The troubling question on this week’s parsha that has persisted throughout the ages of biblical commentary is: Whatever is Yitzchak thinking when he plans to give the blessings and heritage of Avraham to Eisav? Basically, explanations fall into two categories. One view is that Yitzchak, fooled by Eisav, is quite unaware of his true nature and wanton behavior. Rashi, quoting Midrash, interprets that Eisav “hunted“ his father with his pious speech and cunning conversation. Yitzchak is taken in and believes that Eisav, a man of the world and a physically powerful figure, is better suited to carry on Avraham’s vision than is Yaakov, the more studious and apparently less sophisticated of the pair.
The other
opinion, more popular among the later commentators to the Torah, is that
Yitzchak is aware of the shortcomings of behavior and attitude of his elder
son. His desire to give the blessings to Eisav is due to his wish to redeem and
save him, to enable Eisav to turn his life around and become a worthy heir to
the traditions of his father and grandfather. Yitzchak thinks that even if he
gives the blessings to Eisav, Yaakov will not really suffer any disadvantage in
his life’s work, while Eisav will find his way back to holiness through the
blessings that he will have received.
These two
divergent attitudes towards the wayward child in Jewish families are enacted
daily in Jewish family life. Later Yitzchaks either wilfully allow themselves
to be deluded regarding the behavior and lifestyle of children or, aware of the
problem, they attempt to solve it through a combination of generosity and a
plethora of blessings.
Rivkah, the
mother of both Eisav and Yaakov, is not fooled by Eisav’s apparently soothing
words; nor does she believe that granting him blessings will somehow accomplish
any major shift in his chosen lifestyle. To a great measure she adopts a policy
of triage, saving Yaakov and blessing him while thus abandoning Eisav to his
own preferred wanton ways.
The Torah
does not record for us the “what if” scenario of Eisav receiving the blessings.
Would he have been different in behavior and attitude, belief and mission?
However, from the words of the later prophets of Israel, especially those of
Ovadyah, it appears to be clear that God concurred with Rivkah’s policy,
holding Eisav to be redeemable only in the very long run of history and human
events.
The moral of
this episode is that one must be clear-eyed and realistic about the painful
waywardness and misbehavior of Yaakov’s enemies, be they from within or without
our immediate family and milieu. There are many painful choices that need to be
made within one’s lifetime and especially in family relations, and few pat
answers to varying and difficult situations. Perhaps that is why the Torah does
not delve too deeply into the motives of Yitzchak and Rivkah, being content
merely to reflect the different emotional relationships each had with their two
very different sons. The Torah emphasizes the role that human emotions play in
our lives and does not consign all matters to rational thought and
decision-making.
Shabbat
shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein
