וְאֶת־אֲחִיכֶ֖ם קָ֑חוּ וְק֖וּמוּ שׁ֥וּבוּ אֶל־הָאִֽישׁ׃
也要帶著你們的弟弟，起身再去見那人。
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
(Gen. 43:14:) AND35Sections 11, 12, and 13 are missing from Buber’s Oxford MS and are added by Buber from Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34. MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY. Let our master instruct us: How many Tefillot36The Tefillah, also called the Eighteen Benedictions or the ‘Amidah, forms the central intercession of the Jewish liturgy. is one obligated to pray in a day?37Tanh., Gen. 10:9. Thus have our masters taught: One does not pray more than the three Tefillot which the ancestors of the world instituted.38Ber. 26b (bar.); yBer. 4:1 (7a); cf. Ber. 4:1; Abraham instituted the morning Tefillah, as stated (in Gen. 19:27): NOW ABRAHAM WENT EARLY IN THE MORNING UNTO THE PLACE WHERE HE HAD STOOD ('MD) BEFORE THE LORD. Isaac instituted the Tefillah of the minhah (the Tefillah in the afternoon), as stated (in Gen. 24:63): NOW ISAAC WENT OUT TO BOW DOWN (rt.: SWH) IN THE FIELD TOWARD EVENING. Jacob instituted the evening Tefillah, as stated (in Gen. 28:11): WHEN HE CAME (rt.: PG')39The parallel text in the traditional Tanhuma (Gen. 10:9) explains that ‘MD, SWH, and PG‘ all denote prayer and finds the evidence in Ps. 106:30, Ps. 102:1, and Jer. 7:16 respectively. TO A CERTAIN PLACE.40See Acts 10:9. Now it is also written about Daniel (in Dan. 6:11): AND THREE TIMES A DAY [HE KNELT ON HIS KNEES]. But < the text > did not explain at what hour. David came and explained (in Ps. 55:18 [17]): EVENING, MORNING, AND NOON < I COMPLAIN AND MOAN; AND HE HEARS MY VOICE >. Therefore, one is not authorized to pray more than three Tefillot in a day.41TBer. 3:8; Ber. 31a; see yBer. 4:1 (7a). But R. Johanan said: And would that one might go on praying all day long!42Cf. Deut. R. 2:1 and M. Sam. 2, which argue against reciting the three services at one time. Antoninus asked Our Holy Rabbi: Is it permitted to pray at every hour? He said to him: It is forbidden. He said to him: Why? He said to him: Lest you treat the Most High with frivolity. He did not accept < this answer > from him. What did he do? He went to him early in the morning. He said to him: Greetings, Lord.43Gk.: Kyrie chaire. An hour later he came in to him. He said to him: {'MNH RTWQ} [Imperator]!44The Latin word originally designated a general, but in imperial times imperator became the title of Roman emperors. Buber has taken this reading from the traditional Tanhuma because he can make no sense of his manuscript, which reads: ’MNH RTWQ. An hour later he < again > said to him: Shalom to you, O King. He said to him: Why are you being disrespectful to the monarchy? He said to him: Let your ears hear what you are putting forth from your mouth. If you, who are flesh and blood, say this in the case of someone who asks after you every hour, how much the more so in the case of one who is disrespectful to the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One. Thus one should not bother him all the time.
Bereshit Rabbah
“Since, had we not tarried, we would now have returned twice” (Genesis 43:10).
“Their father, Israel, said to them: If so then, do this: Take of the choice produce of the land in your vessels, and take a gift down to the man, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and ladanum, pistachio nuts and almonds” (Genesis 43:11).
“Since, had we not tarried… Their father, Israel, said to them: If so then [efo]” – Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Tanḥum ben Ḥanilai: Can it be that the same trembling that I caused my father to tremble – “[Isaac was overcome with great trembling, and he said:] Who then [efo] is he [who hunted game and brought it to me? And I ate from all before you came, and I blessed him]” (Genesis 27:33) – is causing my trembling here? I wonder.
“Take of the choice produce [mizimrat] of the land in your vessels” – Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: Items that bring song [mizmarin] to the world: Snail [ḥilazon],64The snail from which the expensive tekhelet dye was produced. wine with balsam,65Wine enhanced with the scent of balsam (Midrash HaMevoar; see Matnot Kehuna, Etz Yosef). myrrh with the oil accumulated within it. “A little balm” – balsam oil, “a little honey” – Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi said: Honey that is hard as a rock;66This was a special honey that was very valuable because it would last a long time, could be easily transported, and provided a high quality flavor. “spices” – beeswax; “ladanum” – gum Arabic; “pistachio nuts and almonds” – nut oil and almond oil.
“And take double the silver in your hand, and the silver that was returned in the opening of your sacks return in your hand; perhaps it was an oversight” (Genesis 43:12).
“And take your brother, and arise and return to the man” (Genesis 43:13).
“And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and he will send with you your other brother, and Benjamin; and me, as I am bereaved, I am bereaved” (Genesis 43:14).
“And take double the silver in your hand” – Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Perhaps the price has risen.
“And the silver that was returned…And…your…brother” – he said to them: ‘Here is the silver, here is the gift, and here is your brother, do you need anything else?’ They said to him: ‘We need your prayer.’ He said to them: ‘If you need my prayer, “and may God Almighty grant you mercy…”.’
“Their father, Israel, said to them: If so then, do this: Take of the choice produce of the land in your vessels, and take a gift down to the man, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and ladanum, pistachio nuts and almonds” (Genesis 43:11).
“Since, had we not tarried… Their father, Israel, said to them: If so then [efo]” – Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Tanḥum ben Ḥanilai: Can it be that the same trembling that I caused my father to tremble – “[Isaac was overcome with great trembling, and he said:] Who then [efo] is he [who hunted game and brought it to me? And I ate from all before you came, and I blessed him]” (Genesis 27:33) – is causing my trembling here? I wonder.
“Take of the choice produce [mizimrat] of the land in your vessels” – Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin in the name of Rabbi Levi: Items that bring song [mizmarin] to the world: Snail [ḥilazon],64The snail from which the expensive tekhelet dye was produced. wine with balsam,65Wine enhanced with the scent of balsam (Midrash HaMevoar; see Matnot Kehuna, Etz Yosef). myrrh with the oil accumulated within it. “A little balm” – balsam oil, “a little honey” – Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi said: Honey that is hard as a rock;66This was a special honey that was very valuable because it would last a long time, could be easily transported, and provided a high quality flavor. “spices” – beeswax; “ladanum” – gum Arabic; “pistachio nuts and almonds” – nut oil and almond oil.
“And take double the silver in your hand, and the silver that was returned in the opening of your sacks return in your hand; perhaps it was an oversight” (Genesis 43:12).
“And take your brother, and arise and return to the man” (Genesis 43:13).
“And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and he will send with you your other brother, and Benjamin; and me, as I am bereaved, I am bereaved” (Genesis 43:14).
“And take double the silver in your hand” – Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Perhaps the price has risen.
“And the silver that was returned…And…your…brother” – he said to them: ‘Here is the silver, here is the gift, and here is your brother, do you need anything else?’ They said to him: ‘We need your prayer.’ He said to them: ‘If you need my prayer, “and may God Almighty grant you mercy…”.’
Sefer HaYashar (midrash)
And Jacob sent messengers at the same time to Esau his brother in the land of Seir, and he spoke unto him words of prayer and supplication. And he commanded them saying: Thus shall ye speak unto my lord, unto Esau: Thy servant Jacob saith thus: Let not my lord think that the blessings wherewith my father hath blessed me was of any benefit to me. For I have sojourned with Laban these twenty years and he hath deceived me, changing my wages ten times as it hath already been stated unto my lord. And I have served him in his house a very hard servitude until God saw my trouble, my servitude and the work of my hands, and he granted me to find grace and mercy in his eyes, and afterwards I became possessed through God’s kindness and his great mercy, of oxen and of asses, and of men servants and of maid servants. And I am returning now to my land and my native place, to my father and mother who are in the land of Canaan, and I am desirous to impart all these things to my lord in order to find favor in the eyes of my lord, so that he may not think that I have acquired wealth by reason of the blessings by which my father hath blessed me. And the messengers went unto Esau and they met him on the boundary of the land of Edom, marching against Jacob with four hundred men of the sons of Seir the Horite with their drawn swords. And Jacob's messengers spoke unto Esau all that Jacob had told them concerning Esau. And Esau answered them in pride and contempt, saying unto them: Verily I have heard of it and I have been correctly informed of what Jacob hath done unto Laban. For Laban made him great and gave him his daughters to wives; and he begat sons and daughters, and he increased greatly in possession and wealth in Laban’s house. But as soon as he saw the abundance of his possessions and wealth he fled from Laban's house with all that belonged unto him, carrying away Laban's daughters from the presence of their father like captives taken by the sword, without telling Laban a word about it. But Laban is not the only one whom Jacob hath treated in such a way, for he hath done unto me after the same manner, and he hath supplanted me twice. And shall I now be silent? And now behold I have come with my camp to meet him, and I will deal with him according to the best of my mind. And the messengers returned unto Jacob saying: We came to thy brother Esau and we spoke unto him according to all thou hast said, and such was his answer unto us, and also he cometh to meet thee and four hundred men with him. And when he heard the words which Esau had spoken to his messengers, Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. And Jacob prayed unto the Lord his God saying: Oh Lord, God of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, thou hast said unto me at my departure from my father's house, saying: I am the Lord, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac, the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. And behold I am with thee and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and I will cause thy enemies to fall down before thee, and when they shall wage war against thee they shall never prevail over thee. And I will bring thee back into this land in joy and gladness, with children and with great wealth. And thou hast fulfilled thy words and thou hast given unto me wealth and children and cattle, whatsoever the heart of thy servant wished for thou hast given unto me, and whatsoever I asked for thou hast granted unto me, so that I was not wanting in the least. And thou hast finally said unto me: Return unto thy country and thy kindred and I will deal well with thee. And now behold I have fol lowed thy words and thou hast delivered me from the hands of Laban, and shall I fall now into the hands of Esau who will smite me and the mothers with the children? Oh deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, and if there be no merit in me do it for the sake of Abraham and Isaac my father, for I know that simply through grace and mercy have I obtained all this wealth. And behold, I beseech thee now for the same reason to deliver me to day in thy kindness, and to answer unto me.