Circling Har Seir for many days - what is the deeper meaning?

Question

In Parshas Devarim (Devarim 2:1-3), the Torah says that B'nei Yisroel encircled Mount Seir many times, and that G-d eventually said "You have compassed this mountain long enough".

Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Sea of Suf, as the Lord spoke to me: and we went about mount Se῾ir many days.

And the L-rd spoke to me, saying,

You have compassed this mountain long enough: turn northwards.

Why would it be necessary to encircle Har Seir, which is in Edom? The posuk later on instructs the people to turn north, e.g. towards Yerushalayim.

What was the deeper reason why B'nei Yisroel would need to encircle Har Seir?

In several places in Tanach, for example in Divrei HaYamim 1, 14:14, we read that G-d said:

“Do not go up after them, but circle around them and confront them at the baca trees."

So maybe circling around Har Seir was in order to battle the impurity, e.g. Esav, e.g. Edom?

Are there any meforshim or other sources that explain specifically why they needed to encircle Har Seir?

Answer 1

The question can probably be answered by similarity with another reference to har Seir. In parashas Vayishlach Yaakov parts ways with Eisav indicating that he will go in the direction of har Seir (Bereshis 33:13-16). Yaakov's excuse: the children are frail (הַיְלָדִ֣ים רַכִּ֔ים) and that the flocks and herds, which are nursing, are a care to me; if they are driven hard a single day, all the flocks will die. Maybe, Moshe hints to the fact that after the sin of the spies, Hashem announced the decree Bamidbar 14:31-32: Your children who, you said, would be carried off (וְטַ֨פְּכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם לָבַ֣ז יִהְיֶ֑ה) — these will I allow to enter; they shall know the land that you have rejected. But your carcasses shall drop in this wilderness. The generation of the desert lost its Olam haBa (Sanhedrin 10:3). In other words they could throw away their yoke and die. They did not. They still made sacrifices to raise a new generation which merited Eretz Israel to show their connection to Hashem and our forefathers. Only in the future we have prophesy Ovadia 1:21 with regards to judgement/arrival to har Eisav.

There are other ideas that are mentioned in the sources. Netziv mentions it is a hint (remez) to us that in the end the exile migrations will take most of the time in the exile of Edom. And the nearby (verses 3-4) explain this clue more clearly, that in the Galut Edom we should avoid direct confrontation with Eisav (Devarim Rabba 1:19)

Because there are lots of midrashim in Devarim Rabba on verses 2:3-4, many commentaries discuss them directly and avoid looking at Devarim 2:1.

Kli Yakar summarizes some of the midrashim: Many say that this verse (Devarim 2:3)...has a hint for that time and for the future. This idea of “going around” refers to the many years which the Jewish People will be wandering (in exile). As long as Israel is in exile they are told, “turn to the Tzafon” (ending of the verse 2:3). The rabbis interpreted this to mean, “If the time of (the nation of) Esau comes, hide yourselves. (ed.- The root of the word for North, Tzafon, can also mean “to hide”). This idea of hiding means that if a Jewish person in exile finds some small amount of success he should hide it from (the people of) Esau, because there is no nation which is more jealous of Israel than Esau, because in their opinion everything (the Israel has) is stolen from Esau because Jacob our forefather took the blessings from Esau.