«2-state solution» Vayishlach 5785

(4) Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom,(5) and instructed them as follows, “Thus shall you say, ‘To my lord Esau, thus says your servant Jacob:*Thus shall you say, ‘To my lord Esau, thus says your servant Jacob…’ Or “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau, ‘Thus says your servant Jacob…’” I stayed with Laban and remained until now;(6) I have acquired cattle, asses, sheep, and male and female slaves; and I send this message to my lord in the hope of gaining your favor.’”

גרתי I HAVE SOJOURNED — I have become neither a prince nor other person of importance but merely a sojourner. It is not worth your while to hate me on account of the blessing of your father who blessed me (27:29) “Be master over thy brethren”, for it has not been fulfilled in me (Tanchuma Yashan 1:8:5). Another explanation: the word גרתי has the numerical value of 613 - תרי״ג - it is as much as to say, “Though I have sojourned with Laban, the wicked, I have observed the תרי״ג מצות, the 613 Divine Commandments, and I have learned naught of his evil ways.

The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau; he himself is coming to meet you, and his retinue numbers four hundred.”

וגם הולך לקראתך, not only have we seen him, but he did not react with satisfaction when we told him about your wealth. But, אגם הולך לקראתך עם ארבע מאות איש, he also marches toward you with 400 men in order to attack you. The expression לקראת meaning to approach with hostile intent is repeated in Numbers 20,20 when again Edom (Esau) is threatening the Israelites.

(8) Jacob was greatly frightened; in his anxiety, he divided the people with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps,(9) thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, the other camp may yet escape.”

והיה המחנה הנשאר לפליטה THEN THE REMAINING CAMP MAY ESCAPE in spite of him, for I will fight against him He prepared himself for three things: to give him a present — as it states (Genesis 32:22) “So, the present passed before him”; for prayer — as it states (Genesis 32:10), “And he said, ‘O God of my father Abraham”; for war — as it states in this verse, “then the remaining camp may escape”, for I will fight against him (Tanchuma Yashan 1:8:6).

THEN THE CAMP WHICH IS LEFT SHALL ESCAPE. In line with the simple meaning of Scripture, Jacob stated this as a possibility. He said that perhaps one camp shall escape, for during the time he [Esau] smites one, the other will flee, or perhaps his anger will subside or deliverance will come to them from G-d. And so the Rabbis said in Bereshith Rabbah, “The Torah teaches you proper conduct: a man should not leave all his money in one corner.”

(17) These he put in the charge of his servants, drove by drove, and he told his servants, “Go on ahead, and keep a distance between droves.”(18) He instructed the one in front as follows, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, ‘Who’s your master? Where are you going? And whose [animals] are these ahead of you?’(19) you shall answer, ‘Your servant Jacob’s; they are a gift sent to my lord Esau; and [Jacob] himself is right behind us.’”(20) He gave similar instructions to the second one, and the third, and all the others who followed the droves, namely, “Thus and so shall you say to Esau when you reach him.(21) And you shall add, ‘And your servant Jacob himself is right behind us.’” For he reasoned, “If I propitiate him with presents in advance, and then face him, perhaps he will show me favor.”

Esau ran to greet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck, he kissed him; and they wept.

וישקהו AND HE KISSED HIM — Dots are placed above the letters of this word, and a difference of opinion is expressed in the Baraitha of Sifré (בהעלותך) as to what these dots are intended to suggest: some explain the dotting as meaning that he did not kiss him with his whole heart, whereas R Simeon the son of Johai said: Is it not well-known that Esau hated Jacob? But at that moment his pity was really aroused and he kissed him with his whole heart. (Sifrei Bamidbar 69.2)

Rabbeinu, when he would ascend to the empire, he would look at this portion

“He divided the people” – the Torah taught you proper conduct; that a person should not place all his property in one corner. From whom do you learn this? It is from Jacob, as it is stated: “He divided the people…” Likewise it says: “And hid them, fifty men to a cave” (I Kings 18:4).
“He said: If Esau will come upon the one camp, and smite it, the remaining camp will survive” (Genesis 32:9).
“He said: If Esau will come upon the one camp, and smite it” – these are our brethren in the south; “the remaining camp will survive” – these are our brethren in the Diaspora. Rabbi Hoshaya said: Even though they survived, they fast on our behalf on Monday and Thursday.

(11) Louder than the sound of archers,hsound of archers Or “thunder peals”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.
There among the watering places
Let them chant GOD’s gracious acts—
The gracious deliverance of Israel.
Then did GOD’s people
March down to the gates!

Rabbi Oshaya said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “The righteous acts of His rulers [pirzono] in Israel” (Judges 5:11)? The Holy One, Blessed be He, performed a charitable deed toward Israel in that He scattered them [pizran] among the nations; had He exiled them to one place, they could have all been destroyed at once. And this concept is that which a certain apostate said to Rabbi Ḥanina: We gentiles are superior to you Jews in that we have patience. It is written of you: “For Joab and all Israel remained there six months until he had cut off every male in Edom” (I Kings 11:16), whereas we, although you have been with us for several years, are not doing anything to you. He said to him: With your consent, let one student deal with your assertion and answer you.

Rabbi Oshaya dealt with his assertion and said to him: This is not a sign of your righteousness but is simply because you do not know how to do it, to destroy us. If you seek to destroy all of the Jewish people, you cannot because they are not all with you in your kingdom. If you destroy only those Jews who are with you in your kingdom, you will be called a severed kingdom for murdering part of its own population. The apostate said to him: I swear by Gappa, god of the Romans, with this problem we lie down and with this problem we rise up, for we are constantly struggling with the dilemma of how to eliminate the Jewish people.

(25) When you have begotten children and children’s children and are long established in the land, should you act wickedly and make for yourselves a sculptured image in any likeness, causing your God יהוה displeasure and vexation,(26) I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you that you shall soon perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess; you shall not long endure in it, but shall be utterly wiped out.(27) יהוה will scatter you among the peoples, and only a scant few of you shall be left among the nations to which יהוה will drive you.

(31) I will lay your cities in ruin and make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not savor your pleasing odors.(32) I will make the land desolate, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled by it.(33) And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will unsheath the sword against you. Your land shall become a desolation and your cities a ruin.(34) Then shall the land make up for its sabbath years throughout the time that it is desolate and you are in the land of your enemies; then shall the land rest and make up for its sabbath years.

ואתכם אזרה בגוים AND I WILL SCATTER YOU AMONG THE NATIONS — This again was a harsh measure; because when the inhabitants of a country go into exile in one and the same place they have the opportunity to see each other and so find consolation for their bad lot. Israel, however, was scattered as though by a winnowing fan — as when a man winnows barley with a fan — when not even one grain of them adheres to the other (not even two grains remain in the same place; cf. Jeremiah 25:7) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 6).

ואתכם אזרה בגוים, "And you I will scatter among the nations." This verse is best explained in conjunction with what we have learned in Ketuvot 111 that G'd made the (Jews) people swear three (two) oaths at the time they went into exile.. 1) they would not try and recapture the land of Israel by force of arms; 2) they would not start a rebellion against their host countries while in exile. 3) G'd made the nations swear that they would not oppress the Jews excessively. In our verse the Torah alludes to two things. The word אזרה alludes to the oath not to try and recapture the land of Israel by force. The word בגוים refers to the oath not to start a rebellion against the host countries. The words והריקותי אחריכם חרב, "I will draw out the sword after you," is a threat that if the Israelites do not abide by the oaths mentioned G'd would make their lives הפקר, abandoned property. The words והיתה ארצכם שממה "your land will be waste-land," is the reason why G'd has to scatter the Israelites among the nations. Otherwise He could not fulfil His decree for the land to rest by not being worked and thus make up for the failure of the Jewish people to observe the שמטה years while they occupied the land. This is also why the Torah emphasises that all this would happpen while the Jewish people are in exile, i.e. ואתם, "as for you."

And Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, exiled Israel among the nations only so that converts would join them

And he asked, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” He answered, “To gain my lord’s favor.”

מי לך כל המחנה WHAT MEANEST THOU BY ALL THIS CAMP? — What is all this camp that I have met which belongs to you?

the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—

the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—

the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—