Toldos

פרשת תולדות

In this week’s parsha, we are introduced to Yaakov and Esav and subsequently learn about the different paths they chose in life, making decisions that would ultimately affect all of world history. As we know, Yaakov chose righteousness and continued to carry on the legacy of Avraham and Yitzhak, while Esav chose the path of immorality, murdering, stealing, and having illicit sexual relations. The question is how could someone who grew up in the house of Yitzhak and Rivka come to commit such heinous crimes? Esav’s grandfather was Avraham Avinu! It is understandable that a child may not be able to reach the same spiritual level of his parents, but how is it possible that Esav came to do the exact opposite of everything that his family stood for? Was he unaware of the holiness that surrounded him? How could the piety of Avraham, Yitzhak, Rivka, and Yaakov not affect him?

Rav Aharon Kotler says that Esav was in fact a very enlightened individual and was aware of his family’s unique mission in the world as an emblem of holiness. We see that Esav honored Yitzhak and he also was incredibly upset when he lost his father’s blessings to Yaakov. What drove Esav to commit such atrocities was not because he lacked knowledge or understanding of right and wrong. He just let one thing overpower everything that he knew to be true; his lusts. Esav had such a powerful drive for self-gratification that he ultimately pursued a lifestyle that would accommodate his hedonistic desires. In other words, Esav’s passions shut down his own intellect, and despite the enormous gravity of his transgressions, he was able to continue his evil ways until the day he died, never repenting. His desires overpowering him relentlessly, Esav ultimately came to believe that to strive for self-control was a lost cause and threw off the yoke of his own personal responsibility. In truth, if we take a critical look at ourselves we will realize that we all have a little Esav in us that constantly tries to break free and ruin our lives. Has v’Shalom, a person can even fall into the trap of sin and somehow fool himself into tolerating such behavior even when aware of the truth. We should all be aware that even though we may be learning and growing, if we don’t constantly work to fight against our desires, we can come to make peace with them, Has v’Shalom. May we all strive to make sure that we don’t veer off the path of righteousness as Esav did.

Rav Chaim Frielander adds that a person can even come to justify pursuing his base desires as a result of the gratification he receives when fulfilling them. Before Chava ate from the Aitz HaDaas, the verse describes that the tree was a “desire for the eyes.” Rav Frielander asserts that when a person is presented with pleasure, an act that is objectively evil can actually appear to be good in one’s eyes. Because of Chava’s desire for the fruit, the tree itself became “good for eating”, even though the act of eating from the tree was not actually good in of itself. Similarly, we see by Esav that his incredible passions even led him to scorn his own birthright. According to the Or HaChaim a bowl of lentils was really more important to Esav than his own spiritual inheritance. After being immersed in the physical, the spiritual greatness that the birthright symbolized was meaningless for Esav. In our own times we see this principle to be true all over the world. The primary attack of secularism against the Torah is the “injustice” of morality impinging on one’s own personal happiness. According to the beliefs of secular society, man has the right and should exercise his right to choose however he sees fit, regardless of whether it actually meets the standards of decent conduct or not. As long as one’s bad behavior does not impede on his own conscience, it is permitted. We must be aware that we also justify our behavior at times by choosing what is pleasant rather than what is true. To discern if we are living up to what the Torah wants from us as opposed to what we want for ourselves is something a Jew needs to do every day of his life.

So how can we overcome the blindness of our passions? Rav Aryeh Finkel says that we can learn the answer to this question from Yaakov and Esav themselves. When we are first introduced to Esav, he is described as “a man of the field.” However, Yaakov was called “one who sat in tents.” In other words, while Esav pursued outdoor activities, Yaakov sat and learned Torah. Rav Finkel asserts that is was precisely Yaakov’s choice to sit in the Beis Midrash which gave him the strength to become the great man that he became. The gemara says in Kiddush 30b that if the yetzer hara confronts a person, he should “drag it” to the Beis Midrash. The Rambam, at the end of the Issurei Bia chapter 22, explains that when one expands his mind to think Torah thoughts, he will ultimately be saved from his lusts, for the thought to actualize such passions only comes from “a heart vacant of wisdom.” Even if a person struggles to control his desires, the more and more he can immerse himself in Torah, the better off he will be. Torah reintroduces sanity to a person and can ultimately lead him to abandon all kinds of sinful behavior. The more a person engages in Torah, the closer he is to purifying himself completely and clinging to Hashem.

There is a story told of a certain bucher who learned in the great yeshiva of Ponovitch many years ago who struggled greatly with his taavas. Various rabbis tried to help the young man, but to no avail. Evidently, the bucher had developed an extreme addiction and many of the rabbis involved in the situation thought that he needed professional help. However, when the question was brought before Rav Shach, he suggested a very simple solution to the problem. “Let him learn one kasha in Tosfos,” said Rav Shach, “that will set him straight.” However, those in Rav Shach’s presence, pressed him. This wasn’t a joke. The boy had developed a severe addiction. “Okay,” agreed Rav Shach, “let him delve into the depths of Rebbi Akiva Eiger’s chiddushim.” Rav Shach was definitive. If a person truly invests himself to learn the Torah in depth with all of his energy, it doesn’t matter how shackled he may be to his base desires. Surely if one puts himself entirely into Torah, its great light will eventually set him free.

May we all be zoche to break away from our taavas and serve Hashem!!!