is parallel to the prophets' decent down the ladder in order to

teach the people. The scorn suffered by the prisoner upon his return to the

cave is remarkably reminiscent of the people's scorn towards the prophets

Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Amos.

RaMBaM differs from Plato in that he views the need

to return to the cave/to descend to the people as a religious obligation. The prophet/teacher's

obligation to go down to the people (a kind of imitatio dei) is alluded

to directly or metaphorically in several biblical passages. I will only mention

two of these.

First example: Esther hides in the king's palace

(who represents the King of Kings) and it is only thanks to Mordechai's

encouragement that she risks her life and goes forth to save the people:

And

whether at a time like this you will attain the kingdom?" (Esther 4:13-14)

Esther returns to her people (she assembles the

Jews) but she does understand the dangers involved: And whatever I have lost

I have lost (4:16). Despite the dangers, she returns to the cave.

There is another episode which may even more

powerfully symbolize the difficulty of performing the religious obligation to

return to the cave. I refer to the story of the righteous of Sodom:

And

sake." (Bereishit

18:26)

In his commentary on the verse, Ibn Ezra explains

the significance of the phrase, within the city:

The

meaning of within the city is that they fear God publicly, as in the

verse, Stroll in the streets of Jerusalem

(Jeremiah 5:1).

There were righteous people in the city – in the

houses of study – but they were not to be found in the streets of the city

performing acts of kindness and spreading God's Torah. They decided not to

return to the cave. RaDaK comments on the verse cited by Ibn Ezra:

Stroll – search and inquire after… there were

pious people and servants of God in Jerusalem,

and what did Jeremiah say? "[Inquire] whether there is one who performs

justice, who seeks faith, and I will forgive her." My Father and

Master of blessed memory explained that Jeremiah said in the streets of

Jerusalem and in its squares because the pious of Jerusalem would hide

in their houses and could not allow themselves to be seen in the streets and squares of

Jerusalem because of [fear of] the wicked people…¹

Abraham² and Moses offer further examples

of the sage who leads as a prophet-messenger.

Finally, let us recall Jacob. Jacob was an

innocent man, dwelling in tents (Bereishit

25:27). However, he left the tent. According to the midrash, he studied in the

house of study belonging to Shem and Ever – but he left the house of study. The

angels who descended the ladder met him and accompanied him as he returned to

the Land of Israel. He continued serving God in the

world and sent messengers – malakhim – to Esau.

True, we are neither prophets nor the teachers of

our generation, but in addition to the ambition to learn more and grow closer

to God in one's own chosen path, each individual must, in his own world, descend

the ladder and return to the cave. One should not abandon hope of improving the

world, if only just a little bit, despite the fear of failure. Perhaps, thanks

to one's efforts, the world really will be a slightly better place.

While the heart says, "I am dirt and dust,"

one should also draw near to the people with a call of "The world was

created for my sake!"

1.

See Nehama Leibowitz's Iyyunim BeSefer Bereishit, pp. 131-132.

2.

See Mishneh Torah Hilkhot Avoda

Zara 1. I would like to thank Prof. Hannah Kasher who read this article and

made interesting and important comments.

Yossi Morgenstern is a computer programmer.

Jacob became exceedingly afraid and was distressed – There are

no Victors in War, Only Victims and Pain.

Jacob became

exceedingly afraid and was distressed – R. Yehuda son of R. Ilai

said: This was neither fear nor distress, but he became exceedingly afraid –

lest he kill; and was distressed – should he be killed. He said: if

he overcomes me, he will kill me, and if I win, I will kill him. This is the

meaning of the double phrase: exceedingly afraid – lest he kill, distressed

– should he be killed.

(Bereishit Rabbah 66)

Jacob's attitude to his brother Esau weighs heavily upon his

conscience. His gloom is so deep that he cannot lift his face to look his

brother in the eye, certainly he cannot raise his hand against him, even in

order to save his life and those of his household. Jacob feels the need to

receive Esau's forgiveness. His behavior in his meeting with Esau does not

indicate a flaw in his personality; on the contrary, we have before us the

beginning of Jacob's reformation; he moves from that which was signified in his

life by the derogatory name Jacob towards that which will be symbolized

in the future by the noble name Israel. It is not by accident that the parasha

of his name change and the parasha of his reconciliation with Esau are

juxtaposed.

(Y. Leibowitz: Sheva

Shanim shel Sihot al Parashat HaShavua, p. 135)

So that the socket of his hip was strained

as he wrestled with him – A time of war and a time of peace.

As he wrestled with him – seems to be redundant. This is the basis

of the Sages' exposition in Hullin (91a).

According to the plain reading, the meaning is "as Jacob wrestled

with him," for until now, the angel fought with Jacob, and now he wished

to break off contact, but Jacob took the offensive and resumed the struggle

with the angel; therefore, he was punished and his hip was displaced. This was

because Jacob's attribute was profuse love of peace, as we had noted above.

Therefore, he, too, should have rested – as did the angel who ceased to fight.

Jacob, however, betrayed his own attribute, and therefore, he was punished in

his hip, which controls walking and which signifies man's customary

behavior. We have a major generalization – when a person is used to exhibiting

a fine attribute, it takes on the status of a vow; should he later be

unfaithful to this attribute, he is punished. Furthermore, it may be said that

this comes to teach a lesson for all generations – the behavior of the fathers

is a sign unto the sons – as will be later explained.

(Ha'Amek Davar,

Bereishit 32:26)

…and it comes to teach us how one should behave with his adversaries,

not challenging them too much, and when the fright has passed, it is best to

let the pursuer go on his way.

(Ha'Amek Davar,

Bereishit 32:32)

And he kissed him or And he bit him? Can Esau's

Kiss be Trusted?

And

Esau ran to meet him… and kissed him:

Do not read "and he kissed him" [vayishakehu] but "and he

bit him" [vayinshakhehu].

(Pirkei Derabbi Eliezer 36)

And

kissed him – the word has dots above

it. Should one suppose that this was a kiss of love? R. Shimon ben Elazar said:

But were not all Esau's acts of hate at the beginning? – Except for this one,

which was an act of love.

(Avot DeRabbi Natan 2)

And Esau ran.. and he embraced him… and he kissed

him and they wept: Is it possible to

trust him?

The

word and they wept is a sure sign that we have before us pure

human emotion. A person may indeed kiss without his heart being in it, but

we can rest on the assumption that the tears which burst forth at such moments

come from the depths of the heart; this kiss and these tears show us that Esau

too was a descendant of Abraham our father, and not just a savage hunter, for

how else could he have attained the rank of a ruler in the development of

mankind? The sword alone, mere physical force, do not make a person fit for

such status.

(From the commentary of R. Samson Raphael Hirsch on the

Torah)

And

they wept – Both of them wept. This

teaches us that, at that moment, love for Esau stirred in Jacob too. And so it

is down the generations: when the descendants of Esau are inspired by a pure

spirit to recognize the descendants of Israel and their qualities, then we

too are stimulated to recognize Esau, for he is our brother. Thus R. Yehuda HaNassi

truly loved the Emperor Antoninus – and there are many more such examples.

(From R. Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin's commentary, Ha'Amek Davar)

The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam, and

the sister of Lotan was Timna.

(Bereishit 36:22)

and Lotan's sister was

Timna – Who was she?

Timna was the daughter of kings, as it is written; the aluf [chief] of

Lotan, the aluf of Timna (Bereishit 36), and every

aluf was an uncrowned king.

She asked to convert.

She went to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but they would not accept her.

[So] she went and became a concubine to Esau's son, Elifaz.

She said: "It is better for me to be a maidservant to this people

than to be a matron of another nation."

Amalek, which caused trouble to Israel, descended from her.

What was the reason? Because they should not have rebuffed her.

(Sanhedrin 99b)

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