Insights from Past Parshiot
Sometimes I realize something as I talk about the parsha at my Shabbat table. I would like to record these insights in this substack for posterity, so I’m introducing a new header called “Insights from Past Parshiot.” We’ll see how many of these I end up needing to do!
Here are some of my recent realizations.
YAAKOV AND ESAV SPEAK DIFFERENTLY
When you learn about hakol kol Yaakov in school, you are usually taught about Yaakov’s ability to daven and Esav’s ability with weaponry. But I realized there is a much more simple (and to my mind, accurate) meaning regarding what Yitzchak is saying. You see, Yaakov and Esav speak differently. Yitzchak, as a blind person who must rely on his other senses, is attuned to their ways of speaking and immediately notes the difference.
Compare Yaakov’s entrance (when he is pretending to be Esav) in Genesis 27:18-19
וַיָּבֹ֥א אֶל־אָבִ֖יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אָבִ֑י וַיֹּ֣אמֶר הִנֶּ֔נִּי מִ֥י אַתָּ֖ה בְּנִֽי׃ He went to his father and said, “Father.” And he said, “Yes, who are you?”
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֜ב אֶל־אָבִ֗יו אָנֹכִי֙ עֵשָׂ֣ו בְּכֹרֶ֔ךָ עָשִׂ֕יתִי כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר דִּבַּ֖רְתָּ אֵלָ֑י קֽוּם־נָ֣א שְׁבָ֗ה וְאׇכְלָה֙ מִצֵּידִ֔י בַּעֲב֖וּר תְּבָרְכַ֥נִּי נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your first-born; I have done as you told me. Pray sit up and eat of my game, that you may give me your innermost blessing.”
The question is- why is Yitzchak already asking “Who are you” when Yaakov has only said the word “Father?” The answer is revealed through a close reading of Genesis 27:31-32.
וַיַּ֤עַשׂ גַּם־הוּא֙ מַטְעַמִּ֔ים וַיָּבֵ֖א לְאָבִ֑יו וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לְאָבִ֗יו יָקֻ֤ם אָבִי֙ וְיֹאכַל֙ מִצֵּ֣יד בְּנ֔וֹ בַּעֲבֻ֖ר תְּבָרְכַ֥נִּי נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ He too prepared a dish and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father sit up and he will eat of his son’s game, so that you may give me your innermost blessing.”
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֛וֹ יִצְחָ֥ק אָבִ֖יו מִי־אָ֑תָּה וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אֲנִ֛י בִּנְךָ֥ בְכֹֽרְךָ֖ עֵשָֽׂו׃ His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, Esau, your first-born!”
When Esav goes to Yitzchak, he speaks to him in THIRD PERSON. “Let my father get up and he will eat of his son’s game” is very different from the direct, second-person “Father” that Yaakov employs. I think this is the reason that the rabbis in the Gemara ascribe intensive kibud av to Esav- they notice his language and see how deferential he is. (It’s like using the French Vous instead of tu.) Even nowadays, in some yeshivot, people will say “Would Rebbe like a drink?” rather than “Would you like a drink?”
What this means is that when Yitzchak says “the voice is the voice of Yaakov” that is not a compliment. He is saying, “This son is speaking to me the way Yaakov does- straightforward, without deference or extreme kibud av- and yet his hands are hairy like Esav’s!”
I think this is significant for two reasons- one, it helps explain the scene on a literary level, and two, it shows us the source for why the rabbis think Esav exhibited such strong kibud av.
WHY DO THE RABBIS THINK IT’S THE ANGEL OF ESAV?
In this past week’s parsha, Vayishlach, we see that an unknown man comes and wrestles with Yaakov. The rabbis see this unknown man as the Sar Esav. I realized as I was reading through the parsha why this might be.
In Genesis 32:29 it says
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר לֹ֤א יַעֲקֹב֙ יֵאָמֵ֥ר עוֹד֙ שִׁמְךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּֽי־שָׂרִ֧יתָ עִם־אֱלֹהִ֛ים וְעִם־אֲנָשִׁ֖ים וַתּוּכָֽל׃ Said he, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven Heb. saritha, connected with first part of “Israel.” with “God (Elohim, connected with second part of ‘Israel’) and men.”beings divine and human,-d and have prevailed.”
And then in Genesis 33:10 it says
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֗ב אַל־נָא֙ אִם־נָ֨א מָצָ֤אתִי חֵן֙ בְּעֵינֶ֔יךָ וְלָקַחְתָּ֥ מִנְחָתִ֖י מִיָּדִ֑י כִּ֣י עַל־כֵּ֞ן רָאִ֣יתִי פָנֶ֗יךָ כִּרְאֹ֛ת פְּנֵ֥י אֱלֹהִ֖ים וַתִּרְצֵֽנִי׃ But Jacob said, “No, I pray you; if you would do me this favor, accept from me this gift; for to see your face is like seeing the face of God, and you have received me favorably.
What is Yaakov talking about when he says that seeing Esav’s face is like seeing the face of Elohim (God)? I think it’s a reference back to the earlier struggle that Yaakov had with the unnamed man, and this is how the rabbis understand the being that Yaakov struggled with to be the Sar shel Esav / guardian angel of Esav.
THE LIMP IS THE SOLUTION
As I was reading this week’s parsha, I realized something interesting.
Yaakov prays to God to save him from Esav in verses 10-13
Yaakov strategizes on how to appease his brother in the next segment (through sending a large gift)
Yaakov wrestles with Elohim and his thigh is damaged; from then on he walks with a limp. (See verses 32 and 33)
What if the injury itself is the answer to Yaakov’s prayer?
Here’s what I mean by this. Imagine that you are Esav. Your brother, who stole your blessings, has done you wrong. He is now sending you a vast gift of lots of cattle and sheep. Maybe this appeases you, but more likely, it frustrates you. He has all of this- because it should have been yours! It’s really your blessing! Then, finally, your eyes light upon Yaakov. And then you realize something. He may have all these possessions but he is not a whole man. He walks with a limp. (Who knows whether he had other bruises on his face or body after having struggled with the divine being all night long?) And suddenly your pity and compassion is aroused. Yaakov may have a lot, but he doesn’t have the strength of his body- the thing that Esav prizes above all else as a man who hunts, a man of war. To Esav, Yaakov is now no longer an equal, someone of whom he is jealous- but someone who is lesser, someone upon whom he can have pity.
Yaakov bows low to the ground seven times. Imagine a man who is limping and favoring his leg bowing seven times. Imagine the effort that must have took, the wince that crossed his face, the naked pain. It’s not surprising at all that after witnessing all of that, Esav
וַיָּ֨רׇץ עֵשָׂ֤ו לִקְרָאתוֹ֙ וַֽיְחַבְּקֵ֔הוּ וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־צַוָּארָ֖ו וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄ וַיִּבְכּֽוּ׃ Esau ran to greet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck, he kissed him; and they wept.
I think this is an incredible example of God at work. What seemed like an injury was actually the solution to the problem- the thing that enabled Esav to realize his brother was not a threat to him.