From: Netvort@aol.com
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2005
3:43 AM
To: JoshHoff@aol.com
Subject: Netvort : parshas
Vayishlach, 5766
Brothers Under the Skin
By Rabbi Joshua (brotherly known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
In
this week's parsha, the Torah describes the meeting between Ya'akov and his
brother Eisav, after they hadn't seen each other for twenty years. Ya'akov,
fearing that Eisav still hated him and wanted to kill him, takes a number of
precautions, to protect himself. Rashi cites the midrash which sums up these
precautions as consisting of a gift to Eisav, a prayer to God, and preparation
for war. When the brothers finally meet, the Torah tells us, " Eisav ran toward
him, and he embraced him, and fell upon his neck, and kissed him ; and they
wept. Rashi mentions that there is a dispute in the Sifrei concerning the
sincerity of Eisav's emotional response to Ya'akov's visit. However, Rabbi
Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, in his commentary, notes that while one can give an
insincere kiss, he cannot fake tears. Eisav's tears, says Rabbi Hirsch, indicate
that he had true feelings for his brother. A spark of humaneness still existed
within him, and Ya'akov was able to tap into it. Rabbi Moshe Einstadter, in his
Yesodos of Sefer Bereishis, elaborates on this theme, and notes that we find
such moments throughout history, when the 'vestigial spiritual essence' that
existed deep within Eisav comes to the fore, illuminating Eisav's world like
lightning against a black sky. The Netziv, in his Ha'amek Davar, notes that the
word 'vayivku' - 'and they cried' - is in the plural, indicating that once Eisav
cried, Ya'akov cried, as well, thus foreshadowing those times in Jewish history
when the descendants of Ya'akov and Eisav would share friendly relations, as
occurred in the time of Rabbi Yehudah and Antoninus, and, the Netziv adds, at
many other junctions in history. Following the approach of these commentators,
it would be instructive to explore what it was that moved Eisav to unleash the
good side of his personality when he met Ya'akov, since, as the rabbis tells us,
Ya'akov's deportment with Eisav is meant to serve as a model for his descendants
in dealing when confronting Eisav's descendants.
Ramban, in
his commentary (Bereishis 32:7-8), writes that even though Eisav originally
showed hostility to Ya'akov and his messengers, in the end, when he saw the
great honor that Ya'akov accorded him, his compassion was aroused, and he
thought that Ya'akov had actually acknowledged his claim to the birthright, and
he was therefore mollified. Ramban then paraphrases a verse in Mishlei (21:1),
which reads, " Like streams of water is the heart of a king in the hand of God,
wherever he wishes, so He directs it, " and applies it to human hearts, in
general. One of the commentaries on Ramban, Lev Tzion, explains that, although
it would seem that Eisav's response to Ya'akov was caused by Ya'akov's attitude
to him, it was, actually, caused by divine intervention. However, I do not
believe that this is the meaning of the Ramban's statement, nor that it is the
meaning of the verse in Mishlei. Man has free will, and God is not a 'Grand
Puppeteer' who controls their actions. This, in fact, is what Rav Yitzchak
Elchonon Spektor of Kovno, the great nineteenth century authority in Jewish law,
who often interceded with the Russian government on behalf of the Jewish people,
writes in a footnote to his introduction to Ayn Yitzchok, a two volume work of
halachic responsa. Explaining the same verse in Mishlei that is paraphrased by
the Ramban, Rabbi Spektor writes that the verse does not mean to say that God
determines how kings act. If this were so, then the kings of the nations could
not receive reward for their good actions, or punishment for their bad actions.
Rather, a king’s heart is like a stream, or a river, which is described in the
Talmud as being only one-third revealed, and two parts hidden. So, too, God
arouses the heart of a king, inclining him to act in a certain way. However, the
final course of action they take remains hidden in the recesses of their hearts,
and up to them to decide. I believe that this is what the Ramban means in regard
to Eisav, as well. God aroused Eisav's heart to release his inner feelings of
brotherly love for Ya'akov, and, seeing Ya'akov's deportment toward him, he did
so. However, according to Ramban, this arousal of brotherly feeling was actually
one-sided, because Ya'akov made Eisav think that he was acknowledging his
superiority. In effect, then, Ya'akov was really fooling Eisav into reacting the
way he did, and did not share in these feelings. As we have seen, however, the
Netziv writes that Ya'akov, as well, shared in these feelings, as indicated by
the fact that he cried along with Eisav. If all his overtures to Eisav were
merely a ruse, it seems unlikely that he would have responded in this way. What,
then, did Ya'akov do to stir up these mutual emotions?
Rabbi
Ya'akov Sakly, a student of the great medieval Talmudic authority Rashba,
writes, in his Toras HaMincha, that even though Ya'akov knew that God was
watching over him, and, moreover, sent him angels to protect him, he did not
want to arouse Eisav's anger. Therefore, he sent messengers of peace to him, and
Eisav responded in kind. As soon as he heard that Ya'akov inquired about his
welfare, he gathered four hundred men and sent them to greet him. Unlike Ramban,
who understood this as a belligerent move, Rabbi Sakly understands it as a
positive response to Ya'akov's overture, coming out of brotherly love. The proof
to this explanation, he says, is the emotional reaction that Eisav exhibited
when the two brothers actually met. If we add Ramban's invocation of the verse
in Mishlei to this explanation, we can say that God aroused Eisav's heart to
draw on his inner, brotherly love for Ya'akov, and Ya'akov's gesture of sending
messengers to inquire about his welfare, and to seek peace with him, moved him
to respond positively to this divine arousal. What we can take away from this
encounter, then, as a lesson for future generations, is the importance of
treating all of our fellow human beings with love and respect, as Ya'kov did
when he sent his messengers to Eisav. When we do so, we may, with divine help,
be able to tap into the inner feelings of universal brotherhood implanted deep
within them, to our mutual benefit.
Please address all
correspondence to the author (Rabbi Hoffman) with the following address -
JoshHoff @ AOL.com.
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