That’s the kind of tension simmering in our portion today, as we delve into Bereshit Rabbah 75, a midrashic exploration of Jacob's anxieties before his fateful encounter with Esau.
The scene is set. Jacob, returning to his homeland, learns that his estranged brother Esau is approaching with four hundred men. Understandably, Jacob is terrified. As Genesis 32:9 tells us, he cries out: "If Esau will come upon the one camp, and smite it, the remaining camp will escape." He then pours out his heart to God, reminding Him of His promise: "Go back to your land and your birthright, and I will benefit you" (Genesis 32:10).
But it's in Jacob's plea for deliverance that the midrash truly shines. "Deliver me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, mother, and children, alike" (Genesis 32:12). Bereshit Rabbah seizes upon the phrase "lest he come and smite me, mother and children alike" to reveal a profound understanding of Jacob's fear.
The midrash imagines Jacob pleading with God: "Master of the universe, it is written in Your Torah: 'A bull or a sheep, it and its offspring you shall not slaughter on one day' (Leviticus 22:28). If this wicked one comes and eradicates my children and their mothers as one, the Torah scroll that You are destined to give on Mount Sinai, who will read it?"
Isn't that a powerful image? Jacob isn't just worried about his own skin. He's thinking generations ahead. He understands that his family is the vessel through which the Torah will be transmitted. If Esau wipes them out, who will be left to carry on God's word? It's a plea for the future of Judaism itself!
Then, Jacob attempts to appease Esau by sending him a lavish gift. "And Jacob slept there on that night, and he took from what he had as a present for his brother Esau" (Genesis 32:14). The midrash notes that Jacob’s intention was "to blind his eyes," referencing the verse "As the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise" (Deuteronomy 16:19). But who are these "wise" that can be blinded? According to the midrash, they are none other than the Edomites, Esau's descendants! As it is stated in Obadiah 1:8, "I will eliminate the wise from Edom and understanding from the mountain of Esau."
The details of the gift are meticulously listed: "Two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams" (Genesis 32:15), followed by "Nursing camels and their offspring thirty, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys" (Genesis 32:16). What a menagerie!
But it's not just the quantity of the gifts that matters, but how they are arranged. "He placed them in the charge of his servants, each drove by itself; he said to his servants: Go ahead of me, and maintain a distance between one drove and the other drove" (Genesis 32:17). The midrash asks, what does it mean to "maintain a distance"?
Here, Bereshit Rabbah offers a beautiful interpretation. Jacob is praying, "Master of the universe, if troubles will befall my descendants, do not bring them one after another, but rather, create distance for them between their troubles." He's not asking for a life free of hardship, but for the strength and resilience to endure, with breathing room between crises.
Finally, as Jacob sees Esau approaching, he turns to God in prayer. "At that moment, Jacob lifted his eyes and saw that Esau was coming from afar, and he directed his eyes heavenward, wept, and requested mercy from before the Holy One blessed be He." The midrash concludes with the comforting promise that God heard Jacob's prayer and promised to deliver him and his descendants from all their troubles, "as it is stated: 'The Lord will answer you at a time of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob will fortify you' (Psalms 20:2)."
So, what can we take away from this deep dive into Jacob's pre-encounter jitters? Perhaps it's the reminder that even our greatest patriarchs faced moments of intense fear and vulnerability. Or maybe it’s the comforting thought that even in the face of overwhelming odds, prayer and a plea for resilience can make all the difference. Jacob's story reminds us that we, too, can find strength in our relationship with God and in the hope for a future where troubles, even if they come, are spaced apart enough for us to catch our breath and carry on.