Rashi in His Own Words
בראשית ל"ו ,ו': עֵשָָּׂ֡ ו אֶת־נָָּ֠ שָָּ֠ יו וְאֶת־בָּנַָּּ֣יו וְאֶת־בְ נֹתָּיו קַַּ֣ ח וַי וְאֶת־מִּ קְנֵַּ֣הוּ וְאֶת־כָּל־בְ הֶמְ תּ֗ וֹ וְאֵת וְאֶת־כָּל־נַפְשַּ֣ וֹת בֵיתוֹ כָּל־קִּנְיָּנ֔וֹ אֲשֶֶׁ֥ר רָּ כַַ֖ש בְ אֶַּ֣רֶ ץ כְנָָּ֑עַן וַיֵַּ֣לֶךְ אֶל־אֶ֔ רֶ ץ מִּ פְנֵַ֖י יַַֽעֲקֶֹׁ֥ ב אָּחִַּֽ יו:
בראשית ל"ו, ז': כִַּֽ י־הָּיָָּ֧ה רְ כוּשָָּׁ֛ם רַָּ֖ב מִּ שֶַּ֣בֶת יַחְ דָָּ֑ו וְלֹֹ֨ א יַָּֽכְלָָּ֜ ה אֶֶ֤רֶ ץ מְ גַֽ וּרֵ יהֶם לָּשֵַּ֣את אֹתָּ֔ ם מִּ פְנֵַ֖י מִּ קְנֵיהֶַֽם:
רש"י ד"ה ולא יכלה ארץ מגוריהם :להספיק מרעה לבהמות שלהם. ומדרש אגדה (פסוק ו) מפני יעקב אחיו, מפני שטר חוב של גזירת (ט"ו, י"ג) כי גר יהיה זרעך, המוטל על זרעו של יצחק, אמר אלך לי מכאן, אין לי חלק לא במתנה שנתנה לו הארץ הזאת, ולא בפרעון השטר. ומפני הבושה, שמכר בכורתו:
Bereishis 36:6: And Aisov took his wives, his sons, and his daughters. He took all the people of his household; He also took his cattle, all of his animals, and all his property that he acquired in the land of Canaan. He went to another land, because of his brother Yaakov.
Bereishis 36:7: Their possessions were too numerous for them to dwell together. The land of their sojourning could not support them because of their livestock.
Rashi Heading – and the land of their sojourning could not: provide [enough] pasture for their animals. The Midrash Aggadah, however, explains "because of his brother Yaakov," [as follows:] Because of the note of obligation of the decree, "that your seed will be strangers." This decree applied to the descendants of Yitzchok. He (Aisov) said, "I will get out of here. I do not have a share in the gift because the land has been given to him (Yaakov). I also do not need to pay the debt." [He also left] because of the shame that [he felt, because] he had sold his birthright.
Synopsis
At the end of this week's Parshah, the Torah tells us that Aisov took his wives, children, household, livestock, and all his property and went to another land because of his brother Yaakov. He left because he and his brother had too many possessions to dwell together; Eretz Yisroel could not support them.
First, Rashi explains the simple meaning. Aisov left Canaan because the land was not big enough for both of them to pasture their animals. Rashi then quotes a Midrash Aggadah. What does it mean that Aisov left Israel because of his brother Yaakov? It was decreed that Yitzchok's descendants would be strangers in a strange land.
1. Bereishis Rabbah Chapter 82, 13.
2. Parshas Lech Lecho, Bereishis 15:13.
3. See footnote 1.
Aisov wanted no part of that. The land was promised to Yaakov, so he would not have it anyway. He did not want to pay the debt that came with the land, i.e., being strangers in a strange land. He also did not wish to remain in Israel because he was embarrassed that he sold his birthright.
This requires clarification. Rashi only explains Peshat. At times, he cites a Midrash, which helps us understand Peshat. Why does he add a second explanation from a Midrash? It does not seem to add anything.
Moreover, it seems to say the opposite of the Torah's words. The verse says, "They had too many possessions to dwell together." The Midrash gives an entirely different reason!
Furthermore, Midrash itself is different than the words which Rashi quotes. The Midrash says, "Rabbi Elozor says [that Aisov left the land] because of the note of obligation. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says [that he left] because of the shame." Conversely, Rashi includes both opinions as one.
The explanation is as follows. According to Peshat, the Torah's words follow Rashi's first explanation. Aisov left Canaan because there was not enough pasture for both. However, this leaves us with another question. While there was not enough pasture for both, why didn't Yaakov go instead of Aisov? Aisov had lived in Canaan the entire time, while Yaakov just returned.
We cannot answer that Yaakov had more livestock than his brother. Therefore, he needed more space for pasture. Aisov would certainly not relinquish his claim to the land to help his brother.
That is why Rashi also quotes the Midrash. Aisov left "because of the note of obligation of the decree 'that your seed will be strangers.' This decree applied to the descendants of Yitzchok." Aisov did not leave the land to do Yaakov a favor. He knew that one of Yitzchok's children, either he or Yaakov, would have to pay the price (a note of obligation) to possess the land. They needed to separate from each other because there was not enough room. Aisov chose to leave because he did not wish to pay the bill.
However, Aisov would feel humiliated by moving because of his brother. People would say that Yaakov, the "newcomer," forced Aisov to leave! Because of this, Rashi brings the second explanation from the Midrash. Aisov was already embarrassed because he sold the birthright to his brother.
Only by including the simple meaning and opinions from the Midrash Rashi answers all questions according to Peshat.
Rashi's Explanation
At the end of this week's Parshah, the Torah tells us, "Aisov took his wives, sons, daughters, and all of the people of his household. [He also took] his cattle, animals, and property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan. He went to another land because of his brother Yaakov. [This was] because they had too many possessions for them to dwell together, and the land of their sojourning, (Eretz Yisroel), could not support them because of their livestock."
Rashi's first explanation tells us the simple meaning of the Torah's words. Why did Aisov leave Canaan? "Because the land did not provide [enough] pasture for their animals," meaning there was not enough room for the cattle of both Yaakov and Aisov. Therefore, Aisov decided to leave.
Rashi then offers a second explanation, quoting a Midrash Aggadah. The Torah says that Aisov left Israel and went to another land because of his brother Yaakov. What does this mean? It was decreed that Yitzchok's descendants would be strangers in a strange land. Aisov wanted no part of that. He could not have the land because it had been promised to his brother. Therefore, he did not want to pay the debt for the land, i.e., to be exiled. He also did not wish to remain because he was embarrassed that he sold his birthright.
Difficulties in Understanding Rashi
Rashi comments, "I have come only to teach the simple meaning of the Scripture and such Aggadah that clarifies the words of the verses, each word in its proper way." This means to say that he only explains Peshat. He will occasionally cite a Midrash, which helps us understand Peshat. Why would he include a second explanation from a Midrash? His first explanation, that there was not enough pasture for their livestock, explains our verse perfectly. The Midrash does not seem to add anything.
Moreover, the Midrash tells us the opposite of the Torah's words. The verse says, "They had too many possessions to dwell together." The Midrash gives an entirely different reason!
Furthermore, the Midrash's text (and the content) is quite different from the words Rashi quotes. The Midrash says, "Rabbi Elozor says [that Aisov left the land] because of the note of obligation. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says [that he left] because of the shame." In other words, according to Rabbi Elozor, he left for one reason, and according to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, he left for a different reason.
However, Rashi tells us that Aisov left Israel for both the note of obligation and the shame. In other words, according to Rashi, Aisov left for both reasons and according to the Midrash, these are two different opinions for Rashi's departure.
The Explanation
We can explain the above questions as follows. The meaning of the Torah's words clearly follows Rashi's first explanation. The Torah simply says, "Aisov took his wives... and went to another land because of his brother Yaakov." Why did he do this? The verse continues to explain that it was "because they had too many possessions... and the land of their sojourning, (Eretz Yisroel), could not support them because of their livestock." In other words, as Rashi says in his first explanation, "provide [enough] pasture for their animals."
This all seems to be clear. However, upon closer examination, it is not all that clear. There was not enough pasture for both of them. However, why didn't Yaakov leave instead of Aisov? Aisov and his entourage had lived in Canaan throughout the entire time.
Conversely, Yaakov had just returned to Israel. He had been absent for twenty years. It would seem that he should have left.
We can answer this question by saying that Yaakov possessed a tremendous amount of livestock; he needed more space for pasture than his brother did. Additionally, we find that Aisov "was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field," meaning all aspects of the field. He was not limited to using his field as pasture. Hence, he needed less space to serve as a pasture. Therefore, he left Canaan to give his brother the required land.
This is not a tenable answer. Nothing we know of Aisov would indicate that he would cooperate to help his brother.
Because of this question, Rashi tells us that Aisov must have had additional reasons for leaving. Rashi teaches us that "Because of the note of obligation of the decree, 'your seed will be strangers.' This decree applied to the descendants of Yitzchok." When the Torah says that Aisov left the land because of his brother Yaakov, it does not mean that he did so out of the goodness of his heart. Instead, he knew that his father Yitzchok's descendants would have to pay a price (a note of obligation) to possess the land. Both he and Yaakov were children of Yitzchok. Until then, Aisov remained in the land; he had no reason to uproot himself and his family.
However, the time came that he had to separate from his brother. They needed to separate from each other because of a lack of space for their animals to graze. Aisov chose to be the one who left because he did not wish to pay the bill.
However, this explanation is still not completely smooth. Aisov would obviously feel humiliated by moving because of his brother. People would talk about him. All the other land inhabitants would look at him and say that Aisov lost! Yaakov, the "newcomer," forced Aisov to leave! Based on what we know about Aisov, he would not be able to tolerate that. He would still not agree to leave the land in favor of his brother.
To answer this difficulty, Rashi brings the second explanation from the Midrash. In general, Aisov felt embarrassed in Israel. This was especially true when Yaakov was present. He was ashamed that he sold the birthright to his brother.
We see that only by including the simple meaning and both opinions from the Midrash does Rashi answer all questions, according to Peshat. From this, we can understand the precision of every word of Rashi.
(Adapted from a talk given on Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach 5729)
I hope you gained as much by reading this as I did by translating and adapting it.
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