Vayishlach 5775 - English

By Rabbi Daniel Kripper
Beth Israel Synagogue Aruba

The story of Jacob and Esau’s reconciliation, after 20 years of estrangement, is one of the most moving stories in the Bible.

Before they met, Jacob received ominous reports of Esau’s advance with an army and he prepared for the worst.  However, the unexpected happened: when Esau saw his brother, he ran to kiss him.

The Hebrew word for “and he kissed him” is curiously dotted in the text, leading some rabbinic commentators to suggest that the kiss was insincere.  Through a simple change in spelling, they read the Hebrew as “and he bit him.”

This reflects a hard and ungenerous view of human nature, one that does little justice to the actual text.

Another view, more sympathetic to Esau, illustrates optimism in the potential for forgiveness, kindness and brotherly love.  The dots, it suggests, signify that despite all the hurt which Jacob had caused his brother so many years before, Esau became overwhelmed with compassion and kissed Jacob with complete sincerity.

In the history of nations, this has happened too when former enemies have met in peace and have learned to live in friendship.  Nonetheless, this is seen more clearly in personal relationships, where hatred can be overcome through the power of forgiveness.

According to the second point of view, the dots over the Hebrew word emphasize the goodness in man and support the hope in a better world founded on warm, human relationships.

An old story tells us about a man that while climbing a hill one night saw a threatening creature looming out of the darkness.  Although he was clearly afraid, he nevertheless drew closer, until he saw that the approaching figure was a man.   As his fear diminished, he continued to walk on, and finally when he reached the figure, he recognized him as his very own brother. They embraced and all ended well.

Could this be the story of Arabs and Jews?  Under the present circumstances, it sounds like just a pipe-dream.  Even though a conflict-free Middle East is hard to visualize, we, like Jacob our patriarch, cannot stop dreaming, praying, and working towards peace.