Vayishlach 2021

1What gift do you give to someone who has everything? Esau had everything he needed. (And Esau said, ‘I have plenty, you keep your gift.’) What gift do you give to a brother you have not seen in well over twenty (maybe thirty four) years? What gift do you give to a brother who may be coming after you for stealing his blessing with intent to kill you? Whatever Jacob came up with worked because in the end of the encounter the two brothers parted in peace.

2“And he slept there on that night and took from that which had come into his hand a gift (Mincha) for Esau his brother; Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred sheep (females) and twenty ram (males); Thirty nursing camels along with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she donkeys and ten he donkeys.” (Gen 32:14-16)

3Jacob’s gift to Esau was well thought out maybe inspired by the night’s sleep (Prophetic ideas came to Jacob at night, think angels on ladders, sheep reproducing sheep). Jacob gave Esau the gift of memory, of family connection, and of personal contrition. The goats were reminders that Jacob was well aware of his deception involving the gamey taste of goat. They came first, both in recognition of the trickery and as a token of his own contrition. The sheep came next. Jacob possessed sheep and donkeys as payment for twenty years of service. “And the man (Jacob) became very successful and had many sheep, servants (male and female), and camels and donkeys.” (ibid. 30:43) These were his sole possessions. Jacob had no land of his own. He was a wandering shepherd. His message to Esau was, “I am sorry to have taken your blessing. Whatever I have I had to work hard to obtain. I have never received the blessing that was in fact meant for you.” The nursing camels were to remind Esau of Rebecca who came to Isaac on a camel and of Dvorah the nursemaid who nursed both boys. (The nursing colts were Esau and Jacob.) Jacob reminded Esau that they were twins and they shared the same nursemaid Dvorah. Her death in the Parsha drives home this idea for the pasuk speaks of a place of crying (In the plural). Both sons cried at her death.

4What was most notable about Jacob’s gift of the animals was the male versus female balance. The Talmud explains that from Jacob’s gift to Esau we can understand the optimal balance of males to females to maximize births. The gift represented Jacob’s gift of renewal and of rebirth. Jacob had expressed through his gift his blessing to Esau. This gift would keep on giving. It may have been a small collection of animals. However it would increase with time and become a source of newfound wealth for Esau. It was Jacob’s blessing of a long term financial benefit.

5The cows were in place of servants because Jacob would not hand over his servants to Esau. There was another gift that Jacob would not hand over and that was the opportunity for Esau to meet his daughter Dinah. The Midrash actually takes Jacob to task for this: “Where was Dina? Jacob placed her in a box and nailed it shut lest Esau see her, covet her, and take her. G-d said because Jacob withheld Dina from his own brother where she could have brought him back into service of G-d she ended up being taken by Shchem and marrying Job.” (Midrash Raba quoted by Rashi ibid: 23) One can only speculate what would have happened had Jacob been more open to a family union with Esau. The gift was “enough” to keep Esau away, but sometimes “enough” isn’t good enough.

6Dedicated to the memory of Joel Shulman A’H