33:13 “ויאמר אליו אדני יודע כי הילדים רכים והצאן והבקר עלות עלי, ודפקום יום אחד ומתו כל הצאן”
“And he (Yaakov Avinu) said to him (Eisav): My lord knows that the children are tender, and the nursing flocks and cattle are upon me; if they will be driven hard for a single day, then all the flocks will die.” What does Yaakov Avinu mean when he says, “עלי”, that the nursing flock and the cattle are, “Upon me”? Additionally, why was Yaakov Avinu being so dramatic that if the animals are pushed hard, even for one day, all the flocks will die? The following Divrei Torah will expound on this topic, and support the P’shat offered in the closing paragraph.
ברכת הרי"ח – 33:13
“ויאמר אליו אדני יודע כי הילדים רכים והצאן והבקר עלות עלי, ודפקום יום אחד ומתו כל הצאן” – “And he (Yaakov Avinu) said to him (Eisav): My lord knows that the children are tender, and the nursing flocks and cattle are upon me; if they will be driven hard for a single day, then all the flocks will die.” What does Yaakov Avinu mean when he says, “עלי” that the nursing flock and the cattle are, “Upon me”? It says in Vayikra Rabbah 36:4 that בהמות, the animals, were only created in the Zechus of Yaakov Avinu. Yaakov Avinu did not send, as gifts to Eisav, silver or gold, or grains – rather he only sent animals. Yaakov Avinu did so because the fact that there were Beheimos was all in his Zechus. When Yaakov Avinu prepared the gifts to send to Eisav, the Posuk says, “ויקח מן הבא בידו מנחה” – which is stressing, “מן הבא בידו” – that the gifts that he prepared were from ones that came about “through his hands” – that they were in his Zechus that they were created. Yaakov Avinu sent a message to Eisav; Bereishis 32:5,6 “עם לבן גרתי ואחר עד עתה, ויהי לי שור וחמור צאן ועבד ושפחה” – he was saying, “ויהי לי” – and there is to me – it is in my Zechus that I have these things. Even if I became wealthy from them, it was from my Zechuyos and not from the Brochos of our father, Yitzchok Avinu. All of the Beheimos were in his Zechus, and the servants and maidservants were needed in order to tend to the Beheimos. It is for this reason that Yitzchok Avinu did not give Brochos to Yaakov about Beheimos – for it was in the Zechus of Yaakov Avinu, and not under the jurisdiction of Yitzchok Avinu. This was the message that Yaakov Avinu was sending Eisav – that the Brochos of Yitzchok Avinu did not mention Beheimos or having many children – and all of the Brocha that Yaakov Avinu had in his life, was all in his own Zechus, and not from the Brochos of Yitzchok Avinu, and thus Eisav should not be upset at him for all that he had.
בראשית רבה – 78:12
33:11 “קח נא את ברכתי אשר הבאת לך” – “Please accept my gift that was brought to you.” Yaakov said to Eisav, “I had invested much toil before this gift came into my possession, but for you it came on its own.” It doesn’t say, “אשר הבאתי” – the gift that “I brought” but rather the Posuk says, “אשר הבאת” – “that was brought”, implying that it came to you on its own.
נזר הקודש – Bereishis Rabbah 78:12
It says in the Yalkut Shimoni 111 that when Yaakov and Eisav were in their mother’s womb, they agreed that Yaakov would receive Olam Habah, while Eisav would receive Olam Hazeh. The Brochos that Yaakov received from Yitzchok were of this world, as the Posuk says, “ויתן לך האלקים מטל השמים ומשמני הארץ, ורב דגן ותירש” “The dew of the heavens, and the fatness of the earth, and abundant grain and wine.” When Yaakov and Eisav met, the Torah tells us that Yaakov Avinu had many Beheimos, servants, maidservants, and a large family. It appeared that Yaakov was not keeping to the deal he had made with Eisav – for he was not supposed to have Olam Hazeh, while it seemed that he had much of it. The Yalkut Shimoni in Devorim 808 says that when the Posuk says in Devorim 2:7 “כי ד' אלקיך ברכך בכל מעשה ידך” – it means that if a person works, then he is Bentched, but if one remains idle, then he does not receive any Brocha. This is the key difference between Yaakov and Eisav. Eisav is entitled to this world, as per his agreement with Yaakov. Being that this is his world, Eisav does not need to work much to receive matters of this world, rather it comes to him. Conversely, being that this world is not Yaakov’s, he must toil in order to receive Hashem’s blessing in this world. This way, he is paying for what he receives, and is keeping with the deal made between him and Eisav. This was the message Yaakov was sending to Eisav, “כמה יגע יגעתי עד שתבוא לידי” – look how much work it took me to amass this. All the Olam Hazeh that Yaakov had obtained, he was showing Eisav that he had to work hard for it – he needed to pay for it, for in fact, it was really all Eisav’s. While after Yaakov did all the hard work, he was sending gifts to Eisav – Eisav did not need to work for it at all – it was brought to him.
