Jacob's message to his brother Esau is, "I have sojourned with Laban and stayed there until now." (Genesis 32:5) The rabbis note that "I have sojourned" is garti, the letters of which also spell taryag, with the numerical value of 613. They deduce that Jacob is really saying, "Though I lived with the wicked Laban I kept the 613 commandments."

But why should Esau care about how religious Jacob is? Esau is a warlord, determined to harm his brother. So his brother is pious and counts his commandments? So what? Is there a message we are missing when we read

Without standards or commitments, he would be too much like Esau.

Jacob's words and the rabbinic commentary on them?

Perhaps the answer is that Jacob is telling Esau that because he takes his religion seriously, he prefers to speak peace and amity. He is also saying that he wants to make restitution for taking his brother's blessing all those years ago. He has undergone a long period of suffering and introspection since last seeing Esau. All he now wants is for the two of them to find a way of going ahead together and becoming friends.

Additionally, Jacob could be saying that, without standards or commitments, he would be too much like Esau himself. Esau was unrestrained by religion and was out for himself and what he could get out of life. If Jacob were similarly unrestrained, the two of them would be at each other's throats all the time and neither could ever trust the other. It suited Esau's purposes to know that Jacob was ethically reliable. Whether Jacob could trust Esau was another matter, but at least Esau now knew he could trust Jacob.

The Third Verse

The portion begins with Jacob sending messengers to his brother (Genesis 32:4). Messengers in Hebrew are malachim, the same word that is used for "angels". The midrash actually identifies the messengers with angels, though the Targum regards them as human beings, some of Jacob's servants.

Those who have ever been messengers plying between two sides of a conflict know that it is a demanding role which even the angels would find over-taxing. In the days of Dr. Kissinger, we used to speak of shuttle diplomacy, though the concept is as old as the Bible. Aaron the High Priest was probably the pioneer of diplomatic shuttling. The sages paint a vivid picture of him going to A to try to achieve peace with B, and then working on B to make peace with A. It takes immense skill and patience. Some people are good at it, whilst others instinctively know it is not for them.

In the inner- and inter-religious sphere there are some remarkable religious diplomats, whose success is such that the public are never even aware that there was a problem.

The late Judge Laski, who encouraged me in my early career in England, used to say, "The best public work is done privately," even though there are no honours or votes of thanks for the behind-the-scenes malachim. Yet their reward is implied in the 13th of Rabbi Yishma'el's hermeneutic rules which come at the beginning of the siddur. Rabbi Yishma'el speaks of two verses that seemingly contradict each other ad sheyavo ha-katuv ha-sh'lishi veyachri'a beineihem - "until there comes a third verse and reconciles them."