Toldot 5775

This week, we read of the origin stories of twin brothers, Jacob and Esav. Of course our tradition’s preference is for our ancestor Jacob, our hero. And like any superhero, our protagonist Jacob has one main flaw – Jacob can be manipulative of others, and that manipulation comes back to haunt him.

The first narrative that describes Jacob’s actions begins with Esav coming back from a field, famished. And Jacob is making a delicious nazid, a delicious stew. The Hebrew is vague as to what kind of stew this is. And when Esav sees it, he begs his brother (Genesis 25:30):

הַלְעִיטֵ֤נִי נָא֙ מִן־הָֽאָדֹ֤ם הָֽאָדֹם֙ הַזֶּ֔ה כִּ֥י עָיֵ֖ף אָנֹ֑כִי
Please, give me a gulp of the red-stuff, that red-stuff, for I am so weary!

I offer you the literal translation of Dr. Everett Fox so that you notice Esav’s language. He doesn't call the stew a nazid like the narrator calls it. He asks for ha’adom ha’adom, the red-stuff, the red-stuff. Either he is so tired that he is delusional and cannot even identify what the food truly is, or he is in the process of fainting, and is stuttering his words.
And it is at this point that Jacob had a few options – he could ignore or reject his brother; he could generously offer food; or he could make a deal over the beloved birthright. Jacob chooses the third option.
To this action, and the subsequent deception of his father Isaac for the birthright, the rabbis respond by saying midah keneged midah – that measure for measure, Jacob meets deception later in his life. He is deceived in the marriage of Rachel, he is deceived with his son Joseph, he is deceived in every element of his later life.

Our rabbis teach us (Mishna Avot 4:2):
מִּצְוָה גּוֹרֶרֶת מִצְוָה, וַעֲבֵרָה גוֹרֶרֶת עֲבֵרָה
A mitzvah initiates another mitzvah, and a sin initiates another sin.

And this teaching surely seems to apply to the story of Jacob.

As we ourselves begin the Thanksgiving season, we may not be approached by a brother who physically comes up to us, desperate for food. But we know that there are so many people in desperate need, in our immediate community, and throughout the world. So what will you do this time of year, to support others in their need for food, to initiate more mitzvot in our world?

This past Sunday, a group of 6th-8th graders baked over a dozen pies for the Night Ministry, supporting thousands of members of our community who otherwise might not be able to have a festive Thanksgiving meal. And in a few weeks, our Religious School is taking part in the Lakeview Pantry’s Toy Drive. Instead of treating this season as a time just to think about what we personally will get as presents, we are celebrating our community’s desire to give to people in need.

So as you approach Thanksgiving and Hanukkah, I hope that you’ll consider how you can give and share, and how to teach that to family and friends, so that we do not fall into the same trap that our ancestor Jacob did.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Russo

Toldot 5774

Rebecca’s Origin Story

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz wrote a wonderful book entitled “Biblical Images.” In this book, Rabbi Steinsaltz takes our biblical heroes, and writes an easily readable narrative to explain the person’s life and story. Just like we have many movies that speak to a superhero’s origin story – Superman, Batman, Captain Kirk in Star Trek, and the like – Steinsaltz similarly tells us about the origin stories of our biblical heroes, based on the Torah and later rabbinic understandings and interpretations.

One of the most fascinating characters is the character of Rivka, or Rebecca. Steinsaltz picks up on the fact that Rebecca is the exact opposite of her husband, Yitzchak, Isaac, and that she is complementary to him (Biblical Images, pg. 43). Isaac appears outstandingly as a person who does not make decisions, as a person to whom things happen. In his first great test, the binding on the altar, Isaac did not act but was acted upon. He did not go to seek a wife; a wife was brought to him. And when Rebecca arrives on the scene, it is Rebecca who makes decisions, who acts, confidently.

Steinsaltz, picking up on rabbinic midrashim, explores Rebecca’s origin story. He explains that while Abraham and his family is described as great and powerful; Abraham’s brother and his descendants, that of Nahor, declined, lost its property, and engaged in petty trade. Rebecca, Nahor’s granddaughter, was the opposite of Isaac who grew up surrounded by trustworthy folk. According to Steinsaltz, Isaac’s world was supportive, secure; he could hesitate or even err because there were always others, loving and concerned to back him up. Isaac knew little of the world of evil and deceit, because his immediate world was harmonious and whole. Rebecca , on the other hand, grew up in a world whose failings she knew all too well. She had learned the meaning of cheating, of hypocrisy.

This narrative shapes the image of Rebecca that we read about in the Torah. Rebecca is assertive, confident; and yet she also brings with her a deceptive side, one that manipulates her husband, Isaac, to do what she knows is right – to give her son, Yaakov, Jacob, the birthright in place of Esav, his older brother.

In the coming weeks, as we read these fascinating stories about our ancestors, I hope that you will take time to explore who they were, how they grew up, and how their origin stories affected who they became as people. For by learning about where we and our ancestors come from, we can learn more about ourselves, our families, and our communities.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Russo