Midrash su Genesi 31:17

“The heart of the wise is to his right, and the heart of a fool is to his left” (Ecclesiastes 10:2).
“The heart of the wise is to his right…” – Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa said: [This is analogous] to two people who had two kor, one of wheat and one of barley. One of them said to the other: ‘If yours is of barley mine is of wheat, and if mine is of wheat yours is of barley. In any case, I am taking the one of wheat.’ So, Abraham said to Lot: “If to the left, I will go to the right, and if to the right, I will go to the left [asme’ila]” (Genesis 13:9). Rabbi Ḥanina ben Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is not written here “esmola,” but rather “asme’ila.”⁵Esmola means, “I will go to the left.” Asme’ila can mean, “I will cause to go to the left.” Even if you are impertinent, I will cause you to go to the left.⁶Abraham told Lot: Ultimately, I will go to the right, the direction of the wise, and you will go to the left, which is the direction of the fool. Rabbi [Yehuda HaNasi], when a person would enter for judgment before him, if [the party that lost the case] would obey the ruling that would be fine, and if not, [Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi] would say to a member of his household: ‘Cause him to go left’;⁷Cause him to understand that he is wrong. and he would signal and show him that he should strike him from the other side.
Another matter: “The heart of the wise is to his right” – this is Jacob, as it is stated: “Jacob arose and placed his sons and his wives [upon the camels]” (Genesis 31:17).⁸Jacob understood that the main objective of marriage is producing the next generation. Therefore, he tended first to his sons and then to his wives. “And the heart of a fool is to his left” – this is the wicked Esau, as it is stated: “Esau took his wives, his sons, [and his daughters]” (Genesis 36:6).⁹Esau prioritized his own pleasure; therefore he tended to his wives and then to his sons. It was not because he was concerned with his wives’ safety that he tended to them first, as he tended to his daughters, who were even more vulnerable, last.

And Jacob outwitted Laban (ibid., v. 20), so that Laban would not become incensed with him: Then Jacob arose, and set his sons and his wives upon camels … and carried away all his cattle…. And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him (Gen. 31:17–18, 23). The Holy One, blessed be He, immediately appeared before him and slit his ear.¹¹The meaning of this idiom is uncertain, but is probably something like “spoke harshly to him.”