Derasha 1 on Bereishis 32:9

TT #2 · Parashas Vayishlach · Passuk 32:9

Complete Passuk

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אִם־יָב֥וֹא עֵשָׂ֛ו אֶל־הַמַּחֲנֶ֥ה הָאַחַ֖ת וְהִכָּ֑הוּ וְהָיָ֛ה הַמַּחֲנֶ֥ה הַנִּשְׁאָ֖ר לִפְלֵיטָֽה׃

And he said: If Eisav comes to the one camp and strikes it, then the remaining camp shall be for a remnant.

Chabad · Genesis 32:9

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sanhedrin 39b.

Sefaria · Sanhedrin 39b

Core Text of Chazal

כתיב ויהי בהכרית איזבל את נביאי ה' ויקח עובדיהו מאה נביאים ויחביאם חמשים איש במערה... מאי שנא חמשים חמשים? א"ר אלעזר: מיעקב למד, שנאמר והיה המחנה הנשאר לפליטה.

It is written: “And it was when Izevel cut off the prophets of Hashem, that Ovadyahu took a hundred prophets and hid them fifty men in a cave...” Why fifty and fifty? Rabbi Elazar said: He learned from Yaakov, as it is stated “and the remaining camp shall be for a remnant.”

On the daf / in context

The Gemara explains Ovadyahu’s decision to split the prophets into two groups of fifty as modeled on Yaakov’s division of his camp so that a remnant would survive.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — practical lesson drawn from Yaakov’s division of the camp.

What Is Learned

One should not place all one’s people or resources in a single place of danger; division creates the possibility of a surviving remnant.