This week’s parasha, Toldot, presents the early years of Ya’akov and Esav – the twin sons of Yitzchak and Rivkah. A watershed moment occurred between them early in their respective lives.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the Torah tells us that Yaakov was cooking a lentil porridge and that Esav was coming inside from the field and that he was tired. Esav requests lentil porridge from Yaakov and Yaakov offers to give him some in exchange for Esav’s firstborn rights. Esav takes an oath and sells the birthright to Yaakov. Yaakov gives porridge to Esav who ate, drank, got up and left and “disgraced” the birthright.
Rashi seems to be bothered by the context of this story. In one of his comments, Rashi cites a Midrash that says that Yaakov and Esav lived similar childhoods, but went their separate ways at age thirteen. In another comment, Rashi cites a Midrash that addresses the reason why Yaakov was preparing lentils. The Midrash says that lentils are customarily eaten by a mourner because lentils are a round food with no opening representing a mourner who has no mouth to speak. The Midrash explains that the lentils were for Yitzchak whose father Avraham had just died. The Midrash elaborates on this story. Esav thought that G-d’s justice had incorrectly been applied to Avraham and he denied the philosophical tenets of reward and punishment and of the resurrection of the dead. This interpretation is supported by Esav’s justification for selling the birthright – “behold I am going to die”.
In a separate comment, Rashi cites a Midrash that teaches that Hashem cut Avraham’s life short by five years so that he would not have to witness Esav become a scoundrel who regularly committed public acts of immorality, murder, robberty, etc.
At first glance, these Midrashim seem to create a circular argument. G-d withdrew five years from Avraham’s life in order that he should not have to witness Esav becoming a scoundrel. Yet, it was Avraham’s death that propelled Esav to deny fundamental philosophical tenets. Apparently, Esav’s denial of the fundamentals preceded his total corruption. In other words, Avraham’s death precipitated Esav’s philosophical corruption which led to his downfall which is why Hashem withdrew five years from Avraham’s life. Why didn’t Hashem leave Avraham with the five years? Esav would never have had the philosophical question that led to his downfall and Avraham would never have had to witness Esav’s corruption!
I believe that the answer to this question is that Esav’s philosophical question did not cause his corruption. In his sefer, Chovot HaLevavot, Rabbenu Bachya ibn Pakuda argues that our desires can influence and corrupt our thinking process. He argues that even a basic understanding like appreciation for G-d’s kindnesses can be influenced by our base desires or by our situation. Based on this idea, I suggest that Esav’s reaction to Avraham’s death was not a true philosophical analysis. Rather, his question was an excuse – a justification – for him to live a completely pleasure-seeking existence. Before this incident with the lentils, Esav was well on his way to corruption. He has diverged from the life of Yaakov. He put his energies completely into the physical world – he was a hunter and a man of the field. His pursuit of the physical life to the exclusion of the world of ideas and service of Hashem would inevitably lead to his corruption. Hence, Avraham’s death did not cause Esav’s corruption. Esav used Avraham’s death as a tool – as an excuse – for immoral behavior. Even if Avraham had not died at this time, Esav was already on the path of corruption. The Torah seems to confirm that there was a change in Esav exactly at this instant in his life. Al ken kara shemo Edom – therefore he (Esav) is called Edom. At this moment, Esav became a corrupt individual with a justification for his behavior.
A well-known story illustrates this idea. There was a student of the Volozin Yeshiva who abandoned the Torah. Instead, he devoted himself to the study of philosophy and joined the haskala movement. The student had occasion to visit his former yeshiva. There, he met with Rav Chaim Soloveitchik zt”l who was serving as Rosh HaYeshiva. Rav Chaim asked the young man to explain his reasons for abandoning the life of Torah and pursuing worthless endeavors. The young man was shocked by Rav Chaim's confrontational tone. After recovering, the young man responded. He explained that he was troubled by various doubts and questions regarding the Torah. He could not find answers for his questions. So, he abandoned the Torah. Rav Chaim told the young man that he was willing to answer every one of his questions. However, the young man must first agree to answer a single question. Rav Chaim's asked, "When did these various questions occur to you? Was it before you experienced the taste of sin or afterwards?" The young man was embarrassed. He responded that only after committing a serious sin had he begun to be bothered by questions. Rav Chaim responded, "If that is the case, these are not questions. Rather, they are answers you sought to excuse your evil actions." Rav Chaim continued, "I am sure that if you merit to achieve old age, your desires and yetzer harah will diminish. Then you will realize that you do not really have any questions. So, why not repent now?" (see Thoughts on the Parasha, Rabbi Bernie Fox)
This story underscores the perspective of the Midrash with regard to Esav – his sinful behavior led to a corrupt philosophy. Esav may be unique in how drastically and how quickly he changed. However, the story of Esav is an exemplar for how attentive we all must be to performing mitzvot and attuned to how our actions influence our ideas – for the positive and the negative.
Shabbat Shalom.
Rashi seems to be bothered by the context of this story. In one of his comments, Rashi cites a Midrash that says that Yaakov and Esav lived similar childhoods, but went their separate ways at age thirteen. In another comment, Rashi cites a Midrash that addresses the reason why Yaakov was preparing lentils. The Midrash says that lentils are customarily eaten by a mourner because lentils are a round food with no opening representing a mourner who has no mouth to speak. The Midrash explains that the lentils were for Yitzchak whose father Avraham had just died. The Midrash elaborates on this story. Esav thought that G-d’s justice had incorrectly been applied to Avraham and he denied the philosophical tenets of reward and punishment and of the resurrection of the dead. This interpretation is supported by Esav’s justification for selling the birthright – “behold I am going to die”.
In a separate comment, Rashi cites a Midrash that teaches that Hashem cut Avraham’s life short by five years so that he would not have to witness Esav become a scoundrel who regularly committed public acts of immorality, murder, robberty, etc.
At first glance, these Midrashim seem to create a circular argument. G-d withdrew five years from Avraham’s life in order that he should not have to witness Esav becoming a scoundrel. Yet, it was Avraham’s death that propelled Esav to deny fundamental philosophical tenets. Apparently, Esav’s denial of the fundamentals preceded his total corruption. In other words, Avraham’s death precipitated Esav’s philosophical corruption which led to his downfall which is why Hashem withdrew five years from Avraham’s life. Why didn’t Hashem leave Avraham with the five years? Esav would never have had the philosophical question that led to his downfall and Avraham would never have had to witness Esav’s corruption!
I believe that the answer to this question is that Esav’s philosophical question did not cause his corruption. In his sefer, Chovot HaLevavot, Rabbenu Bachya ibn Pakuda argues that our desires can influence and corrupt our thinking process. He argues that even a basic understanding like appreciation for G-d’s kindnesses can be influenced by our base desires or by our situation. Based on this idea, I suggest that Esav’s reaction to Avraham’s death was not a true philosophical analysis. Rather, his question was an excuse – a justification – for him to live a completely pleasure-seeking existence. Before this incident with the lentils, Esav was well on his way to corruption. He has diverged from the life of Yaakov. He put his energies completely into the physical world – he was a hunter and a man of the field. His pursuit of the physical life to the exclusion of the world of ideas and service of Hashem would inevitably lead to his corruption. Hence, Avraham’s death did not cause Esav’s corruption. Esav used Avraham’s death as a tool – as an excuse – for immoral behavior. Even if Avraham had not died at this time, Esav was already on the path of corruption. The Torah seems to confirm that there was a change in Esav exactly at this instant in his life. Al ken kara shemo Edom – therefore he (Esav) is called Edom. At this moment, Esav became a corrupt individual with a justification for his behavior.
A well-known story illustrates this idea. There was a student of the Volozin Yeshiva who abandoned the Torah. Instead, he devoted himself to the study of philosophy and joined the haskala movement. The student had occasion to visit his former yeshiva. There, he met with Rav Chaim Soloveitchik zt”l who was serving as Rosh HaYeshiva. Rav Chaim asked the young man to explain his reasons for abandoning the life of Torah and pursuing worthless endeavors. The young man was shocked by Rav Chaim's confrontational tone. After recovering, the young man responded. He explained that he was troubled by various doubts and questions regarding the Torah. He could not find answers for his questions. So, he abandoned the Torah. Rav Chaim told the young man that he was willing to answer every one of his questions. However, the young man must first agree to answer a single question. Rav Chaim's asked, "When did these various questions occur to you? Was it before you experienced the taste of sin or afterwards?" The young man was embarrassed. He responded that only after committing a serious sin had he begun to be bothered by questions. Rav Chaim responded, "If that is the case, these are not questions. Rather, they are answers you sought to excuse your evil actions." Rav Chaim continued, "I am sure that if you merit to achieve old age, your desires and yetzer harah will diminish. Then you will realize that you do not really have any questions. So, why not repent now?" (see Thoughts on the Parasha, Rabbi Bernie Fox)
This story underscores the perspective of the Midrash with regard to Esav – his sinful behavior led to a corrupt philosophy. Esav may be unique in how drastically and how quickly he changed. However, the story of Esav is an exemplar for how attentive we all must be to performing mitzvot and attuned to how our actions influence our ideas – for the positive and the negative.
Shabbat Shalom.
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