As Esau approached, Jacob presented his family and then bowed down to Esau himself. Esau was overcome by Jacob’s gift and display of brotherly sentiments, and kissed him.
The Rectification of Esau
וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ אַרְצָה שֶׁבַע פְּעָמִים עַד גִּשְׁתּוֹ עַד אָחִיו: (בראשית לג:ג)
[Jacob] prostrated himself seven times as he approached his brother. Genesis 33:3

Jacob acknowledged those qualities of Esau’s that were superior to his own, and understood that in order to bring the world to its ultimate destiny, it was necessary to combine Esau’s strengths with his own. At the same time, Jacob understood that he – and not Esau – would have to be the one to oversee this synthesis in order for it to work. Due to his faithful devotion to the study of the Torah, Jacob was the one who possessed the breadth of vision and knowledge of G‑d’s will necessary to harness the raw, untamed power of Esau. Jacob hoped that he could impress Esau enough to submit to his leadership if he would appease him with a lavish gift, acknowledging his superior strengths, and inform him that he had proven himself capable of raising a righteous family, outwitting the crafty Laban, and amassing a sizeable fortune.

When it became clear that Esau was not ready to cooperate, Jacob understood that harnessing Esau’s strengths would be a long and difficult process. This union of Esau’s superior strength and Jacob’s wisdom will be the defining characteristic of the Messianic future, and is therefore the key to ushering it in. Indeed, our undying devotion to the Torah and its commandments ever since Jacob’s time has largely refined the power of Esau, and we are now at the threshold of the final, Messianic Redemption.1