פרשת חוקת תש"ה - ישראל ואדום

וישלח משה מלאכים, “Moses dispatched messengers;” the Torah here explains in detail what Moses refers to in Deuteronomy at the beginning of chapter two there. Some details missing there have been supplied here, whereas others have been augmented there but omitted here.

And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom: ‘Thus saith thy brother Israel: Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us;

Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy land; we will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells; we will go along the king’s highway, we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy border.’

And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom: ‘Thus saith thy brother Israel: Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us;

To the King of Edom. The Torah did not see a reason to mention his name. It mentioned the names of the Emorite kings, Sichon and Og, because they were known for their might and were famous among the nations. Thus, we would thank Hashem for His miracles, as it says (Tehillim 136:17, 19-20): “To Him Who smote great kings, for His kindness is eternal. Sichon the king of the Amorites, for His kindness is eternal. And Og the king of Bashan, for His kindness is eternal.” Furthermore, it is the Torah’s way to mention the names of great kings whose land we inherited.

אחיך ישראל THY BROTHER ISRAEL — What reason had he to mention here their brotherhood? But in effect he said to him: We are brothers, sons of Abraham to whom it was said, (Genesis 15:13) “know for a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger [in a land not theirs]”, and upon both of us, being of Abraham’s seed, was the duty of paying that debt (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 12).

אתה ידעת את כל התלאה THOU KNOWEST ALL THE TRAVAIL — It was on this account that your father separated himself from our father, as it is said, (Genesis 27:6), "And he (Esau) went to another land on account of Jacob, his brother” — on account of the bond which devolved upon both of them, and he cast the whole of it upon Jacob (Genesis Rabbah 82:13; cf. Rashi on Genesis 36.7.2).

ולאבתינו [THEY DID EVIL TO US] AND TO OUR FATHERS — From here we may learn that the patriarchs grieve in their graves when punishment comes upon Israel (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 12).

מלאך A MESSENGER (or an angel) — This was Moses; from this we may learn that the prophets are termed “angel”; so, too, it says, (II Chronicles 36:16) “And they grieved the angels (מלאכי) of God” (Leviticus Rabbah 1:1).

ולא נשתה מי באר NEITHER WILL WE DRINK OF THE WATER OF THE SPRINGS — He should have said “water of the cisterns (בורות)”; but this was what Moses meant to say: Although we have manna to eat, and a well of which to drink, (that which followed them through the wilderness), we will not drink of it, but we will buy food and water from you to your advantage. From here we may learn a rule for a guest (one lodging in an inn): although he has in his possession something to eat, he should yet purchase something from the local tradesman in order to benefit his host (Midrash Tanchuma, Chukat 12).