פירוש על בראשית 33:8

מי לך כל המחנה WHAT MEANEST THOU BY ALL THIS CAMP? — What is all this camp that I have met which belongs to you — as much as to say: what do you intend by it? Scripture really uses the word המחנה in reference to those who were bringing the present. A Midrashic explanation is: He had met companies of angels who thrust him and his men aside, asking them, “Who are you?” These replied, “We belong to Esau”. Whereupon the angels exclaimed, “Smite, smite!” They (Esau’s men) then said, “Let him alone; he is a son of Isaac”. They took no notice of this. “He is a grandson of Abraham”. Again they took no notice of this. “He is Jacob’s brother". Whereupon they said: if this be so, you are one with us” (Genesis Rabbah 78:11).

WHAT MEANEST THOU BY ALL THIS CAMP WHICH I MET? Now Jacob’s servants did everything he had commanded them, but Esau refused to accept the explanation from them. Perhaps due to his haughtiness and his arrogance he did not speak to them and did not ask them, Whose art thou ? and whither goest thou?⁷⁹Above, 32:18. and they were afraid to approach him. And so he now said, What meanest thou by all this camp? for he thought that they belonged to Jacob on the basis of the words of the first messengers [whom Jacob had originally sent to inform Esau of his coming]. It may be that these messengers had so related in Esau’s camp, and it was then conveyed to Esau. Perhaps because there was no other individual on that road that had these things, [he assumed that they belonged to Jacob]. The intent of What meanest thou by all this camp? is: “Who is this person to you that you send him all these?” That is to say, “Who is this superior of yours that you send him all these?” And he answered him, “To find favour in the sight of my lord, for in my eyes, you are the superior and lord.”

?מי לך כל המחנה הזה, a reference to the herds of animals Yaakov had sent.

Who are these to you. Are they your children or your servants?

?ויאמר מי לך, “to whom belong?” In other words, “to whom did you send this whole camp which is at your disposal, and to who did you send all these sheep and cattle?”

מי לך כל המחנה הזה אשר פגשתי, “to whom belongs all this camp which I have encountered? Esau referred to the servants of Yaakov who had preceded him with the herds which have been described in detail as gifts which Esau had been reluctant to accept. Due to his arrogance, he had not deigned to speak to them, and therefore he had not known who they were. Now that he met Yaakov personally, he assumed that these herds had been sent by him, in view of his having previously met the angels that Yaakov had sent out. The thrust of his question was: “who is related to you who is so important that you have bothered to welcome him with such pomp and ceremony?” Yaakov replied simply that this was all in honour of his brother Esau.

Who is this entire camp that I have met... [Rashi says this because] מי לך cannot mean the same as in v. 5, “Who are these to you,” where it meant: “Are they your servants or your sons?” For here, Eisov knew they were the gift-bearers, and surely they were Yaakov’s servants. Furthermore, why would Yaakov reply, “It was to find favor in the eyes of my master”? Perforce, Eisov was asking: “What is its purpose to you?” In other words, “Why did you go to all this trouble?” But Maharshal writes that מי לך means, “Whose are they?” You might object: If so, why did Yaakov reply, “It was to find favor in your eyes”? Should he not have replied first that they were his? The answer is: Eisov was asking, “To whom belongs this entire camp that I should inquire of him, “For what purpose did you send it?” Yaakov replied, “It was to find favor in your eyes,” as Eisov’s main inquiry was about the gift’s purpose.

למצוא חן בעיניך אדוני I have sent it to you my lord in the hope that by accepting it you would do me a favour.

The Midrashic explanation is: He met up with groups of angels... [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, what does “that whole camp” mean? The gift-bearers were only five servants! [You might ask: According to the Midrash,] why did Yaakov answer, “It was to find favor in the eyes of my master”? Will Yaakov find favor in Eisov’s eyes because the angels hit him? The answer is: When Eisov’s people said, “He is Yaakov’s brother,” the angels paid attention. This demonstrated how important Yaakov was in the angels’ eyes, and Yaakov thereby found favor in Eisov’s eyes. In other words, [the angels were] informing Eisov that Yaakov has many friends and allies, and you, too, should be among them.