Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Musar for Genesis 33:14

יַעֲבָר־נָ֥א אֲדֹנִ֖י לִפְנֵ֣י עַבְדּ֑וֹ וַאֲנִ֞י אֶֽתְנָהֲלָ֣ה לְאִטִּ֗י לְרֶ֨גֶל הַמְּלָאכָ֤ה אֲשֶׁר־לְפָנַי֙ וּלְרֶ֣גֶל הַיְלָדִ֔ים עַ֛ד אֲשֶׁר־אָבֹ֥א אֶל־אֲדֹנִ֖י שֵׂעִֽירָה׃

Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over before his servant; and I will journey on gently, according to the pace of the cattle that are before me and according to the pace of the children, until I come unto my lord unto Seir.’

Shenei Luchot HaBerit

In order to survive in our lengthy exile we must employ the weapons of repentance, prayer and charity so as to mobilize the support of G–d on our behalf. The equivalent of "war" is repentance, which reflects the battle with our evil urge. He who can conquer his baser urges has proved himself to be a mighty warrior. This condition will prevail until the prophecy that we will conquer Mount Se'ir will be fulfilled. The redemption will come as a result of repentance, as we know from: ובא לציון גואל ולשבי פשע ביעקב "The redeemer will come to Zion and to those in Jacob who have repented their iniquities" (Isaiah 59, 20).
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