Comentário sobre Gênesis 32:19

ואמרת לעבדך ליעקב THEN SHALT THOU SAY THEY ARE THY SERVANT JACOB’S — You shall answer the first question first and the last question last, saying :”In reply to what you have asked”, “Whose art thou?”, “I belong to thy servant Jacob” — and it should be rendered in the Targum דעבדך דיעקב belonging to your servant, belonging to Jacob” —and in reply to what you have asked, “And whose are these before thee?” “It is a present sent etc.”

מנחה, we explained this term in connection with Genesis 4,3.

ואמרת: "לעבדך ליעקב". He instructed his shepherds not to give the impression that they knew Esau was on the way in their direction and that they had been sent to him. The phrasing Yaakov instructed his messengers to use was meant to give the impression that Yaakov had no knowledge that Esau was marching toward him with hostile intentions. The messenger should give the impression that he had been sent by Yaakov to Seir where Esau lived, with a gift for him.

ואמרת לעבדך ליעקב, you will say: "to your servant, to Jacob." This means that the appropriate answer to the question: "who do you belong to?" would be: "to your servant Jacob;" the appropriate reply to the question: "where are you headed for?" is "to bring a gift which has been despatched." The appropriate answer to the question: "who is the gift for?" is "for my lord, for Esau."

Referring to Yaakov. [How does Rashi know this? Because] it is written, “He commanded the first one... and to all who followed after....” If so, the last one also said, “He is also behind us” — although there was no [group] behind him. Perforce, it referred to Yaakov. Consequently, all [the groups must have meant] the same. [You might ask: If so,] why does it then say, “You should also say, ‘See, your servant Yaakov is behind us”? [This is repetitious, as] all the servants already said this! The answer is: Yaakov was saying to them as follows. Regarding what I commanded you to say to Eisov — “And see, he is also behind us” — do not say it vaguely, by concealing my name. Rather, say it expressly, like this: “See, your servant Yaakov is behind us.” I.e., mention to him [also my] servility.

(19-21) Einen ganz besonderen Wert legt Jakob darauf, dass jeder Herdenführer bei Esau die Erwartung anrege, dass er nun sogleich Jakob begegnen werde, und ihm dann statt Jakob erst wieder ein Geschenk entgegentrete. Indem so wiederholt der Zorn zum Ausbruch sich sammeln durfte, und dann statt Gelegenheit zum Ausbruch eine neue Beschwichtigung finde, hoffte er — gewiss mit tief psychologischem Blicke — am sichersten eine allmählige Kühlung und Besänftigung erwarten zu dürfen.

?למי אתה, “Who do you belong to?” ואמרת: ״לעבדך וגו׳״, “you will say: ‘to your servant, etc.” Yaakov ordered his servants, the ones who accompanied the herds of gifts, to answer each question in the order in which it had been asked. To the question of: “who do these herds belong to?” the answer was to be: “they belong to your servant Yaakov and are a gift for my lord Esau.” In response to the question: ולמי אלה לפניך, “and to whom do these animals in front of you belong?” They were all to answer: “and he (Yaakov) is also following a short distance behind us.”

והנה גם הוא AND, BEHOLD, ALSO HE IS BEHIND US — The word “he” refers to Jacob.