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By Tom Levin (Carly Levin's Bat Mitzvah November 10, 2008)
Shabbat Shalom
I have the pleasure of delivering today’s D’Var Torah on the occasion of my daughter, Carly’s, Bat Mtizvah. While I’m used to giving lectures using power point slides, this is unchartered territory for me. Understanding the meaning of today’s Torah portion in order to relate it to something meaningful is not an easy task and I have a new appreciation for the Rabbi who must do this every week.
Nevertheless, in preparation for Carly’s Bat Mitzvah, my wife decided it would be nice for me to give it a try. Thank you Heather.
This morning’s Torah reading of Toledot, generations, comes from the book of Genesis. I can remember learning about the events described today when I was a kid growing up in St Louis attending Hebrew and sunday school. To be honest, like most of the kids in my class at the time, the story probably went in one ear and out the other. It was not until I started to prepare today’s D’Var Torah that the message started to strike a few new chords with me. Let me preface my comments by saying that today’s parsha is a bit troubling even in modern times. It raises several ethical questions and to some extent, reads like a day time soap opera. But, I think there’s also a moral to be found.
In short, Toledot tells the story of Abraham’s son Isaac, his wife Rebecca,, and their twin sons Esau and Jacob,. At first glance, it reads like an episode of Desperate Housewives or, for those of you old enough to remember, the TV show Dallas. At it’s core, Toledot tells the story of sibling rivalry and the chicanery used by Rebecca and Jacob to deceive Esau and Isaac and get what they want.
As the story is told, Isaac marries Rebecca late in life and then pleads with g-d to grant them children since Rebecca is apparently not capable of having children without divine intervention. G-d grants this wish and when Isaac is 60 years old, Rebecca gave birth first to Esau and then to Jacob who followed Esau grabbing his older brother’s heel. During what turned out to be an uncomfortable pregnancy, Rebecca was told by g-d that the elder shall serve the younger. In essence, Esau will ultimately serve Jacob. One nation shall serve another. This is apparently a secret between g-d and Rebecca as Isaac was apparently out of the loop when this conversation took place. Later, Isaac will appear victimized as Rebecca does what she thinks is necessary to ensure that g-d’s prophecy comes true.
Esau is depicted as physically dominant, a man of the land if you will who hunts and gathers food. Jacob sounds like he may have been a book worm. He seems delicate and is a more scholarly individual who relies on his acumen and judgement to get him through life. As they grow up, Esau becomes his father’s favored son while Rebecca grows biased towards Jacob. This creates the ground work for major sibling rivalry . which seems to be a recurring theme in ancient tradition. For example, we have Isaac and Ishmael, Cane and Abel, and later, Joseph and his brothers.
At stake in this rivalry is Isaac’s final blessing which is to be bestowed on his first born who’s job it will be to perpetuate Isaac’s legacy and continue g-ds covenant to Abraham.
As we all know, Esau was first born but it is Jacob who becomes our revered ancestor. How does this happen? One explanation is through deceit and mis-truths.
Because he was first out of the womb, it is Esau’s birthright that he receive the blessing from his father. The conflict between the siblings intensifies when Jacob cunningly manipulates a hungry Esau who is apparently famished after a long day of hunting . Esau sells Jacob his birthright in exchange for food. At the time, Esau doesnt seem to care.
Later, when Isaac is dying and ready to pass on his blessing, Rebecca schemes against her husband to get him to bestow the first-born’s blessing on Jacob.
How do we reconcile the conduct of these historical figures? Despite acts of deception, Jacob and Rebecca are positive figures in our history. Clearly there must many interpretations and justifications for the motives behind these actions. I’m not certain what they all are but fortunately, the debate will not end here with me today.
One of the questions at hand today is why do these major biblical characters act the way they do? Could this be the origin of the dysfunctional family as we now know it or is it an example of a friendly or not so friendly competition between two brothers vying for the affection and blessing of their father? The parsha relates that Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob yet it is Jacob who ultimately succeeds at getting his father’s blessing and goes on to continue our ancestral line while Esau’s fate is much less desirable.
Throughout the parsha, Jacob is portrayed as the more worthy son despite the fact that he was second born. Given the conversation that took place earlier between g-d and Rebecca, she takes the responsibility onto herself to ensure that Abraham’s covenant is passed on to the ‘more deserving’ son. I suppose that as she sees it, g-d gave her a mission and left it up to her to decide how it to do it. In the end, Rebecca resorts to deceitful activities to do what she believes is g-d’s will and must be done.
I can’t help wondering if this parsha is telling us that the end justifies the means if the intent is noble and meaningful. How many of us would have gone to the lengths Jacob and Rebecca did to manipulate Esau and Isaac? One could argue that our matriarch Rebecca did what was required in order to fulfill g-d’s vision. And, let’s face it, had Jacob not wrestled Esau’s birthright from him, who knows what would have happened to the Jewish people. There’s a pretty good chance that we would not be sitting here today. The word might have looked completely different.
The story of Esau and Jacob is a milestone event occurring very early
on in our collective history. In many ways, it is a sentinel event. While,
Toledot seems to suggest the bible is full of lies and deceit, perhaps
its purpose is spark within us the courage and foresight to take a stand
and do the right thing.
Life is full of choices. Some are easy but some are very difficult. No
one is going to get every decision right. There will be times when we’ll
make unpopular decisions because we know in our heart that it is the
right thing to do. Sometimes, we’ll make compromises for the greater
good of the community or our family.
Going forward, our challenge is to ensure the peace, tranquility, happiness,
and success of humankind. That seems like an unobtainable goal when we
stop to think of all the unrest, hatred, bigotry, and inequality around
the globe today, but, it shouldn’t stop us from trying. No one ever said
life is easy. Doing the right thing is important. How we decide what
the right thing is is another challenge unto itself. We’re guided by
613 commandments. In the end though, the legacy we leave behind will
be defined by the appropriateness of our actions and our commitment to
our ideas, family, and community. Life is filled with opportunities,
choices and sometimes even regrets. Our job as we live our lives is to
find the balance among them.
Shabbat Shalom