Last week, we saw that Yaacov was a man of such tremendous will that he has learned to confine himself and work within social obligations – including those of implicit contracts. In a way, he is so willful that he is able to hobble himself to work within the social expectations of the world. He reaches his height in this area when he returns Yitzchak’s blessing to his brother Esav. Esav is so swept up by the act that he falls on the neck of Yaacov, crying. Esav, true to his character as a nomad who hunts but does not produce, is overcome by a gift he did not earn.
But immediately afterwards, something strange happens. Esav sets off for Seir and Yaacov promises to follow. But Yaacov appears to do nothing of the sort. From a simple analysis, both parties recognize that he won’t follow – so there is no “meeting of the minds.” The implicit contract doesn’t involve Yaacov following at all. In this light, it would seem that the explicit terms of the agreement are just a polite cover. But perhaps Yaacov does follow his brother, but in order to see it, we just need to understand what Seir is.
After the encounter with Yaacov, “Esau returned that day on his way unto Seir.” But he doesn’t appear to actually go anywhere. After all, near the end of the reading, the Torah writes: “And Esav took all … which he had gathered in the land of Canaan; and went into a land away from his brother Yaacov. For their substance was too great for them to dwell together; and the land of their sojourning could not bear them because of their cattle. And Esav dwelt in the mountain-land of Seir–Esav is Edom.”
In other words, Esav hadn’t gone anywhere until he and Yaacov grew too wealthy in the land of Canaan. If this is the case, how could be ‘returning’ to Seir at the beginning of the reading?
In the Torah reading of Devarim, this issue comes up again. Moshe says “we circled mount Seir many days.” But two verses later it says “you are to pass through the border of your brethren, the children of Esav, that dwell in Seir.” Why did we need to pass through Edom if we had circled it (and the mountain it contains) so many times? Why not just stop on the other side?
The answer is that Seir, like several other key places in Torah, is something other than a geographical spot. The root of Seir, sin-eyin-resh, implies something wild and raw. It is used in reference to barley (the roughest of the grains), hair or hairiness, and even goats (which as a highly rambunctious animal that tends to stand in for Hashem’s view of the Jewish people). Esav’s skin is described using this word.
To be in Seir is to be immersed in this wild existence. When Esav comes to meet Yaacov, he comes out of this Seir and into Yaacov’s more spiritual realm. When Esav leaves Yaacov, he returns towards it. at The end of the reading, when Esav and Yaacov part ways because Esav’s wealth is too great, Esav actually arrives in Seir. He arrives in a place of rawness and wildness, a place where chieftains rule. When the Jewish people circle this Seir, it is this sort of wildness that they are circumnavigating. It is this Seir that Yaacov journeys towards.
As I envision it, there is a spectrum of freedom. At one end is the freedom of Esav – raw, physical and wild. He travels wherever he wants, there are no constraints on him. At the other extreme is the freedom of Yaacov – refined, self-controlled and spiritual. And between the two of them is a settled and calm middle ground: a less free world in which the powerful both constrain and lead the weak. This is the world of Shechem. To go from the world of Yaacov to the world of Esav, you travel through this middle ground. In this middle ground, Yaacov’s refinement, self-control and spirituality can be stripped away and replaced with the governance of other forces. Later, he could leave this middle ground and enter the wild world of Esav. But the road goes both ways. The wild man can also start his journey towards spirituality by taking on the constraints of the settled world.