창세기 32:17의 주석

עדר עדר לבדו EVERY DROVE BY ITSELF — each species forming a drove by itself.

AND PUT A SPACE BETWEEN DROVE AND DROVE. I.e., in order to satisfy the covetous eye of that wicked man and to amaze him by the size of the gift. In Bereshith Rabbah⁴⁰75:13. the Rabbis express the opinion that there is an allusion to the future in this matter: “Jacob said before the Holy One, blessed be He, ‘O Master of the universe! If troubles will come upon my children, do not bring them one after another, but allow them intervals from their troubles.’” On the basis of this verse, the Rabbis thus hinted that the tributes and taxes which the children of Esau will collect from Jacob’s seed will have intervals and cessations between one another.

וריוח תשימו, a device to make each gift appear as a sign of Yaakov’s respect. When someone receives a number of gifts at intervals he appreciates them all the more.

עדר עדר לבדו. In order for Esau to realise that each species of animals had the appropriate number of males with it to ensure that these herds would continue to develop without hindrance. This is what he meant when he urged Esau קח נא את ברכתי, “please accept my blessing” (33,11) He meant that his gift was designed to be an ongoing blessing for his brother.

ויתן, he set

ורווח תשימו בין עדר לעדר, “and place some distance between one herd of animals and the next.” This measure was also to serve as a model for the behaviour of Jews in the future; Yaakov was asking G’d that if the need would arise to chastise the Jewish people, the decrees should not all be carried out at the same time, but that G’d should allow the people to recover from one disaster before having to contend with the next one. Some commentators understand the words ורווח תשימו as ensuring that different species of animals were not to mix with one another.

A distance of one day or less... [Rashi knows that they were] not immediately ahead of Yaakov, because it is written in v. 22: “The present passed on ahead of him, but he spent the night in the camp.” If they were just a short way from Yaakov, they could have all spent the night together. And they were not more than a day’s distance ahead, because Yaakov gave Eisov the present on the same day [after daybreak], as is evident from the coming verses.

עברו לפני PASS ON BEFORE ME, a day’s journey or less and I shall follow you).

וריוח תשימו בין עדר לעדר, to prevent the animals form one herd to jump into the adjoining herd, so that anyone seeing this gift would not appreciate its quality and scope.

ורוח, according to Bereshit Rabbah the רוח mentioned here was Yaakov’s prayer to G’d that if and when his descendants would be punished by G’d for collective wrongdoing, such punishments would be meted out at intervals and not all at once, to give the people a chance to recover from the previous disaster’s impact.

And I will follow behind you. [Rashi knows this] because Yaakov told them to say to Eisov, “And see, he himself is also behind us.” Thus, Yaakov must have said it to them, too: “Pass on ahead of me and I will follow behind you.”

ורוח תשימו AND PUT A SPACE — one drove before the other at a distance as far as the eye can see, in order to satisfy the eye (the cupidity) of that wicked man and to amaze him by the size of the gift (Genesis Rabbah 76:8).

One herd was ahead of the other... Rashi is explaining that they were herd behind herd. [Rashi knows this] because if they were lined up alongside each other, how could they be described [in the coming verses as] first, second and third? They would all be “first.”