What must
it have felt like to be Yaacov early in the morning on the day he met Esav
again?
He had just
endured a physically exhausting fight with a stranger - perhaps, according to
Rashi, Esav's Guardian Angel, who assaulted him all the while, in the guise of
a man.
They've
fought all night. Yaacov is no youngster either. He is close to 100 years of
age.
Dawn has
broken and the only way the "man" can prevail is by aggressively
kicking Yaacov in the thigh, to the point that he has dislocated his
hip. Yaacov has been renamed Yisrael and he has little time to think of
the consequences because he's in pain. Deep, deep pain.
Now, he walks wearily towards his twin brother who is standing across the plain
accompanied by four hundred strongmen.
The last
time they were together, twenty-two years earlier, he was about to run for his
life, escaping a death sentence.
Now, he has
no idea how Esav, a volatile character, will react when they finally meet mano
a mano - hand to hand.
Yaacov bows
seven times until he reaches Esav. No doubt, he is both physically and
emotionally drained.
Esav rushes
up to him and they embrace - although the Rabbis note the dots over the word
"vayishakehu" - Esav kissed Yaacov - some believe that he tried to
bite his brother's neck and there was little sincerity in the action - others
hold that (at least according to Rashi), Esav's hatred for his brother was
overtaken by merciful emotions and his heart dictated his actions.
So here we
are, the ultimate reunion. Brothers together. Old scores laid aside. At last
peace has prevailed.
Now,
reverse the role.
You are
Esav, surrounded by your henchmen and about to see your twin brother again.
He's really laid it on thickly.
Hundreds of animals as gifts - just read the
list of what Yaacov had sent the previous night, to assuage his brother's
unpredictable behaviour:
(15) 200
she-goats and 20 he-goats; 200 ewes and 20 rams;
(16) 30
nursing camels with their colts; 40 cows and 10 bulls; 20 she-asses and 10
he-asses.
That's
quite a gift!
And here he
is, watching his brother bowing down to him, not once, not twice but seven
times.
His
brother, the one who tricked their father, took the blessings that were
undoubtedly his and fled, like a coward in the night.
Look how
the tables have turned!
What else
can Esav do but show magnanimity to his younger sibling?
So, he reacts
by running towards Yaacov, embraces him, falls on his neck and kisses him. All
is forgiven. The hunted and his hunter have indeed been reunited.
How would
you act if you were Esav at this moment?
What would
you do to build bridges?
And [Esau]
said, “Let us start on our journey, and I will proceed at your pace.”
After the reconciliation, is this not a logical suggestion?
Esav is
willing to accompany his brother back home (wherever home may now be) but
Yaacov
defers:
(13) But he
said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and
herds, which are nursing, are important to me; if they are driven hard a single
day, all the flocks will die. (14) Let my lord go on ahead of his servant,
while I travel slowly, at the pace of the cattle before me and at the pace of
the children, until I come to my lord in Se'ir.”
Esav then
tries again:
(15) Then
Esau said, “Let me assign to you some of the men who are with me.”
To which
Yaacov replies:
But he
said, “Oh no, my lord is too kind to me!”
Having been
rebuffed twice, we read that:
(16) So
Esau started back that day on his way to Seir. (17) But Jacob journeyed on to
Succoth, and built a house for himself and made stalls for his cattle; that is
why the place was called Succoth.
A simple
reading of the text is puzzling. Why would Yaacov refuse these peaceful
overtures from his brother? Why not follow the logical path of reconciliation
and work to rebuild the relationship with his brother?
It was one
of the seminal moments in cinematic history.
Luke
Skywalker was hanging onto a gangway for dear life, stretching over a deep drop
into the cosmos, having just had his arm severed by the brutal swipe of Darth
Vader's light-sabre.
Our hearts
were in our mouths. What would happen next?
Lord Vader
says the following:
Vader:
"There is no escape. Don't make me destroy you. Luke, you do not yet
realise your importance. You've only begun to discover your power. Join me and
I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this
destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy."
Luke:
"I'll never join you"
Vader:
"If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never told you what
happened to your father."
Luke:
"He told me enough. He told me you killed him."
Vader:
"No, I am your father"
Luke:
"No, no, that's not true. That's impossible."
Vader:
"Search your feelings and you know it to be true.
Luke
"No, no"
Vader:
".....join me and together we can rule the galaxy as father and
son...."
What
stopped Luke from participating in this unexpected family reunion? His sworn
enemy, the man who had minutes before tried to kill him, was now offering him a
safety net and even more impressively, world domination! [(c) Lucasfilms/Disney]
 |
In both
cases, the answer is a choice - to weigh up the advantages of making
"peace" with the danger of being influenced by a force (pun intended)
that would destroy his inner moral compass.
Our Rabbis
tell us that the reason Yaakov declined Esav's first offer was because he knew
that this reunion could only be short-lived and that soon enough, Esav would
return to type.
Yaacov
wanted to conclude the meeting as soon as possible.
Luke similarly jumps into
the abyss because he knows that although it would be more advantageous to join
Vader on his power-trip, in the end, he will be overtaken by the same forces
that destroyed Anakin Skywalker and led to his transmogrification into the
monster that has become Darth Vader.
Luke has
started his training with Yoda as a Jedi Knight. He isn't about to join the
ranks of the Sith!
Similarly
so, Yaacov is also a Jedi (albeit a Jewish one - there's a joke about his
sister Leia being a Druish Princess, but I won't go there!) fighting the
inevitable evil that would emanate from Esav, ancestor of the Edomites and
ultimately the Romans who would destroy the Beit Hamikdash many centuries
later).
We all have choices that we can make in
life, regarding the decisions we take, but ultimately, the people we choose to
become our friends.
William
J.H. Boetcker, an American Presbyterian Minister famously wrote:
"A man
is judged by the company he keeps"
The quote
continues: "and a company is judged by the men it keeps, and the people of
Democratic nations are judged by the type and caliber of officers they
elect.".
Yaacov was
one of our founding fathers, a man whose every action would be reflected in the
behaviour of his decedents. At this critical moment in his and our history,
despite his pain and weariness, he knew which choice to make and how this would
impact on us, his progeny.
That he
didn't let his brother lead him astray speaks volumes about the lessons we can
learn from his example.
Like Luke
Skywalker, he truly was a Jedi Knight - using the Force to maintain harmony
both is his generation and ours.
Shabbat
Shalom and may the Force be with you!
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