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November 16, 2001/Kislev 1, 5762, Vol. 54, No. 10
Verses relate biblical dysfunctional family
Torah Study
RABBI NEIL GILLMAN
Tol'dot/Genesis 25:19-28:9
The opening verse of this portion tells us that it will deal with "the story of Isaac." It is a story of contrasts: between Isaac's success in accumulating great wealth on one hand, and the disintegration of his family life on the other.
The drama lies in that latter part of the story, in the tensions that come to divide husband and wife, parents and sons, and the two sons from each other. The contrast between these two dimensions of Isaac's story is familiar. We all know highly successful men whose family life is dysfunctional.
The tension between the two sons begins in the womb, continues in the birthright scene, and climaxes in the story of the blessing which Rebecca conspires to win for Jacob, apparently countermanding her husband's wishes and exacerbating the enmity between the two sons.
The fraternal enmity is foretold in Rebecca's womb. God confirms that the two struggling sons will be the progenitors of two peoples, one will be mightier than the other, and the older will serve the younger. The two grow up with contrasting identities: one is an outdoorsman, the other, a "mild" man who stays close to home.
Do the parents try to reconcile their two sons? No, they only sharpen the conflict.
Now look at the birthright scene. Jacob, comfortably at home in the kitchen, cooks a lentil stew. Esau, arriving from the outdoors, is famished: "Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down."
Jacob demands the birthright for the food. Esau is impatient: "I am at the point of death, so of what use is my birthright to me?" (Genesis 25:32)
Jacob gives his brother stew - whereupon we have one of the more striking literary formulations in the Bible, in the Hebrew, five sharp verbs: "He (Esau) ate and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the birthright." (Genesis 25:34)
Through this scene, we learn a great deal about Jacob. He is not at all passive, not at all "mild." The very opposite. He too knows what he wants and goes about getting it, but he is more wily than his brother. He is quite prepared to take advantage of his brother's weaknesses.
This scene is the clue to understanding the climactic scene of the portion: Jacob's alleged stealing of Isaac's blessing, for the two stories are one. The key is linguistic: note the two Hebrew words for "birthright" and "blessing," bechora and b'racha. They are the same word, with two letters reversed. In the Bible, that wordplay is never accidental.
Of that last scene, many questions can be asked: What did Isaac know and when did he know it? What was Rebecca's motivation? Was Jacob a passive instrument for his mother's wishes or an eager participant?
My sense is that Isaac knew a great deal, from the moment he asks Jacob, "Which of my sons are you?" Rebecca did what she did because she felt that Jacob was the more worthy recipient of the blessing. And Jacob was prepared once again to take advantage of his brother's weaknesses. The two stories are one.
This ends with the total disintegration of his family. Esau vows to kill his brother, Rebecca is "disgusted" with Esau's wives, and Jacob is forced to flee for his life.
But at that moment, we are reminded that the hidden hand that has guided the entire story is that of the ultimate screenwriter, the hand of God. Only now does Isaac bestow upon Jacob the covenantal blessing that he had inherited from his father Abraham. So was it meant to be from the outset.
Rabbi Neil Gillman is Professor of Jewish Philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary.
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