May these words be for the elevation of the souls of all the departed of the people of Israel. With God's help, we approach Parashat Vayishlach.

"Yaakov sent messengers before him to Esav his brother, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom." Yaakov prepares for this encounter. But how does he even know he must prepare? It has already been 34 years! He left Canaan at 63, studied 14 years at the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever, then 20 years with Lavan.

Perhaps after 34 years Esav has forgotten and is no longer angry? We learn that he still holds a grudge from the very names of his land in the verse.

Esav named his land this way precisely so as never to forget that Yaakov took both the blessing (the hairs) and the birthright (the red).

"Yaakov was very afraid and distressed."

Another explanation: Yaakov feared two merits Esav held over him. First, Kibbud Horim — Esav excelled in honoring his parents. Second, Yaakov had married Rachel and Leah, two sisters; although the Torah had not yet been given, it is written: "one shall not take a woman together with her sister to rival her."

Yaakov sends an enormous gift: 200 goats, 20 he-goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 nursing camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, 10 male donkeys.

"Yaakov remained alone." How, when he had just brought his whole family across the ford?

Why return for so little when one owns entire herds? Our Sages answer: "the righteous cherish their money more than their bodies" — not out of greed, but because they sanctify the material world: every possession holds sparks of holiness that must not be abandoned.

"He passed before them and prostrated to the ground seven times until he approached his brother." Why such submission? Because Esav represents the Yetzer HaRa, the Satan; the peak of our battle against him is Yom Kippur.

At the heart of Musaf is the Seder HaAvodah: the High Priest sprinkles "once upward and seven times downward," counting "one, one and one...". Through his seven prostrations Yaakov does not submit to Esav — he subdues Esav, exactly as the High Priest does.

On Yom Kippur the High Priest casts lots: "one goat for Hashem, one goat for Azazel." Add up Yaakov's gift: 200+20+200+20+60+40+10+20+10 = 580.

"For he said: I will appease him (achapra) with the gift going before me, and afterward I will see his face." The word achapra is Kapparah — Yom Kippur; baMincha is the time of Mincha, when the Seder HaAvodah is recited.

After Mincha comes Ne'ilah, then "I will see His face": Hashem receives us favorably. And immediately after Yom Kippur? Sukkot.

Esav departs toward Seir (the goat sent to Azazel), while Yaakov travels to Sukkot. The Zohar teaches these are the Sukkot "in the shadow of faith" (Tzila demehemnuta): the renewal of the covenant, like the seven days of a wedding feast.

The Ramban teaches: "the deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children." Yaakov's entire journey is a message reaching all the way to our generation.