The very end of this week’s Parsha [Bereishis 36:43] contains a type of verse that we typically read through without giving it a second thought: “The chief of Magdiel and the chief of Iram; these are the chiefs of Edom by their settlements, in the land of their possession — he is Eisav, father of Edom.” What lesson can we learn from this pasuk? Who ever heard of the chief of Magdiel or the chief of Iram? What is their significance?
Although the meaning of such a passage escapes us, it did not escape the likes of Rav Yitzchak Hutner (1907-1980), zt”l. In the late summer of 1970, Rav Hutner was returning to New York from Eretz Yisrael when Palestinian terrorists hijacked his return flight and two other jets. The planes and passengers sat on a hot runway in Jordan for over a week, while the PLO negotiated for release of Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli prisons.
When Rav Hutner emerged from that experience, he spoke publicly about the ordeal. Among other things, he explained the difference between the descendants of Eisav and the descendants of Yishmael. Rav Hutner said that even though both of them have persecuted Jews and we have suffered miserably and horribly at their hands, there is a difference between the two cultures. The descendants of Eisav never thought of taking our land. The Torah clearly spells out that the descendants of Eisav were given Mt. Seir [Devorim 2:5]. Eisav knew that he had his own land to the East of the Land of Israel. Although Eisav’s descendants killed us and tortured us, they never wanted our land — because they had their own inheritance.
Yishmael, however, was thrown out of Avraham’s home without an inheritance [Bereishis 21:10]. This profoundly affected the development of history. Yishmael still feels as if we have his land.
Magdiel and Iram had their own settlements, in the land of their own inheritance. They had their own land, and so they did not have their eyes on ours. But the pasuk regarding the children of Yishmael says, “These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names by their open courtyards (chatzeirehem) and their strongholds (tirosam)” [Bereishis 25:16]. They are nomads. They are left with tents and refugee camps. They may have hundreds of thousands of square miles in the Middle East, but they do not have what they think is their land. They think that “their” land is a small piece of real estate called Palestine and they continuously “want it back.”
The whole trouble stems from this point. Eisav received his inheritance – Mt. Seir – but G-d ordered Yishmael sent out of the house of Avraham without an inheritance, causing the inheritance to go only to his younger brother Yitzchak. This is something that Yishmael has never gotten over.
Unfortunately, this is something he will never “get over” until the end of days. He will always want to take back the land that he thought should have been his rather than Yitzchak’s. Unfortunately, we are still suffering from this resentment to this day.
