Posts tagged ‘Esau’

December 9, 2011

The Gift to Esav, part III

by Digital Maggid

Yakev asked: “So you want to frighten the man to whom Gd said, ‘Your house will be as a flame of fire’? Flee from me and touch me not!” Yakev took a hank of wool (yarn) and bound it around his neck to choke him. The shepherd heard Yakev’s words and immediately showed him that he was an angel of Gd, and wrestled with him until the rising of the morning star. At the end, the angel grabbed Yakev’s hip and ripped the hip bone so that Yakev became lame.

The angel wanted to knock Yakev to the ground but Hashem appeared to him and then he saw that the Shekhina (Divine presence) stood over Yakev, and he grew weak and was himself thrown to the ground. To what is this compared? To a man who is a wrestler by trade and at a certain time comes to wrestle with the son of the king. He catches sight of the king standing over his son and he immediately backs off of the man under him.

Hashem said to the angel: “Yakev has five merits on account of which I guard him: the merits of his father and mother, his grandfather, Abraham and his grandmother, Sarah, and his own merit. Can you, then, oppose even his merit alone?” The angel immediately withdrew because he was unable to defeat him.

December 6, 2011

The Gift to Esav, part I

by Digital Maggid

The Gift to Esav — and The Angel

When Yakev finished praying to Gd, he divided the sheep and cattle into two multitudes; a half he handed over to Damesek, (one of the sons of Abraham’s servant, Eliezer) and his sons, and the other half he handed over to Eliyanus (another of Eliezer’s sons) and his sons. Yakev prepared a great gift for his brother, Esav: He gathered together goats and sheep, camels, oxen, cows and donkeys and turned them over to his servants each herd individually. Yakev prepared a great gift in order to satisfy the eyes of the wicked one so that he might say: A great gift has my brother Yakev sent to me. And so, Yakev said to them: “Go over for me and you should make a distinction between herd and herd, and you should separate one herd from the other and your multitudes, for if Esav comes and attacks one multitude and beats it, the second multitude will remain.”

Through the differentiation that Yakev made between the herds he wanted to suggest to Hashem: “I beg you, my Gd, if it happens that trouble comes upon my children, do not bring them one after the other, but make a distinction between the troubles.”

At the same time, Yakev lifted his eyes and saw that Esav was approaching him. He cried and begged Gd for mercy. The Oybershter heard his prayers and told him that he would help them in all of their troubles.

December 4, 2011

The Real Deal

by Digital Maggid

וַיִּשְׁלַח יַעֲקֹב מַלְאָכִים

vayishlach ya’akov mal’achim
and Jacob sent angels (Gen. 32:4)

א חסיד האט אמאל געפרעגט ביי ר’ ברוך מעזשיבושער: “פאר וואס האט יעקב געשיקט צו עשו’ן מלאכים ממש און נישט פראָסטע שליחים וואלט פאר אים קליין געווען?”

A Chasid once asked the rabbi Baruch Mezibusher: “How could Yakev send angels to Esav, actually, and not ordinary messengers who would be lesser than he?”

“דאס זיינען געווען די מלאכים וואס זיינען געקומען צו אברהם-אבינו אין געשטאלט פון מענשען און האבן מער ניט געקענט זיך צוריק קערען אין הימל אריין, ווייל זיי האבן זייערע שליחות געטאָן שלא כהוגן.

“Those were the angels who appeared to Avraham Avinu in the form of men and who could no longer get back into heaven because they did not do their mission properly.

אז די מלאכים זיינען געקומען צו יעקב’ן אין געשטאלט פון מלאכים, האט דאס יעקב’ן פארדאָסען און ער האט געזאגט צו זיי: ‘צו מיין זייד’ן אברהם זענט איהר געקומען אין געשטאלט פון מענשן — והנה שלשה אנשים נצבים עליו — און צו מיר קומט איהר בדמות מלאכים, וועל איך דערפאר אייך שיקען אין שליחות צו עשו’ן.’ זיינען דאס טאקע געווען מלאכים ממש.”

“When the angels came to Yakev in the form of angels, Yakev was angry and he said to them: ‘You appeared to my grandfather, Abraham, as men — v’hinei shloshah anshim nitzavim alav (and behold, three men stood over him – Genesis 18:2) — and to me you come in the form of angels, so I am sending you on a mission to Esav.’ Those really were angels, actually.”

December 2, 2011

Jacob on the Road to Charan, part III

by Digital Maggid

Jacob took off his garments and immersed himself in the river, and Elifaz took his clothes and all the silver and gold that his uncle had, saying: “Your words have softened my heart, and therefore I will do you no harm, and I will return to my father.” Elifaz and his men bade him farewell and returned to Esav and they said to him: “Your brother Jacob begged us not to murder him, we had compassion on him, we took his silver and gold and left him alone.” Esav was angry with them, but the spoils they had taken from Jacob he took and kept with his treasures.

Jacob was left without clothing in the water, so he lifted his hands to Gd and cried: “Master of the Universe, I am naked before all.” Hashem sent him a rider who had fallen from his horse at the river bank and drowned. Jacob quickly removed the rider’s garments, washed them and put them on.  When Esav became aware that Jacob was naked and had nothing, he decided to catch up with him on the road and to murder him there, but the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit) revealed to Jacob the evil machinations of Esav.

When he reached the Jordan, he lifted his eyes to Hashem, saying: “My Lord, you know, obviously, that I have nothing with me, only the staff I hold in my hand.” Hashem said to him: “Beat the Jordan and cross over it!” And when he did so, Hashem said to him: “Let this very thing be a sign for you that just as the Jordan was interrupted for you, so also will it be interrupted for your children when they cross over it.”

Meanwhile, Esav was rapidly persuing Jacob and found him in a cave in which there was a bath house of warm water. Jacob thought to himself: “I clearly have nothing, not even any bread or food. I’ll go warm up in these Tiberian hotsprings,  and may this be a healing for my body.” When Jacob was in the bath house, Esav immediately arrived and locked all the doors so Jacob couldn’t get out, so he would die there. Jacob was frightened. But Hashem performed a miracle and made an excavation for him in another place and so was able to escape.

November 27, 2011

Jacob on the Road to Charan, part I

by Digital Maggid

יעקב אויפן וועג קיין חרן

Yakev oifn Veg keyn Charan

איידער יעקב איז ארויס אין וועג קיין חרן אים זיין עלטערן געבענטשט, אבער ער איז נאר נישט געווען אינגאנצן גייט ארויסצוגיין ווייל ער האט נאך נישט באקומען רשות פון השי”ת, נאר פון זיין עלטערן, און ער האט מורא געהאט טאָמער וויל נישט דער אויבערשטער ער זאל ארויסגיין.

Before Yakev left for Charan, his parents blessed him, but he was still not completely ready to leave because he had not yet received permission from Hashem Yisboroch, only from his parents, and he was afraid lest the Oybershter (Gd) not want him to leave.

און אזוי האט יעקב געזאגט: ” מיין טאטע-מאמע האבן טאקע מיר געגעבן רשות ארויסצוגיין קיין חוץ-לארץ, אבער פון וואו ווייס איך אז השי”ת וויל איך זאל ארויסגיין און דארט האבן קינדער, און טאמער וויל ער בכלל נישט?” דעריבער איז ער געגאנגען קיין באר-שבע נעמען רשות פון די שכינה.

 And so Yakev said: “My folks have indeed given me permission to go abroad, but how do I know that Hashem wants me to leave and have children there, and what he what if he doesn’t?” Therefore, he went to Be’er-Sheba to get permission from the Shekhina.

ער האט  געזאגט: “אויב דער אויבערשטער וועט מיר געבן רשות, גיי איך, אין אויב נישט, גיי איך נישט ארויס.” ווי השי”ת האט אים צוגעזאגט אז ער איז מיט אים  — איז ער גלייך ארויס אין וועג.

He said: “If the Oybershter will give me permission, I’ll go, but if not, I won’t leave.” When Hashem told him that he would be with him, he set out immediately.

ווי ער האט זיך נאר דערווייטערט פון באר-שבע, האט עשו גלייך גערופן זיין זוהן דער בכור עֱליפַז און האט צו אים געזאגט: “נעם שנעל זיין שווערד, יאג נאך יעקב און הרג’ע אים, כדי זאלסט צונעמען פון אים שלעס וואס ער פארמאָגט.”

When he was some distance from from Be’er Sheba, Esav immediately called his eldest son, Elifaz and said to him: “Quick, get your sword and go after Yakev so that you can murder him and take everything he has.”

האט זיין זוהן אליפז צו אים געזאגט: “פאטער מיינע, ג-ט האט דאך צוגעאזאגט פאר זיין זיידן אברהם אז פיהר הונדערט יאר וועלן זיינע קינדער זיין קנעכט אין מצרים, און ישמעאל ווערט נישט גערעכנט פון דיין קינדער, נאר יצחק, אויב דו וועסט הרג’ענען דיין ברודער יעקב, וועסטו און דיינע קינדער זיין פארשקלאַפט פיהר הונדערט יאר אזוי ווי ג-ט האט געזאגט, אויב אזוי איז דאך בעסער אז דו זאלסט איבערלאזן יעקב און די שווערע נבואה זאל מקויים ווערן ביי אים און ביי זיינע קינדער, און נישט ביי דיר.” אבער עשו אזי געשטאנן אויף זיינעם צו הרג’עמען זיין ברודער יעקב.

His son, Elifaz said to him: “My father, Gd told your grandfather, Abraham, that his children would be slaves in Egypt for four hundred years, and Ishmael wasn’t counted among his sons, only Isaac. If you murder Yakev, you and your children will be enslaved for four hundred years, as Gd has said, so it would be better if you leave Yakev be and the difficult prophesy will be fulfilled by him and his children, and not by you.” But Esav was determined to murder his brother, Yakev.

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