Toldos

פרשת תולדות

This week’s Parsha tells us how Yitzchak begot two sons, Yaakov and Eisav. The Torah informs us that Yitzchak was more partial to Eisav than he was to Yaakov, and how at the end of his life, it was specifically Eisav who Yitzchak sought to bless. The commentaries on the Torah find this conduct of Yitzchak quite difficult. They struggle to understand exactly what it was in Eisav’s behavior which elicited such admiration in Yitzchak’s eyes, especially considering the fact that he was guilty of virtually every major crime in the Torah. Furthermore, his very essence was evil. The Torah says that he was born with a very ruddy complexion, and the Midrash explains that this was a sign that he was born to be a murderer. Even in the womb, Rivka was informed that one of her sons was attempting to break out so that he could worship idols. Yitzchak, who was a great Torah scholar, could not have been blind to all these indications. How then can we justify his vindication, and even his love for Eisav?

R’ Gedalya Sher attempts to deal with this difficulty by quoting the Rashi at the beginning of this week’s Parsha. The verse says, “And these were the progeny of Yitzchak”. Rashi comments that “these” are referring to Yaakov and Eisav. R’ Gedalya asks, “What is Rashi adding”? Do I not know who the children of Yitzchak were? R’ Gedalya explains that the verse is teaching us that both sons had the potential to follow in their father’s footsteps when they were born. Yitzchak was not blind to Eisav’s propensity toward evil, he just believed that Eisav could serve Hashem as good as Yaakov by conquering his tremendous passions toward iniquity. Yitzchak believed Yaakov to be a naturally drawn toward the positive forces, and a person whose sole desire all day was to do good. And while this trait certainly has merit, Yitzchak believed Eisav to have great potential as well by mastering his infatuations and becoming a great leader. The verse says that Yitzchak loved Eisav because he was cunning with his mouth. Rashi explains that Eisav would trick Yaakov by asking him all sorts of overly religious questions, like how to tithe salt. R’ Gedalya explains that Yitzchak was certainly not oblivious to Eisav’s tendency toward iniquity, he just believed that Eisav had a big heart, and was a very passionate person, sometimes drawn toward the evil, and sometimes toward the good. And he believed that if Eisav could manage to master those passions, and redirect them toward the good, he would become a genuine servant of Hashem.

With this explanation, we can also understand why Yitzchak wanted to bless Eisav, and not Yaakov. Yitzchak excelled in the trait of strict judgment. According to the letter of the law, Eisav had to receive the blessings of the first born. Furthermore, a blessing helps a person to achieve their goals if they are struggling. Yitzchak reasoned that Yaakov, although spiritually far superior to Eisav, was not in dire need of the blessings to succeed. Eisav on the other hand was on the brink of disaster, and was therefore in greater need of the blessings. For these two reasons, Yitzchak was more partial to giving Eisav the blessings than Yaakov.

However, Rivka and Yaakov both saw through Eisav’s charade, and they saw him for what he was – a wicked cretin whose only concern was filling all of his earthly desires no matter what the cost. And even the actions which he did to seem righteous were nothing more then a cunning scheme to gain favor in his father’s eyes, much like a pig, who chazal say puts forth his hooves as if to say, “Look at me, I am Kosher”, when in fact his innards testify about him that by not chewing his cud, he is an impure animal. When Yaakov took the Berachos, he also accepted upon himself the responsibility of Eisav as well. To not only do the right thing at all times, but to stay away from evil as well. This was why when Yitzchak suspected Yaakov of posing as Eisav, he decided to give the blessings to him anyway. The verse says “וירח את ריח בגדיו” – And he smelled his garments. The Midrash comments that the word “garments” is similar to the word “to rebel”. Meaning Yitzchak foresaw through prophecy that in future generations, the Jewish people would rebel against God, and he therefore knew that whoever was standing in front of him was requiring the blessings in order to be successful in conquering their passions. By Yaakov accepting Eisav’s portion, he essentially internalized Eisav’s implicit pull toward the physical, and he accepted upon himself the arduous task of beating that pull.

In today’s day, I think it is safe to say that most of us are made up of a mixture of good and lofty character traits, and lowly and physical desires. This constant struggle exists within the majority of the Jewish people. Every day in Shema we accept upon ourselves to serve God with all of our hearts. The Gemorah in Berachos, (54) explains this strange double language of “hearts” by saying that just as we serve God with our Yetzer Tov, we must also serve Him with our Yetzer Hara. No quality is inherently good, and no quality is all bad. We find that Shaul was punished for being too modest, and not being assertive enough. Each and every trait that we are born with is a tool to serve the Creator, and it is up to us to define how that tool can best be utilized. With this outlook, one will find himself a lot more accepting of his personal makeup. It is easy to look around and thing that each person we know is blessed with greater gifts then we are, but based on what we have said, this is not true at all. Each and every challenge that we have been given is nothing more and nothing less then an opportunity to grow.

The verse in Bereishis says in reference to the creation of man, “And God saw that it was very good”. The Midrash comments that the extra “very” is referring to God’s invention of the evil inclination. Based on what we have said, this odd Midrash makes perfect sense. The Yetzer Hara is a strong temptation, but if it is mastered, it is a prospect for greatness. This opportunity is uniquely human, and it in many ways, our defining quality.

I would just like to conclude with the inspiring words of R’ Aharon Kotler. R’ Ahron used to say that often we find a person has a natural propensity toward negative traits. For example, many people are drawn toward the attribute of chasing wealth. These people feel an unparalleled love for money. Generally, these people become very stingy, and find it difficult to part with their money. However, we find by Yaakov that this was not the case. Yaakov was unfortunately not blessed with wealth like his father and his grandfather, and therefore had to work very hard for every penny he earned. We find that Yaakov was so pressed for money, that when he forgot a few small jars in the place where he had made camp, he felt compelled to go back for them. Yet when Eisav’s son, Eliphaz was chasing him, Yaakov had no problem giving up all of his earthly possessions in order to save himself, because he knew that this is what God wanted from him. R’ Aharon would conclude from here that although we all have different attributes, some of them positive, and some not so positive, we can all use what we have been given so serve our creator, and none of our traits were given to us by mistake.

May we all merit to serve Hashem with whatever we have been given!