Rabbi’s Message
Rabbi Natan Halevy
Vayishlach 5784, BSD
Shalom Uvracha.
In this week’s Parasha we read about the long awaited meeting between Eisav and Jacob.
“Jacob sent angels ahead of him to his brother Esau”.
It is well known that Jacob prepared for this event in 3 ways. He prayed to Hashem to help and guide him. He prepared a large offering of gifts for Eisav to appease him. And Jacob readied himself for war in case that would happen.
At the end of last week’s Torah portion it states that Jacob encountered angels after his ordeal with Lavan.
“And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of Hashem met him.”
The Midrash states that it was quite a large amount of angels that Jacob actually met. And that these angels became devoted to serving him. They appeared in numerous physical guises. Some of them appeared as armed soldiers.
These are the angels that Jacob sends to Eisav. Eisav was so terrified by these beings that he changed course and made a temporary peace with Jacob. Jacob had sent the angels with this intention, to impress and scare Eisav. Although he succeeds in this tactic, he insists that Eisav accepts the abundant and exorbitant gifts Jacob has sent, even as Eisav tries to refuse them at first. Jacob is teaching us that it is preferable to work on multiple planes.
Even if we have succeeded on one level, we can still pursue others. When we are dealing with an opposing force that seeks to harm and well being and safety, we must deal with them on every level possible. We must think of all possible ramifications of our decisions and actions.
In this way we ensure the safety and the healthy future of our nation, which needs to take precedence over all other concerns.
May Hashem bless the leaders of Israel with this wisdom, to make the right decisions, and to empower and support the IDF to to do what needs to be done.
Shabbat Shalom umevorach
