And the sun was shining upon him when he left P’nuel and he was limping because of his thigh. (Beresheit 32:32)
Parshat VaYishlach
includes a mysterious incident. Yaakov
is alone prior to his meeting with Esav. He has an altercation with a man.
Yaakov and the stranger struggle.
Eventually, Yaakov overcomes the man and secures his blessing. However, Yaakov is injured in this battle.
In the morning, he is limping from his injury. The Torah does not indicate the identity of Yaakov’s adversary or
the reason for his conflict with Yaakov.
Our Sages explain that this man was an angel representing Esav. Yaakov’s contest with this angel
foreshadowed his struggle with and ultimate triumph over his brother.[1]
Maimonides explains
that the encounter with the angel took place in a vision. The vision was a prophecy.[2] This prophecy revealed that Bnai Yisrael
would contend with Esav’s descendants and eventually prevail.[3] Nachmanides disagrees with this
interpretation of the event. He argues
that Yaakov actually engaged in physical battle. The angel with whom he fought assumed the form of a human
being. Yaakov struggled with this
material being. Nachmanides offers a
simple proof for this thesis. According
to Maimonides, the entire encounter took place in a vision. This means that Yaakov was never actually
struck by his adversary. Why, then, did
Yaakov limp in the morning? The limp
implies that physical contact took place.
Therefore, the angel must have had physical form.[4]
Don Yitzchak
Abravanel and others offer an important response to this question. They explain that a prophetic vision is very
real to the prophet. The experience of
the vision can best be compared to a dream.
Often, our dreams are vivid. Sometimes
movement and sensation accompanies our dreams.
We may thrash in our dreams in response to the dream experience. Our dreams sometimes are so emotionally
evocative that their influence remains with us even after waking. It may affect our mood. We may even be left with sensations. Abravanel argues that if this is true for
dreams, these affects can also occur in response to a prophetic vision. The struggle Yaakov experienced in his
prophecy was absolutely real to him. He
felt the blows of his adversary. This
pain remained with him after waking.
Consequently he limped.[5]
And Esav ran to greet him. And he hugged him. And he fell upon his neck
and he kissed him. And they cried. (Beresheit 33:4)
Yaakov and Esav finally meet. Yaakov succeeds in appeasing Esav. Our pasuk describes Esav’s response to Yaakov; Esav hugs
and kisses his brother. In the actual
text a series of dots appear over the term “and he kissed him.” It is generally agreed that these points indicate
a secondary meaning within the phrase.
There is a controversy as to the secondary meaning of the above pasuk. Rashi offers two explanations. He comments that some Sages suggest that the
notation indicates that the kiss was not completely sincere. Other Sages argue that Esav was
genuine. However, the notation tells us
that this behavior was exceptional and temporary. In general, Esav’s hatred of Yaakov remained undiminished.[6]
It seems that both opinions agree that the dots indicate a
need to qualify the overt message of the passage. The two opinions differ only on the specific qualification
intended. But how do these dots
transmit the message that a qualification is needed? Gershonides provides a fascinating response to this
question. He explains that dots were
traditionally used by scribes to identify words to be erased. For example, if a scribe would find a
mistake in a document, he would indicate the error with a series of dots. Later the scribe would erase the
mistake. Now the message of the dots is
clearer. The passage has two meanings.
The overt meaning is communicated by reading the passage with the dotted
phrase. However, the passage has a second message that is indicated by reading
it without the dotted phrase.
The example of our pasuk serves to illustrate
Gershonides’ interpretation. The term,
“and he kissed him”, is accompanied by dots.
This means that the Esav did not kiss Yaakov in the fullest sense. Something was lacking from Esav’s expression
of love. It remains for the Sages only
to determine the specific quality that was lacking.
And Yaakov said to Shimon and Leyve: You have
stained me through making me despicable to the people of the Land – the Canaanites
and the Prezites. And my people are few
in number. And they will gather against
me and strike me and destroy me and my household. (Beresheit 34:30)
The prince Shechem kidnaps Dinah, the daughter of
Yaakov. He loves Dinah and wishes to
make her his wife. Yaakov’s sons devise
a plan to rescue Dinah. They tell
Shechem and his father, Chamor, that they cannot allow Dinah to marry an
uncircumcised man. However if Shechem,
Chamor, and their people will agree to circumcise, then they can join with the
children of Yaakov as a single people.
Shechem, Chamor, and their people accept this arrangement; they
circumcise. While they are recovering
from the procedure, Shimon and Leyve enter the town, kill all of the men and
rescue Dinah.
In our pasuk, Yaakov condemns the actions of his
sons. His sons defend their behavior;
they argue that they could not allow their sister to be treated as a
prostitute. This dispute is difficult
to understand. Yaakov was present when
the brothers presented their proposal of circumcision. He certainly knew that circumcision would
not change the moral character of Shechem, Chamor, and their people. He must have suspected that the brothers had
some hidden plan and were not sincere in their suggestion that through circumcision. Bnai Yisrael would unit with the people of
Shechem. Yet, when this plan was
executed, Yaakov protested! In short,
what caused Yaakov to change his position and what was his dispute between
Yaakov and his sons?
Rabbaynu Ovadia Sforno explains that Yaakov and his sons
never assumed that the Shechem and Chamor would agree to circumcision. They also assumed that even should they
accept this condition, they would never convince their people to undergo
circumcision. They hoped that Shechem
and Chamor would recognize that they could not meet the condition. They would return Dinah.[7] However, Shechem, Chamor, and their people
surprised Yaakov and his sons; they accepted circumcision. Now, Yaakov and his sons were confronted
with a dilemma. They were faced with
two options. They could allow Dinah to
stay with Shechem. This was an outcome
they had not anticipated.
Alternatively, they could attempt to rescue Dinah.
We can now begin to understand Yaakov’s reaction to the
behavior of Shimon and Leyve. Yaakov
and his sons felt that it would be tragic to give Dinah to Shechem. They had never expected this outcome.
However, at this point, Yaakov and his sons were faced with the consequences of
their bargain. Yaakov maintained that
they must accept these unfortunate results and give Dinah to Shechem in
marriage.
Shimon and Leyve did not agree and chose the option of
rescuing Dinah. Yaakov chastised them
for their decision. According to
Sforno, Yaakov made two points. He
argued that Shimon and Leyve had endangered all of Bnai Yisrael. They were a minority group in the Land of
Canaan. The other people of the Land
would identify with the Shechem, Chamor, and their people. They would seek to avenge this wrong
committed by Bnai Yisrael. Yaakov and his
children could not defend themselves from such an attack. However, this was not Yaakov’s whole
argument. Yaakov raised a second
issue. Yaakov and his sons had violated
their bargain. This disturbed
Yaakov. The people of Canaan would
conclude that Yaakov and his sons were dishonest. This would reflect poorly on
their morality and ultimately on Hashem.
What was the response of Shimon and Leyve? According to Sforno, they disputed both of
Yaakov’s arguments. They maintained
that the people of Canaan were not so immoral as to condone the behavior of
Shechem. They would recognize the right
of Yaakov and his sons to rescue Dinah.
Finally, they would understand the necessity of using subterfuge. Shechem, Chamor, and their people
outnumbered Yaakov and his sons. They
could not rescue their sister without first disabling her captors. Bnai Yisrael would not be condemned for
acting unethically. Neither were they
in danger of retribution.[8]
[1] Rabbaynu Shlomo ben Yitzchak (Rashi), Commentary on Sefer Beresheit 32:25.
[2] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam/Maimonides) Moreh Nevuchim, volume 2, chapter 42.
[3] Rav Ahron HaLeyve, Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 3.
[4] Rabbaynu Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban/Nachmanides), Commentary on Sefer Beresheit, 18:2.
[5] Don Yitzchak Abravanel, Commentary
on Sefer Beresheit, p. 344.
[6] Rabbaynu Shlomo ben Yitzchak
(Rashi), Commentary on Sefer Beresheit 33:4.
[7] Rabbaynu Ovadia Sforno, Commentary
on Sefer Beresheit, 34:13.
[8] Rabbaynu Ovadia Sforno, Commentary
on Sefer Beresheit, 34:30-31.