When Moshe Rabbeinu criticized the Am Yisroel, he said (Devarim 32:28), ה≈מָּה – it is a nation that is devoid of counsel, a nation that doesn’t seek advice. And on this possuk the Sifri makes a comment: ורה ̇ היינו ̇וˆע – eitzos means Torah.
Now, this could be understood as explaining the verse to say that they’re a nation devoid of Torah, lacking in Torah learning – it’s a criticism for not learning enough Torah. It’s a big criticism because the Torah was given to elevate us and to offer opportunity for chayei olam. So naturally we understand what a great criticism it is when a person or when a group of people are ovad eitzos, devoid of Torah knowledge.
But actually the verse is saying something more specific. It’s criticizing the people, not for lacking in Torah learning but for not seeking out the counsel of the Torah. It could be a person studies Torah, maybe even very much Torah, and yet he doesn’t seek its advice. That, the Sifri says, is called ovad eitzos because the Torah is the storehouse of good advice; always wise and always practical.
Judging a Brother
Now, we’re not going to spread ourselves out in one evening over the whole panorama of Torah. Even if we would be able – and we’re not because there’s no end of advice in the Torah – it would take up not an evening or two but years and years to study every possuk. And so we’re going to concentrate just on one little area of the Torah, one particular episode from this week’s sedrah, and make use of it as a model for how the Torah gives us eitzahs on dealing with difficult situations. When we read about the famous incident where Yaakov Avinu is now, after many years, about to meet his brother, Eisav, we will study it now as a story full of eitzah.
Eisav, you have to know, had already decided long ago to do away with Yaakov. All these years they were separated Eisav had nursed against Yaakov a very big grudge for inveigling him into selling the birthright and then stealing the blessings from their father. All these years Eisav had been brooding over his brother’s ‘treachery’, magnifying his grudge more and more, becoming a greater and greater enemy against his brother. And now he was coming with four hundred men to meet up with his younger brother, Yaakov.
Now, a brother who's coming to greet another brother doesn't need four hundred armed men. And Yaakov understood clearly what Eisav's intentions were – he's coming to settle all the old accounts. And when Eisav would settle it, it would be in a way that would be final. And so Yaakov understood this was a crisis, a very serious crisis.
A Three-Pronged Approach
What did Yaakov do? ברים„ ה ̆ל ̆ל מוˆע ין ̃ ̇ה – He prepared himself in three different ways: ולמלחמה פילה ̇ל ורון„ל – Gifts, prayer and war (Rashi, 32:9). And we should talk about each one and study them because how this crisis was handled by Yaakov Avinu is intended for us.
Yaakov in the Torah is not only one person, he’s not just an individual – he symbolizes the Jewish nation. And Eisav too is a symbol, not only of the individual Eisavs that we’ll encounter in life – and we all do – but he symbolizes all the gentiles in general. And so what this story is telling us is advice, Torah advice, for how to deal with our adversaries; that’s part of this lesson that we’re learning now.
Prepare for Battle
One of the three things was milchamaי, to prepare for battle. You have to remember that Yaakov Avinu was no slouch; he was a man of heroic physique, a gibor, a strong man who was quite capable of defending his family. You recall the story how when Yaakov came to Padan Aram and he saw that big stone on the mouth of the well? Normally it needed a number of people to take it off and he himself, all alone, removed the stone as easily as somebody pulls the cork out of a bottle. You don’t do something like that unless you have big biceps. And don’t forget either that he was capable of wrestling with an angel too. That’s a feat only for strong men! A nebechel doesn’t wrestle with angels; and surely he doesn’t wrestle all night long.
And so Yaakov of course prepared for battle. When something happens that is a peril to anybody’s life, absolutely a person must fight for survival. There’s a big mitzvah on us to take action to help a fellowman; and to help yourself is even a bigger mitzvah. No question that physical fighting certainly has its place. And so one of the ways he prepared for the encounter with Eisav was milchamah.
Exactly what does that mean? Well, he sharpened all of the swords; sharper swords are better than dull swords if you’re going out to battle. And so the night before, Yaakov told his family and his servants, “Sharpen the swords. Get ready all the spears. Prepare yourself,” and he gave them all instructions for battle. Certainly! That’s how he got ready for battle.
Chinese War
But that’s not the only way to prepare for battle. To ready the rifles, the swords, that anyone can do. But the wise battler understands that there are smarter ways of fighting; that the sword is the last case scenario. Because included in the stratagems of milchamah is the strategy of avoiding milchamah, of running away.
And so he took other steps. העם ̇‡ ıויח – He divided the people into two separate camps (ibid. 32:8) so in case there’ll be a battle and one half of Yaakov’s family will succumb, the other half will be able to escape.
Like the Chinese say – I told you this many times – “The best hero is the man who remains alive.” The one who knows how to run away, that’s the hero. Instead of dying like a hero in the battlefield, it’s better to run away and remain alive. To die an honorable death is not the real hero.
That’s why I tell my people that they shouldn’t learn karate, self-defense. I know that some advise it but honestly, I think not. There’s nothing wrong with it, but once you know it you might be tempted to use it. And so when a goy throws a banana peel at you, you’ll spread your feed into a karate stance and all you’ll do is incite them. They’ll come at you now with chains. Before they came with a banana peel, and now they’ll come with big chains. And they’ll do a good job. And so because you know karate, you made trouble for yourself. There are all kinds of fighting tactics but the worst tactic is to give him a hit or even to show you’re ready for it because then he loses control of himself. These savages become frightened and then anything is possible.
Lesson #1: Escape
It’s always like that. Who drowns? The man who knows how to swim! If you don’t know how to swim, you stay on the shore and you keep out of danger. And therefore, the best defense is to stay out of trouble. If you know that you’re not an expert in self-defense, you’ll stay off lonely streets at night. The skinny helpless fellow who doesn’t know karate, he is the one who avoids trouble.
Now if you’re able to teach goyim a lesson successfully – which is a rare opportunity – I don’t say you shouldn’t utilize it. I’m not against a dangerous goy getting a punch in the nose but in most cases you’ll be alone on the street and there are a bunch of hoodlums who by numbers alone, even though they don’t know the science of self-defense, they can overcome you, so it doesn’t pay.
That’s what Yaakov Avinu wants us to know: To prepare for an escape, that’s an important part of milchamah. Learn that if you see them on one side of the street, you cross over and walk on the other side.
So you’ll say, “Well, they’ll walk on the other side to meet me.” You’d be surprised how lazy they are! If you walk right past them, they’ll molest you but if you go on the other side of the street so in most cases they’re too lazy to bother. They may throw something, that’s all. And you'll just pass by with your head flat down and you’ll remain alive. That’s called winning the battle.
Avoiding the Trouble
There are a lot of tactics to learn from Yaakov that are included in the stratagems of escape. Because later when Eisav said, “My brother, since we’re reunited, I cannot part with you anymore! I want to go with you,” that’s the last thing Yaakov Avinu wanted. Who knows what he’ll do?
So Yaakov made a rendezvous of trickery with Eisav. He said, “Not now, because I’ll have to go too slow. You can’t go as slow as we do. So you go ahead to your place Har Se'ir, ל‡ ‡בו‡ ר ̆‡ „ע עירה ̆ וני„‡ – until I come to my master in Se’ir. There’s still time for us to be together. I’ll meet you in Se'ir.”
Advice for Brooklyn Living
And our Sages studied that and said that if you’re walking at night on a lonely street, let’s say you have just one block to go till your destination and suddenly a ‘gentleman’ shows up and he starts walking alongside you. And he says, “Nice evening, isn’t it?”
“Yes sir, it is,” you say. You treat him with respect like Yaakov said, “Eisav, my master.”
“You’re going far?” he says.
So you tell him, “Yes. I’m going thirty blocks down this neighborhood.”
“Thirty blocks?” So this ‘friend’ of yours is thinking, “In twenty blocks we’ll pass through a lonely district far away from the police station so I have time to make my move.”
You’re only going one block, however. And so at the next block you say, “It was nice meeting you, sir.” And you quickly run up into the first house and ring the bell as if that’s your house. Finished.
And that’s what Yaakov Avinu did. He told Eisav, “I’ll meet you in Se'ir. We’ll have time to talk then,” and he never showed up. Which means, as much as possible be polite, be diffident and appease, but get out of the place as soon as possible. That’s included in fighting the enemy – the Torah’s eitzah of keeping out of trouble.
