Parsha and Humanity: Vayishlach – For Each, a Place of their Own

Parshat Vayishlach concludes with a list of Esau’s descendants. It is remarkable that the Torah dedicates 43 verses to enumerate Esau’s genealogy, more than the number of verses in the story of the creation of the world.  Why is it so important that we know the details of Esau’s geography and genealogy? I believe that the Torah is sending us a message: although its focus is the birth and mission of the Children of Israel, the Torah wants us to understand that there is a place in the world for Jacob’s brother, for Esau.

Just before the Children of Israel entered the Land of Israel, after their years in the wilderness and Exodus from Egypt, they are told that they will be passing through the land of the Edomites, who are seen as descendants of Esau. God warns the Children of Israel not to provoke them, as God will not give them their land. God tells the Children of Israel that He has given that land to Esau as a possession. The message in the Torah is that while Jacob has been given the Land of Israel, the land of his fathers, in which to dwell, Esau and his descendants have a place of their own in the world as well.

In the book of Deuteronomy, we are commanded not to despise the Edomites because they are our brothers. Yes, there are conflicts and animosity, but we must try to overcome these because, ultimately, we are brothers. This is the world that the Torah wishes for humanity, a world in which the different nations have their own place and we find a way to live together in fraternity.

In a letter penned in 1908, Rabbi Kook acknowledged the problems in contemporary inter-religious relations, but expressed the aspiration for a future in which “the fraternal love between Esau and Jacob, between Isaac and Ishmael, transcends all of those troubles.” (Iggerot HaRe’iya 1:112.).

As Rabbi Yehuda Ashkenazi, Manitou put it, we are told to love our fellow as ourselves. We can speak endlessly about morality, about values. But at the end of the day, the Creator’s demand of us is much simpler: how can I let others live in my world and how can they let me live in theirs. Without reciprocity, there is no solution to the challenge of finding a way to live in fraternity.