In Parshat VaYishlach, Yaakov and Esav reunite for the first time in several years. The last time they saw each other was when Yaakov tricked Yitzchak into giving him the Bechorah. As one can imagine, Yakkov is nervous for this encounter and asks Hashem for protection from his brother, Esav.
(יב:בל) “עשו מיד אחי מיד נא הציליני”
“Rescue me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Eisav.” (32:12)
There is something unusual, however, in this Pasuk. The Pasuk states that Yaakov is asking both protection from his brother and protection from Esav. Rather than just saying rescue me from my brother or rescue me from Esav. Esav IS Yaakov’s brother! So why is there a need for both?
Rashi approaches this question by saying that Esav did not act as though he was Yaakov’s brother. Rather, he conducted himself in a wicked manner and therefore, the pasuk included both terms.
We know that there are no extraneous words in the Torah, so what is the meaning of this? Could they possibly be referring to two different people/concepts? According to Rashi, the Torah includes both terms because Esav was evil but they were still brothers despite Esav’s wickedness, so what could this mean? Why else would the Chumash include both from my brother and from Esav?
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