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Vayishlah

Esau’s Kiss

When Jacob and Esau finally met, Esau kissed Jacob. The Sages ascribe different motives to Esau.

“Esau ran to meet him and he kissed him” (Genesis 33:4). Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said…this teaches that Esau’s pity was aroused at that moment and he kissed Jacob sincerely. Rabbi Yannai said to Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar: If so, why is the term “and he kissed him” written in the Torah scroll with dots above it? This teaches that Esau did not plan to kiss Jacob, but to bite him, but the neck of Jacob our patriarch turned to marble, and the teeth of that wicked one, Esau, were damaged. Why does the verse state: “And they wept” (33:4)? This one, Jacob, wept because of his neck, and that one, Esau, wept because of his teeth. (Bereshit Rabba 78)