The text relates the story of Jacob and his family after leaving Lavan. Jacob is given the name Israel by an angel (and later by G-d). Jacob meets Esau. Jacob’s daughter Dinah is raped y the locals who are then killed y Jacobs children. Jacob returns to his father’s house. We read of the death of Yitzchak. And then conclude with the generations of Esau (including Amalek and the King of Edom – Rome).
It is the story of the meeting of Jacob and Esau that I’ll talk about. When they meet, Jacob offers Esau a present (as a peace offering). Esau refuses saying I have more than I need. Jacob insists saying, I have all that I need, please take it. This language does not seem to be representative of either of them.
Esau is a man who loves physical wealth. You would not expect to hear him say that he has more than he needs, because he always wants to get more. Jacob, on the other hand, was a very rich man, but one who would have been perfectly happy being poor, since his focus was on G-d. Saying that he has all that he needs implies that if he had less, he would not have all that he needs. You would expect to hear Jacob say he has more than he needs, because material wealth is meaningless to him.
So why did Jacob say “I have as much” and Esau ay “I have more”? If you have the right outlook on life, you can never have more than you need. G-d gives each of us exactly what we need to carry out our unique mission. Jacob knew that the reason he had all his wealth is because he needs it to serve G-d in the way that G-d wants Jacob to serve him. If he had said that he has more then he needs, would be to deny this fact.
In fact we say a blessing to this effect every morning. We thank G-d for “providing me with my every need.” We’re saying that everything I have was provided by G-d because I need it. And everything I don’t have, I don’t need.
It takes a person like Esau who looks at possessions as a way to serve his own selfish purposes to say that he has more than he needs.
Of course, Esau ends up taking the gift.
Esau then says to Jacob “My brother, it’s good to have you back. Come with me to Har Sa'ir, where I live and we'll go into business together. With your brains and my brawn we'll dominate the whole Middle East." (not a direct quote) There is no question that if they had teamed up they would have been quite a force in human history. Imagine a people with the physical strength of the Romans and the spiritual and intellectual strength of the Jews.
But Jacob says “You go ahead of me, I’ll catch up later.” We know that Jacob never goes to Har Sa'ir to live with Esau.
Rabbi Spiro explains:
The great biblical commentator Rashi explains, quoting the Prophet Ovadiah, that they will meet again -- at the end of days. In effect, Jacob, representing the great intellectual, spiritual force in human history, is saying to Esau, the great physical force: "I give you permission to go on ahead and dominate human history physically. But at the end of days, when the 'lion lies down with the lamb,' then we'll get together. Then the Jews will be on top."
This doesn't mean in the end Jews are going to conquer the world and make a great empire. In the end, the whole world will come to recognize one God and live with one standard of morality in peace and brotherhood. The Jewish mission will be fulfilled then, but in the meantime, Esau is going to be on top.
Ultimately the struggle of history will be between Jewish ideas and the ideas of Esau and the culture that he's going to create in human history. That's the cosmic battle: good versus evil. This is a very powerful idea and the dominating pattern of Jewish history.”
Shabbat Shalom
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