He Was Not Entitled - Toldot

Dedicated to the memory of the holy martyr Rabbi Zvi Kogan, may Hashem avenge his blood. 

Esav was an unsavory character in many ways.  In contrast to his holy brother Yaakov, he was a murderer, a rapist, and a lot more.  A word that came to my mind recently to describe him in modern terms is “entitled.”  He was the epitome of entitlement.  

There are many Midrashic and mystical explanations for why the whole story with the blessings happened as it did, why Yitzchak favored Esav and why Yaakov had to trick his father to “steal” the blessings from his brother, but let’s look at the narrative on a simple level.  

Yitzchak was planning to give the greatest blessings ever bestowed on anyone to his firstborn son, in order for him to use those blessings to improve the world.  Esav had tricked his father into believing that he at least had some righteous tendencies or potential.  He showed tremendous respect and deference to his father.  As Rashi tells us, he asked him questions of Jewish law intended to show that he was meticulous in their observance.  Like for example how do you tithe straw and salt?  In fact Esau didn’t care about tithing at all. 

Yaakov rightfully followed his mother’s prophetic instructions and impersonated Esav, because Esav did not deserve the blessings and would have used the spiritual energy to bring more evil into the world. Yaakov, on the other hand, used Isaac’s blessings - “the dew of the heavens, the fat of the earth, and an abundance of grain and wine” - to elevate and refine the world. Nevertheless Esav hated Yaakov because he felt that he should have received the blessings. 

This brings to mind a Talmudic story (Sotah 22b). King Yanai, the Talmud tells us, gave his wife advice before he died. Yannai was a Hasmonean king who turned against the Sages and those faithful to Torah, known as the Perushim (Pharisees) and brutally tried to repress them. He adopted the path of the Tzedukim (Saducees) who came up with their own version of what they thought Judaism should be. 

What Yannai told his wife was: Don’t be afraid of the Perushim or those who are not Perushim (the Tzedukim).  Be afraid of the hypocrites who appear as Perushim. They act like Zimri and expect to be rewarded like Pinchas. (Zimri was the head of the tribe of Shimon who publicly brought a Midianite woman to his tent, precipitating a major plague that killed 24,000 Jews. Pinchas’s heroic actions stopped the plague and brought atonement, earning him great rewards.)

Esav had sold his birthright for a bowl of lentils, Rashi explains, because he did not want the responsibility of the priesthood (that was given to firstborns at that time) and the consequences of not observing it. Yet expected to get the blessings despite his wicked ways. He hated Yaakov for rightfully taking that which was his. 

This is the story of our people. We work hard to bring holiness to the world, to spread goodness and morality, and to live in peace with our neighbors. Yet our enemies claim our land and our blessings and hate us for what Hasherm gives us. A Rabbi whose entire life was dedicated to Hashem and humanity was brutally murdered just because of his existence. 

But we don’t despair. We are still here after all these millennia and will continue to be. This is not an endless struggle. The world is getting closer to the point at which our work will be complete and Moshiach will come. Then, with the resurrection, we will all be reunited with Rabbi Kogan and all the holy martyrs who gave their lives for Judaism.