Wagging the Dog

By Rabbi Joshua (confrontationally known The Hoffer) Hoffman.

In memory of Yitzchok Shlomo ben Leibel Halevi Bryskin, whose yohrzeit is on the twenty third of Kisleiv. May his memory be for a blessing.

The story is told of Rabbi Chaim Soloveichik, zt”l, known in the vernacular as Rav Chaim Brisker, traveling on a train from Brisk to Warsaw . When he first boarded the train, he noticed several maskilim, or secularly oriented Jews, sitting in one of the cars. When it came time for the Mincha prayer, Rav Chaim when back to that car in an effort to gather a minyan, but the maskilim where nowhere to be found. At that moment, Rav Chaim said that he now had an answer to a question that has been bothering him for sometime. When Ya’akov sends a mincha, a gift, to Eisav, he sends him all kinds of animals, but no dogs, even though the midrash tells us that Ya’akov did have some guide dogs. Why didn’t he send any dogs to Eisav? Now, said Rav Chaim, I understand. When it comes time for a mincha the dogs disappear!

Actually, there is a midrash that uses the image of a dog in describing Eisav in connection with the confrontation that Ya’akov had with him. The Midrash, cited by the Ramban, mentions a verse in Mishlei (26:17) which says that similar to one who grabs the ears of the dog is a passerby who involves himself in a quarrel that is not his. Ya’akov’s meeting with Eisav, in other words, was like a person who grabs the ears of a dog who is quietly minding his own business, thus stirring it up against him. Eisav was not in the immediate vicinity of Ya’akov’s path back to Eretz Yisroel, so why did Ya’akov go out of his way to arouse him? One may ask why the midrash use the image of a dog in referring to Eisav, and why, indeed, did Ya’akov confront him? The answers to these two questions are inter-related, and connected to the characteristic traits of the dog.

The major characteristic of a dog is its sense of loyalty to his master. The dog is unconditionally dedicated to fulfilling it’s master’s will. Eisav, similarly, was constantly serving his father. There is a chassidic approach to Ya’akov’s delegation to Eisav which says that the angels that Ya’akov sent him were the angels created by Eisav himself through the mitzvos that he performed, particularly that of honoring his father. Ya’akov was trying to show Eisav that he was better than he thought he was, and tell him that he should use his good qualities and cease to act antagonistically towards him.

Another characteristic of the dog is its voracious appetite. The Talmud (Shabbos 155a) says that the dog has less food available to it than any other animal, and is therefore is always hungry. Eisav, when he saw Ya’akov preparing a pot of lentils, was so hungry that he was ready to sell his birthright to get some of it. He thus acted as a dog, and, in this way, showed contempt for the important position of the first-born in serving God. Ya’akov, by sending a delegation and gift to Eisav, was indicating to him that he had the capacity either to continue his antagonistic attitude, as reflected in his rejection of the service of God, or emphasize his positive side, as reflected in the honor bestowed to father, and join with Ya’akov in the partnership meant to mutually enhance the service of God, and further the teachings of their forbearers