Parshas Vayishlach
1. On the verse "ואת בשמת בת ישמעאל אחות נביות" ("and Bosmas, daughter of Yishmael, sister of Nevayos"),1 Rashi says — citing the words "בשמת בת ישמעאל" ("Bosmas, daughter of Yishmael") — "ולהלן קורא לה מחלת" ("and further on it calls her Machalas").2 That is to say, Rashi asks: Why does the verse in Parshas Toldos call her Machalas, while in our parsha it calls her Bosmas? And he answers according to an Aggadah found in the Midrash on Sefer Shmuel (as will be explained below in section 2).
On the verse just before this,3 where it is told that Esav married Adah, daughter of Eilon the Chiti, and Oholivamah, daughter of Anah, daughter of Tzivon the Chivi, Rashi says: "עדה בת אילון — היא בשמת בת אילון" ("Adah, daughter of Eilon — she is Bosmas, daughter of Eilon") (meaning that the "Adah" in our parsha and the "Bosmas" mentioned in Parshas Toldos4 are one and the same), "ונקראת בשמת על שם שהיא מקטרת בשמים לעבודה זרה" ("and she was called Bosmas because she burned spices [incense] to idols"); "אהליבמה — היא יהודית" ("Oholivamah — she is Yehudis") (who is mentioned in Parshas Toldos4), "והוא כינה שמה יהודית לומר שהיא כופרת בעבודה זרה כדי להטעות את אביו" ("and he gave her the name Yehudis, to convey that she denied idolatry, in order to mislead his father").
This needs to be understood:
a) Why does Rashi begin on our verse immediately with a question, "and further on it calls her Machalas" — unlike the previous verse, where he first explains that "Adah is Bosmas, etc."5 and only afterward gives the reason why here she is "called Bosmas"? In clearer words: What makes it so obvious in our verse that Bosmas is Machalas, so that Rashi only raises the question of why she is called Machalas, without finding it necessary to say that she is Machalas (as he does with "Adah is Bosmas"6)?
b) Why does Rashi need to resort to an Aggadah in order to answer the change of name from Bosmas to Machalas? Seemingly, this could have been explained simply, just as in the previous verse: her true name was Machalas, and the reason her name is changed to Bosmas in our verse is "because she burned spices to idols."7
[The source text breaks off here. The rest of this Sicha, including section 2 and the closing line, is not in the source for this page.]
Notes
1) Our parsha, 36:3.
2) 28:9.
3) 36:2.
4) 26:34.
5) The reason Rashi needed to explain that "Oholivamah is Yehudis" may be this: on the plain level (were it not for Rashi's comment) there is no connection between them at all. On the contrary, of Oholivamah it is written that she is the daughter of Anah, daughter of Tzivon the Chivi, and of Yehudis, that she is the daughter of Be'eri the Chiti. But regarding Adah and Bosmas, since both are described as "daughter of Eilon the Chiti," it is seemingly evident (even without Rashi's comment) that Adah is Bosmas, just as it is plain that Bosmas (daughter of Yishmael) is Machalas. Note also the Rashbam here (and see also Ibn Ezra on Toldos 26:34 and 27:46, and on our parsha 36:1), who explains that Adah and Bosmas are the Bosmas and Machalas of Parshas Toldos, which is not so regarding Oholivamah and Yehudis.
6) One cannot say that Rashi needed to explain "she is Bosmas, daughter of Eilon" because, were it not for his explanation, one could have said that there were two people named Eilon, whereas regarding Bosmas and Machalas, since both are described as "daughter of Yishmael" (and also) "sister of Nevayos," it stands to reason that Bosmas is Machalas. For (a) according to this, Rashi would have needed to cite "sister of Nevayos" as well, or at least to hint at it with "etc." (b) Even if we say that Yishmael had two daughters, and they were sisters of Nevayos, it is not compelling that Bosmas is Machalas.
7) As the Ramban asks here, on verse 3.
Key Lesson
This Sicha shows how closely Rashi's words must be read: even the order of his comments, and which points he treats as needing no explanation, calls for careful thought. A question that seems minor, such as why he turns to an Aggadah when a simple explanation seems available, opens the way to a deeper understanding of the plain meaning of the Torah.