In Parshat Vayigash, Breisheet 46:5-6 we read: “Yaakov rose
up from Beer Sheva. B’nai Yisrael transported their father Yaakov, their
children and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They
took the livestock and their possessions that they had acquired in the
and they came to
Yaakov and all of his descendents with him.”
Why does sentence 6 only mention the possessions that they
acquired in the
to the possessions that they acquired in Padan
According to Rashi, whatever Yaakov acquired in Padan
entirely to Esav for his share in Maarat HaMachpela (The burial cave in Chevron).
He said, “Possessions acquired outside of the
Yaakov took all of the gold and silver that he had brought
from Lavan’s house and made a piled heap (kri) for Esav, and he said to him,
“Take this for your share of Maarat HaMachpela.”
This is what Yaakov meant by (Breisheet 50:5) “Behold I am
dying. The grave that I acquired (kariti) for myself in the
there you shall bury me.”
The Gemara in Sotah 13a explains that even though Yaakov did
buy the rights from Esav to be buried in the cave, when B’nai Yisrael came to
bury Yaakov, Esav wasn’t willing to give up his place.
Esav’s first argument was that Yaakov used up his own space
(which Yaakov acquired when he bought the birthright) by burying Leah there.
Esav argued that the last space should belong to him (Esav) since he was still
the son of Yitzchak and Rivka.
B’nai Yisrael told Esav that he did in fact sell his portion
of the cave to Yaakov and Yaakov even mentioned that he acquired it (Breisheet
50:5) when he was on his deathbed.
Esav then asked for a letter of proof that Yaakov did buy
the extra burial plot.
B’nai Yisrael explained that the letter was still in
the way back to
to get the letter.
In the mean time, Chushim, the son of Dan who was hard of
hearing, couldn’t understand exactly what was happening. He asked what was
going on and was told that Esav was holding up Yaakov’s burial. At that point,
Chushim took his staff, smashed Esav in the head and killed him.
The Midrash in Sefer HaYashar (1552,
fought with B’nai Yisrael while Esav was still lying dead and not buried. B’nai
Yisrael won the war and Eliphaz, Esav’s son took Esav’s body to be buried on
However, Esav’s head remained in Chevron and was buried there.
Esav was more interested in materialism than spirituality
while Yaakov was focused on spirituality and willing to give up his material
wealth. In both the sale of the birthright which Yaakov bought with a bowl of
lentil soup and the sale of the burial plot in the cave which Yaakov bought
with gold and silver, Yaakov planned ahead while Esav could only think “in the
moment” of what material wealth he could gain. It was only later that Esav
realized that he shortchanged himself spiritually but by then it was too late.
