Parshas Vayishlach 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Dec 6
- 1 min read
חזון עבדיה כה אמר ה' אלקים לאדום ... (עובדיה א-א)
In this week’s Haftorah, Ovadia HaNavi went to great lengths detailing the utter destruction of the Edomite nation. Though we see that many times throughout Tanach, prophecies were directed at foreign nations or their leaders, it still needs to be explained why specific prophets were tasked with specific prophecies. Chazal explain that Ovadia was instructed with the mission to foretell the destruction of Edom because he originally hailed from Edom although he converted to Judaism later on. Even though it seems sensible for Ovadia to predict his former nation’s downfall, it also seems a little insensitive to his feelings. Thus, was that the only reason Ovadia was given that prophecy?
The Medrash Tanchuma tells us that in the future time of Moshiach, Esav will attempt to infiltrate the inner circle of Tzadikim. He will don tzitzis and sit next to his brother, Yaakov, to pass himself off as a righteous member of the Jewish nation, but Hashem will drag him away from there and take him to his rightful place in Gehinnom. Esav understood that he hailed from a place of Kedusha and yet he rejected it completely, which ultimately underscored his true intentions of “returning” to his roots.
Ovadia was tasked with detailing Edom’s downfall because unlike his ancestor Esav, whose intention to return to purity was murky at best, Ovadia had truly wished to be a member of the Jewish Nation for the right reasons which made him the perfect person to expose and admonish his former nation.