Tehillim 58, or: Jacob's feet—Esau's head

Tehillim 58, or: the feet are Jacob's feet, and the head is Esau's head

Tehillim 58:11 - “Yismach tzaddik ki chazah, pe'amav yirchatz bedam ha-rasha” - (The righteous man rejoices when he sees vengeance; he washes his feet in the blood of the wicked). In the Torah portion of Vayechi, we read how Jacob's sons, led by Joseph, journeyed from Egypt to Machpelah to bury Jacob. Esau, Jacob's twin brother, came to Hebron to prevent the burial. Stopping Jacob's sons, Esau claimed that the place in Me'arat HaMachpelah belonged to him: Jacob had used his share by burying Leah, while he, too, was Abraham's grandson and Isaac's son and therefore had a right to the inheritance. Esau demanded that they show him the document stating that the inheritance belonged to Jacob. The brothers—Jacob's sons—then realized that they would have to produce the “document,” which had been left in Egypt, where they lived, and they sent swift-footed Naphtali to retrieve it. At that moment, Hushim, the son of Dan, who was deaf and did not understand the conversation but sensed that they were being prevented from burying Jacob, seized a club and severed Esau's head. Esau's head rolled into the Cave of Machpelah and came to rest beside Jacob's head. The Midrash says that Jacob opened his eyes, saw this, and smiled. Tehillim 58 also speaks of this: - “The righteous man rejoices when he sees vengeance” - this refers to Jacob, who opened his eyes and saw Esau's head. - “he washes his feet in the blood of the wicked” - Esau's bloodied head at the feet of Jacob, our forefather. (Yeshiva “Yodea Binah,” Rabbi Lior Matatov)