Dvar Torah for Parshas Vayishlach

This week’s parshah opens with Yaakov preparing for the conflict with his brother, Esav. His first move is to send messengers ahead to see what Esav’s attitude is towards him. He sends them with the following message for Esav. “כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו כֹּה אָמַר עַבְדְּךָ יַעֲקֹב עִם לָבָן גַּרְתִּי וָאֵחַר עַד עָתָּה” “So shall you say to my master, Esav, ’so said your servant Yaakov: I have been living with Lavan and have delayed till now” (32:5). The message continues with an explanation of how Yaakov is very wealthy and wants only to be at peace with Esav.

Rashi focuses on the word “גַּרְתִּי” “have been living”. This is a very strange word to use as it is not used anywhere else in the Torah. A better word would have been “עבדתי” from the word “עבד”, servant, since he was really a servant to Lavan. He gives two explanations for it. The first is the focus on the root of the word, “גר” “stranger”. Yaakov is telling Esav that Yitzchak’s brachos which he blessed him with in Parshas Toldos, have not come true as Yaakov has not become anyone important, he was still just a regular, unimportant person in Lavan’s house. Therefore, there is no reason to be jealous since the brachos which Yaakov “stole” have not come true. The second explanation of Rashi is that “גַּרְתִּי” has the same numerical value (gematria in hebrew) as “תרי"ג”, 613, referring to the 613 mitzvos. Yaakov is telling Esav that even though he spent so much time in the house of a rasha, he still kept all the mitzvos and was still as big a tzaddik as he was before. Therefore, Esav would not be able to defeat him.

The Kli Yakar has a few problems with these explanations. First of all, he’s bothered by the fact that Rashi’s two explanations contradict each other, the first says that Yaakov was portraying himself as weak and the second one says that Yaakov was portraying himself as a strong opponent. You cannot say both of them at the same time. Also, according to the second pshat, why did Yaakov call himself Esav’s servant and send him gifts?

The Kli Yakar decides to say a different explanation by combining the two of Rashi. The first pshat stays the same, Yaakov is saying that the brachos have not come true since he is still a nobody and there is no need for Esav to fear him. He asks though, how could Yaakov deny the fact that brachos which his father gave him were not true? Isn’t this extreme disrespect? He answers that Yaakov explained to Esav that brachos only work for the person they were intended for. So since Yitzchak intended the brachos for Esav, even though Yaakov came and took them instead, they would still go to Esav.

Yaakov then preempts a question from Esav by using the second explanation of Rashi. Esav might ask that really the brachos have taken affect and the only reason Yaakov is not great is because he did not keep the mitzvos in Lavan’s house, one of the conditions for the brachos working. Yaakov explains through the use of the word “גַּרְתִּי” that he has kept all the mitzvos and still the brachos haven’t helped him at all.

This showdown was the first of many that have been and will be between Yaakov and Esav’s descendants. We must learn the lessons our Avos teach us through the Parshah in order that we will come out on top every time.

Shabbat Shalom!