English translation — וישלח ב

1.

It is stated in the Mishnah

(in tractate Avodah Zarah<sup>1</sup>)

that "A person should not be secluded with them

(with a non-Jew<sup>2</sup>

preceding this in the Mishnah)

because they are suspected of bloodshed,"

And it is known in the poskim<sup>3</sup>

that this is regarding the ancient nations, but in this time non-Jews are not suspected of this,

and on the contrary etc.

The Gemara⁴

explains and details in this: "A Jew who encountered a non-Jew⁵

on the road, let him give him precedence to his right, etc." and then the Gemara continues⁶

"If asked, 'Where are you going?' he should expand for him the

the way as Yaakov Avinu did to Eisav the wicked, as it is written<sup>7</sup>

until I come to my lord to Seir, and it is written<sup>8</sup>

and Yaakov journeyed to Sukkot.”

Rashi explains<sup>9</sup>

the Gemara that the “way that Yaakov did” means,

that he said to Eisav — because of danger to life — a thing that was not so; he said to him “I will come to my lord to Seir” and afterwards “and Yaakov journeyed to Sukkot”,

“and he did not go to Seir”<sup>10</sup>.

and from this one learns a halacha for every Jew,

that when a non-Jew asks him “where are you going”,

he must tell him the incorrect place,

“he should broaden the way for him”: “if<sup>11</sup>

he needed to go up to a parasang, he should say to him I need to go two parasangs,

perhaps<sup>12</sup>

the non-Jew will wait from striking him until the second parasang and he will separate from him beforehand.”

In the Midrash¹³

But,

On the verse "Until I come to my lord to Seir,"

It says: "We went through all of Scripture and did not find that our father Jacob ever went to Esau to Mount Seir in his lifetime,

Perhaps Jacob was truthful and there was deceit in him,

Rather, when will he come to him? In the future to come, as it is said¹⁴

And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge Mount Esau."

From <b>this Midrash</b> one sees that Jacob said from the outset a thing

That is entirely true

(Which is why the Midrash asks: "<b>And we did not find</b> that our father Jacob ever went to Esau to Mount Seir in his lifetime").

2.

Simply, one learns,

that the explanation of the Midrash and the explanation of the Gemara mentioned above are differing opinions¹⁵

: according to the opinion of the Gemara, Yaakov saw danger to life from Eisav, and therefore Yaakov had to tell him that he is going to Seir,

even though he did not intend to do it; in contrast, according to the Midrash, Yaakov was not afraid of Eisav, and consequently there was no reason that he should need to broaden the way that he is going to Seir — and therefore one must say that he meant “in the future to come.”

One finds, however,

that Rashi in his commentary on the Torah,

on the verse “until I come to my lord to Seir,”

combines both explanations: “He broadened the way for him, that he did not intend to go except until Succot; he said: if he intends to do me harm, let him wait until I come to him, and he did not go

(and immediately afterwards Rashi continues)

and when will he go? In the days of Mashiach, as it is said: ‘And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Eisav.’”

— d.

e.

Also the explanation of the Gemara

(that Yaakov did not intend to go to Seir and he said so in order "to broaden the way for him",

that he should not do him any "harm")

agrees with what the Midrash says,

that Yaakov's words are like the reality: "He will go in the days

of the Mashiach",

that in the future he will come to Seir.

Is not understood: Rashi teaches here

(in his commentary on the Torah)

that Yaakov spoke truth and he himself explains in the Gemara,

that from "he made the way wide for him" by Yaakov one derives,

that one should say an untrue thing in order to be saved from a non-Jew?

Commentators¹⁶

learn,

that although one derives it from Yaakov — but since Yaakov's attribute is the attribute of truth,

as the aforementioned midrash emphasizes here "Yaakov was truthful",

so also when he said an expression that <b>Esav</b> understood differently than the reality afterwards,

the speech was nevertheless a truthful one; but regarding other Jews,

who are not on the level of Yaakov,

they may say not truth because of danger.

It is however difficult to learn like this: the language of the Gemara is indeed "he will broaden for him the way &lt;b&gt;in the way that Yaakov did&lt;/b&gt;",

that the "he will broaden for him the way" regarding every person,

is the &lt;b&gt;same &lt;/b&gt;way of Yaakov — and from where would it occur to be lenient&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;?

3.

One will understand this with the introduction of the explanation in that which Rashi says generally the matter "he broadened for him the way etc." — for prima facie this is a superfluous language: it would have been understood if he said only the continuation "

(until I come to my master

Seir —)

He said: If his intention is to do me harm, let him wait until I come to him, and he did not go.

The explanation of this is: by prefacing the matter “He made the way wide for him etc.” Rashi makes clear,

right at the beginning of his commentary,

that Yaakov’s saying “until I come to my lord to Seir” was <b>absolutely</b> not a false statement¹⁸,

With this it is only "&lt;b&gt;He broadened &lt;/b&gt;for him the way",

and according to the &lt;b&gt;simple&lt;/b&gt; interpretation*&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;

of "He broadened" — the way became "wider"&lt;sup&gt;19&lt;/sup&gt;

Jacob did &lt;b&gt;not &lt;/b&gt;intend to &lt;b&gt;lengthen &lt;/b&gt;the way,

that the place of his travel is &lt;b&gt;farther &lt;/b&gt;than he actually intended

(then he would have needed to say "&lt;b&gt;He lengthened &lt;/b&gt;for him the way"&lt;sup&gt;20&lt;/sup&gt;)

But the length of the way is the same,

But the “way” will be “broader” — it will last more time,

will be with interruptions,

stops etc.; as it is

Moreover it is proven from this that Yaakov explained to Esav “And I will travel &lt;b&gt;slowly &lt;/b&gt;at the pace of the work that is before me and at the pace of the children”,

The walking will be slow,

stopping himself more often at the pace of the work and the children etc.,

until he will finally arrive “to my lord to Seir”&lt;sup&gt;21&lt;/sup&gt;.

It comes out according to this,

that the conclusion of Rashi "will go in the days of the Messiah" is not only not a contradiction to "He will broaden for him the way" at the beginning of his commentary,

but on the contrary,

"will go in the days of the Messiah" explains "He broadened for him the way": the purpose and end of the "broadening" of the way will be in the days of the Messiah.

this is indeed <b>the opposite of what is explicit </b>in the verse that he afterwards went to Shechem <b>etc. </b>— rather: the <b>current </b>going,

when Eisav went "on his way to Seir" and arrived there

(Vayeishev)

was Yaakov's intention to go only until Succos and "he journeyed to Succos" and stopped there for a period of time²²,

<b>And as is explicit </b>in Rashi²³

that Yaakov "<b>tarried </b>there

(in Succos)

eighteen months" — it was only a <b>tarrying </b>on the way²⁴].

On this basis one must understand conversely

Furthermore: why does Rashi teach in his commentary on the Talmud,

that the explanation of "he will widen for him the way" is — "If he needed to go up to a parasang, he would say to him, 'I need to go two parasangs'"

(which is indeed a statement that is not true)?

it is understood from this as mentioned above,

that it was also thus

(according to Rashi's commentary on the Talmud)

by Yaakov]

— now how does it align with the above explanation?

4.

Also, one must explain the change in Rashi in his commentary on the Talmud and in his commentary on the Torah:

In his commentary on the Talmud,

on "he will broaden for him the way,"

he says,

that through that which "he will say to him, 'Two parasangs I need to go,'"

is "perhaps the gentile will wait from striking him until the second parasang."

From the language it is understood,

that we assume that the gentile certainly wants "to strike him,"

and through that which he will say to him "two parasangs etc.,"

he will <b>perhaps</b> wait

("perhaps he will wait")

"from striking him."

And since that is "in the manner that Yaakov did,"

it implies,

that also by Yaakov it was so.

But in his commentary on the Torah,

by that "he broadened for him the way" by Yaakov,

Rashi is precise in his language: "He said, '<b>If</b> his intention is to do me harm, he will wait until I come to him,'"

i.e., that the protection was in doubt — "<b>if</b> his intention is to do me harm" — it is not a certain thing,

that Esav wants to do him a "harm."

when there is a doubt "whether his intention

(of

the gentile)

to do ..

evil",

or one must

(at least initially)

seek another advice²⁵].

5.

is the explanation in this: as discussed several times — both in his commentary on the Torah and in his commentary on the Talmud, Rashi explains in the way of the plain meaning; only: in his commentary on the Torah it is "I have come to the plain meaning of the <b>Scriptural</b> verse",

and in his commentary on the Talmud he explains according to the way of the plain meaning of the <b>Gemara</b>

(even when it does not accord with the plain meaning of the <b>Scriptural</b> verse).

The aforementioned matter in the Gemara is in continuation,

in the sugya that gentiles are "suspected of bloodshed",

which in plainness means,

that when a gentile asks "where are you going",

and he is indeed suspected of bloodshed,

it is a sign that it is in his mind to strike him.

And likewise it is also understandable from the simple meaning of the Gemara's emphasis

(regarding Yaakov)

— "as Yaakov our father did to Esau &lt;b&gt;the wicked&lt;/b&gt;": That which Yaakov changed in his speech was because he had to deal with "

(Esau)

the wicked",

being a wicked one he intended "to do him harm".

However, in the simple meaning of &lt;b&gt;Scripture&lt;/b&gt;,

it is not proven from the narrative of the verses,

that Esau sought to do Yaakov a "harm"; on the contrary,

beginning from the verse&lt;sup&gt;26&lt;/sup&gt;

at the start of the matter "And Esau ran toward him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him"&lt;sup&gt;27&lt;/sup&gt;

the entire continuation of Esau's speech was in the content

of affection and friendship,

and thus particularly regarding the statement to which Yaakov <b>answered</b> "I will come to my master to Seir" "Let us journey and go, and I will go before you — this good thing I will do for you"²⁸

— consequently this is no more than a concern: since Eisav was after all for many years an enemy of Yaakov,

Yaakov guarded himself with an additional caution "<b>If</b> his intention is to do me harm."

6.

And this is the difference between Rashi on the Torah and Rashi on the Talmud:

When one speaks about

(Esau &lt;b&gt;the wicked&lt;/b&gt;,

and about this in general about)

a gentile a wicked person suspected of bloodshed,

his question "where are you going" shows that "in his mind to strike him" — a situation of danger,

and one must therefore use the means of a speech that is not true in order to be saved from the danger: "if he needed to go up to a mile he should say to him two miles I need to go",

with which he can postpone the danger,

that the gentile will wait "from striking him until the second mile and this one will depart from him beforehand".

But not so according to the simple meaning of &lt;b&gt;the verse&lt;/b&gt;,

there was only a suspicion and doubt — "&lt;b&gt;if &lt;/b&gt;his mind is to do me evil",

and to remove the &lt;b&gt;suspicion &lt;/b&gt;of danger the statement "until I come to my lord to Seir" in the manner of "he broadened the way for him" is sufficient.

7.

From the wondrous matters according to the halachah that one can derive from Rashi:

According to the above explanation of Rashi's wording "he expanded the way for him"

rather one expands the way itself]

One can also explain the opinion of the Rambam in this halacha,

And this is the language of the Rambam²⁹

"If one asks, 'Where are you going?' he should broaden the way for him, as Yaakov broadened the way for Esav, as it is said, 'Until I come to my lord, to Seir.'"

It is not understood: The Rambam is after all a book of halachos — a book where the halachos are clearly brought out in order to know how to conduct oneself in practice, in actual deed — why does the Rambam not interpret³⁰

what the words "He shall broaden for him the way"³¹ mean?

: and also the Beis Yosef in Shulchan Aruch³³

states the clear law: "Ask him, 'Where are you going?' If he needed to go a parasang, he should say, 'I am going two parasangs'"].

At first glance one could say with difficulty at least,

that according to the Rambam "he shall broaden for him the way" includes two matters: the "broaden" refers not only to the <b>speech</b> that one must <b>say</b> to the non-Jew,

but this also means regarding — <b>in practice</b>,

On the matter of <b>and a spirit</b> you shall place between flock and flock³⁴

: One must

(in the way)

<b>distance</b> oneself from the non-Jew³⁵.

Until I come to my lord to Seir" — and not more precisely,

At first glance

(And like the language of the Tosefta)

"&lt;b&gt;That he said &lt;/b&gt;until I come to my lord to Seir"&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;]

But the addition that this is a great difficulty&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;

— is &lt;b&gt;the &lt;/b&gt;matter — that

Going on the road, one must distance oneself from a non-Jew

(who is suspected of bloodshed)

— the Rambam already said in the <b>previous </b>halacha³⁹

: "And he shall not⁴⁰

accompany them on the road"⁴¹

Therefore it is clear that "he shall broaden the road for him" is also according to the Rambam meant the <b>speech </b>

(as an answer to the non-Jew's question "where are you going").

And the question returns to its place: Why does the Rambam not state the interpretation of "He will broaden for him the way"?

8.

Also there are still several precise points in the language of the Rambam:

a)

The Rambam brings only the verse "Until I come to my lord, to Seir" and not the second verse

(which is brought in the Gemara)

"And Jacob traveled to Succoth."

And at first glance: the proof,

that with his saying "Until I come to my lord, to Seir" Jacob "broadened" the way is from this that "And Jacob traveled

(not "to Seir",

but)

to Succoth" — and the Rambam omits this verse⁴²?

b)

In the Gemara the wording is "in the manner that Jacob did"⁴³,

and the Rambam changes and writes "in the manner that Jacob broadened"⁴⁴.

3)

In the Gemara the wording is "Yaakov <b>our father</b> to Esav <b>the wicked</b>"⁴³,

and the Rambam omits⁴⁵

the epithets and writes: "Yaakov to Esav"⁴⁴.

9.

According to the above

(in explanation of Rashi's commentary on the Torah)

one can say,

that the Rambam holds,

that this is the explanation

The law of "he shall broaden the way for him" applies to every Jew — he must broaden for the gentile the way in which he goes,

that it will take a long time until he will come to a certain place

(broadening the way in time),

so that through this the gentile will give up his thought to do him harm

(because he does not know how long the Jew will delay on the way).

And based on this, the language of the Rambam is precise — "in the manner that Jacob broadened for Esau, as it is said, 'Until I come to my lord, to Seir'": the broadening of the way by Jacob consisted in his saying "&lt;b&gt;Until I come &lt;/b&gt;to my lord, to Seir"

(that it will take an indeterminate time

(due to the work and the children)

until he will arrive there),

from which one learns that every Jew must

(say in a manner that he should)

"broaden" the way

(to which — to the broadening of the way — the verse "And Jacob journeyed to Succoth" is not relevant)&lt;sup&gt;46&lt;/sup&gt;.

And therefore the Rambam also omits the words "

(Jacob)

<b>our father </b>

(to Esau)

<b>the wicked</b>" — because the opinion of the Rambam is,

that that which Jacob guarded himself

(through "he widened")

from Esau,

is <b>not </b>because he was certain that Esau <b>the wicked </b>would do him harm⁴⁷

Because,

on the contrary: then there was a situation that Esau showed brotherliness to Jacob

(as above in the explanation of Rashi's commentary),

only this was an additional precaution on the part of Jacob

(as above).

Yud.

One must however understand: Immediately after the law "Ask where he is going,

he will broaden the way for him",

the Gemara brings two stories from which it is proven

(and ostensibly explicit)

that the explanation of "he will broaden" is like the aforementioned explanation of Rashi on the Talmud,

and this is the language of the Gemara:

"A story about the students of Rabbi Akiva who were going to Keziv,

bandits met them,

they said to them where are you going,

they said to them to Akko,

when they reached Keziv they separated,

they said to them

who are you they said to them students of Rabbi Akiva,

they said to them fortunate is Rabbi Akiva and his students that no evil person ever met them".

And afterwards the Gemara brings a second story similar to this: "Rav Menashe was going to Bei Torta, thieves met him etc.",

and the continuation was in the same manner as in the story with the students of Rabbi Akiva.

In simple terms,

the stories in the Gemara come as a proof and evidence from a maaseh rav to the preceding <b>din</b> "they asked him where he is going, he will broaden the way for him" — from them one sees how the matter of "he will broaden" saved⁴⁸.

And there they indeed said not the truth,

that they are going to a place of a far

about when they were going only to a nearby place⁴⁹.

one cannot learn that "he will broaden"

is as mentioned

(that he does not tell him a lie by lengthening the way

(further than he will go),

but he only "broadens" the same way

(with what was in time)).

11.

And one can say the explanation in this: Rashi and the Rambam disagree in the definition of the danger for the Jew from the non-Jew who "asked him where he is going": one can learn this in two ways: this is in the same category of danger as the previous laws

(above)

(in the Gemara)

in the Gemara,

or this has a distinct category:

Because of the fact that non-Jews <b>in general</b> are "<b>suspected</b> of bloodshed",

several specific laws apply to a Jew as to how he must beware: "A person should not seclude himself with them",

"If a non-Jew chanced upon him on the road, he should place him on his right",

"If they were ascending a slope or descending a descent, the Israelite should not be below and the non-Jew above, etc."

One can say:

a)

Until here is in the law that comes immediately following this in Gemara "They asked him: where are you going": This is still a situation in which a Jew must protect himself from a non-Jew

(Because of the general suspicion of non-Jews).

b)

If “&lt;b&gt;Ask &lt;/b&gt;where is he going” is different,

harsher than the previous laws in the Gemara which are founded

on the assumption that ordinary gentiles are suspected of bloodshed,

because that which “Ask etc.” is a &lt;b&gt;conclusive &lt;/b&gt;proof that &lt;b&gt;the &lt;/b&gt;gentile in particular wants to do evil to the Jew: by that which he asks “where is he going” he goes out of the category “&lt;b&gt;suspicion&lt;/b&gt;” of gentiles in general and he is in the category of “certain harm”.

12.

And one can say,

that

(one of)

the practical halachic difference between the two ways is:

According to the opinion of the poskim⁵⁰

that in this time⁵¹

gentiles are "not accustomed to such

(regarding bloodshed),

and on the contrary, they impose and punish with the death penalty for murder,

they are not considered suspect of bloodshed in this time"⁵²

— and

Therefore there is not in the time of the Exile

(to that extent)

the prohibition of being secluded with a non-Jew and the like⁵³

the question becomes what is the law in the case of "they asked him where he is going": according to the first manner that the law of "he will broaden the way for him" is because of the suspicion of non-Jews in general — is in the time of the Exile when non-Jews are already not suspected of bloodshed,

the suspicion also falls away in the case of "they asked him etc." and one does not need to protect himself that he will broaden the way for him;

According to the second manner,

that if "Ask him where he is going" is this not a suspicion,

but "a certain damage" as mentioned — must be "he shall broaden the way for him" also in this time⁵⁴.

13.

Based on this one may say,

that this is the dispute between Rashi and Rambam:

Rashi in his commentary to the Talmud holds like the second way,

that "they asked him where he is going" the non-Jew has a specific special law — it is obvious that he wants to harm the Jew.

And Rashi learns it from the plain meaning of the Gemara that in continuation to this law of "he shall broaden the road for him" they bring the two aforementioned stories,

about "they encountered bandits" and about "they encountered thieves": with this the Gemara teaches

(according to Rashi)

that by "they asked him where he is going" the non-Jew has the status of a definite harm-doer — analogous to "bandits" and "thieves"⁵⁵,

Therefore Rashi teaches,

that one must then protect oneself as much as possible: not just any speech

(so that the gentile should stop thinking to harm the Israelite),

rather one must mislead the gentile in a clear manner: "If he needed to go up to a parasang, he should say to him, 'Two parasangs I need to go,'

perhaps the gentile will wait from striking him until the second parasang, and he will separate from him beforehand"

as above at length].

And as one sees it in the story of the two aforementioned stories in Gemara,

that also in the case of Shaalu,

"Beri hezeka" had <b>the </b>advice helped to become rid of the danger.

The Rambam however holds,

that since the law

("Shaalu etc.")

comes in continuation to the previous laws in

Gemara,

it is proven from this,

that also this law is similar in its definition to them⁵⁶

— also when "they asked him where he is going" does not become "certain damage"; it is only another detail in this <b>general </b>law of gentiles "suspected of bloodshed",

and therefore the Rambam teaches that the advice for this is "he should broaden for him the way, in the way that Yaakov broadened for Esav, as it is said: 'until I come to my lord to Seir'" — <b>broaden </b>the path in which he goes

— not to say the place where he is going <b>now</b>,

but to answer that he has a "broad" way,

he is gathering himself on the way until he will arrive at his desired destination; with this statement one becomes exempt from the danger as above.

it was,

on the contrary,

words of affection etc.,

(as above at length)

as above at length]

*&lt;sup&gt;56&lt;/sup&gt;.

And that which the Gemara brings afterwards the two stories the aforementioned — this is according to the opinion of the Rambam an additional law&lt;sup&gt;57&lt;/sup&gt;

: if clear danger,

like by bandits or thieves,

the law is

(not "he shall broaden the way for him",

like by an ordinary gentile who "asked him where he is going",

only)

that the Jew should give him a further place from where he is actually going⁵⁸

; and through this “perhaps he will wait” with his damage until the further place,

and in the meantime they will separate themselves from them⁵⁹.

13.

The explanation in the inner dimension of the matters:

It is known⁶⁰

that when one learns out one subject from another in Torah,

the explanation in this,

that the subject of the teacher is the cause from which is caused and drawn that which comes to be in the thing being learned.

And likewise in our subject: that which a Jew throughout all times and in all generations is saved from a non-Jew who "asked him, 'Where are you going?'",

is through that which in this there is

(in inwardness)

the way that Yaakov widened⁶¹

— "until I come to my lord to Seir"⁶².

The explanation in this:

That which a non-Jew

(and non-Jewishness)

can have control, heaven forbid, over a Jew,

is this at the time that the Jew conducts himself in a manner that his "place" is in exile by the non-Jew; and therefore,

the non-Jew thinks that the Jew is "&lt;b&gt;truly&lt;/b&gt;" under his control.

But when a Jew is "מרחיב לו הדרך" — he tells the gentile that his being in exile is only a &lt;b&gt;stop in the middle &lt;/b&gt;of the way; he is in the midst of the journey from "עד אשר אבוא אל אדוני שעירה" — to the redemption,

which then will be the opposite: "ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון &lt;b&gt;לשפוט את הר עשו &lt;/b&gt;והיתה לה׳ המלוכה" —

His being in exile is the &lt;b&gt;preparation&lt;/b&gt;,

the way and going to the redemption: one is in the service of refining the world,

to break through the darkness of the world of this world through נר מצוה ותורה אור,

to prepare the world for the future redemption,

when&lt;sup&gt;63&lt;/sup&gt;

"והי׳ לך ה׳ לאור עולם וגו׳"&lt;sup&gt;64&lt;/sup&gt;

"והלכו גוים לאורך וגו׳"&lt;sup&gt;65&lt;/sup&gt;

"ונגלה כבוד ה׳ וראו כל בשר יחדיו כי פי ה’ דיבר"&lt;sup&gt;66&lt;/sup&gt;

And then during the preparation for the redemption, the power of gentileness is nullified, and consequently — of the gentile, and he loses his control over a Jew;

By Jews there becomes a state of rest,

that while going in the progression of "the path from exile to redemption",

before one

Comes to the beginning of the redemption,

is — "And Jacob came complete to the city of Shechem",

"complete in his body ..

in his money ..

in his Torah"⁶⁷,

that Jews are healthy and complete,

in their body simply,

in their money,

in children, life, and ample sustenance,

and in their Torah — one learns Torah with tranquility,

and in a manner of "complete in his Torah": the Torah is whole,

one learns both the revealed part of the Torah and the inner part of the Torah

(which in our generation has been revealed in the teachings of Chassidus),

in a manner of "one Torah" and "perfect Torah",

And this hastens the coming of Mashiach our righteous one,

when it will be fulfilled as above

(ch. 2)⁶⁸

The "I will come to my lord to Seir" — in the fulfillment of the promise "And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esau, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's"⁶⁹,

Speedily in our days, literally.

(From the sichos of Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach and Shabbos Parshas Vayeishev 5741)