ATTITUDE AVERSION: PARSHAT TOLDOT
Shira Smiles shiur 2018/5779
Adapted by Channie Koplowitz Stein
Parshat Toldot contains one of the seminal scenes that defines Bnei Yisroel and
clarifies the differences between Yaakov Avinu and his twin Esau. This
scene is Esau selling his right as the firstborn to Yaakov Avinu for a bowl of
red lentil soup. While Yaakov Avinu was cooking some lentil soup for his
father, Esau came in famished and tired from a full day of hunting in the
fields. Esau turns to Yaakov Avinu and says, “Pour into me some of that very
red stuff, for I am exhausted.” Yaakov Avinu here makes a deal with Esau, a
deal that some see as controversial, and asks Esau, “Sell me, as this day, your
birthright to me.” In Esau’s mind, he is getting the better end of the deal. He
replies, “Look, I am going to die, so of what use is the birthright?” After
making the deal, Esau ate and drank, got up and left, and Esau spurned the
birthright. If we examine the proceedings and the words of the Torah closely,
we will understand that there was no deception on Yaakov Avinu’s part, and that
all that transpired between them here was a complete reflection of what each
brother valued and received.
Rashi explains each of the verbs used in connection with Esau as a
transgression of one of the major sins, adultery, murder, denial of God, denial
of resurrection, and the final element that defined Esau, that he spurned the
birthright and all that it represented. Why is this contempt/vayevez for
the birthright seen as the defining factor of Esau’s evil rather than any of
the other sins of the day, including murder, especially since some of our Sages
say that Esau sold the birthright out of fear that he was incapable of
performing the rituals correctly and would therefore earn the death penalty?
Perhaps the simplest explanation comes from the Be’er Yosef. He says that it
was not only Esau who scorned the birthright, but an entire entourage he
brought with him that he encouraged to deride the birthright and Yaakov Avinu
for valuing the birthright. This same derision of all that is holy and
appropriate is also evidenced in Esau’s descendent Haman who scorned/vayevez
the idea of harming only Mordechai for “disrespecting” him, and planned to
destroy Mordechai’s entire people instead.
At the core of bizayon/contempt/mockery is the unwillingness to draw a
line between the holy and the profane, explains Rabbi Wachtfogel z”l. All
creation is predicated on honor, for God created the world for His glory. While
one may choose not to act for fear of acting disrespectfully and engendering
consequences, contempt and mockery undermine the very foundation of creation
and is an early step in the direction of evil. In this vein, contempt can be
manifested from three different time perspectives, before, during and after.
The contemptuous person approaches everything with the question of, “What’s in
it for me?” More importantly, the question becomes, “What’s in it for me now?”
Evil people don’t consider tomorrow. Rabbi Sternbach notes that Esau actually
believed in Hashem, but he never contemplated the future. These people live
only for today, writes Rabbi Ezrachi z”l citing the Ramban. At the sale, Esau
was very happy with his deal. Only later, when his father was old and Esau
realized he would not benefit from the firstborn’s inheritance did he regret
his earlier decision. Further, Esau’s regret was not for all his actions, but
only for “being deceived” into selling the birthright, much like Pharaoh who
admitted to sinning only that one time to Hashem.
Why was Esau also called Edom/Red? Rabbi Beyfus in Yalkut Lekach Tov
notes that red is the color of passion and physical hunger. Although the food
Yaakov Avinu served him at this time was indeed red lentils, this name was a
representation of Esau’s character more than a description of the food. After
all, Esau couldn’t control his physical hunger. (Psychologists today note that
restaurants painted red increase their clients’ appetites.) Edom/Red
represents Esau’s need for instant gratification and glitz over substance and
the future.
Unfortunately, continues Rabbi Beyfus, our generation faces similar challenges
of being swayed by the momentary pleasures society is constantly bombarding us
with, and we each have within ourselves the internal conflict between a Yaakov
Avinu and an Esau side of our character.
Approaching Esau’s selling the birthright from the motivation of the moment,
one may ascribe Esau’s motivation to a realization of the difficulty in
performing the work necessary for the sacrifices, writes Rabbi
Ezrachi. Esau felt it was not worth the effort, and in this way, he
spurned it. Unfortunately, this too is often a malady of our generation. We’ve
come to feel entitled to everything and are often unwilling to put in the necessary
effort to earn what we and believe is important. In contrast, notes Rabbi Wolbe
z”l, Yaakov Avinu dedicated fourteen years of his life to studying in the
Beit Medrash of Shem and Ever before embarking on marriage. If we are to
incorporate the beauty and sanctity of Shabbos into our beings, for example, we
must invest in preparing our homes and ourselves to receive and be surrounded
by the special energy of the Sabbath environment.
Is it worth investing in the future, in the permanence of olam haba?
Rabbi Scheinerman in Ohel Moshe gives us a wonderful analogy. Someone
going to a concert or a sporting event would make every effort to get the best
seat possible, up front and closest to the action. Yet, how much effort do we
put into our spiritual lives so that we can earn a front row seat in Gan Eden,
closest to the aura of Hakodosh Boruch Hu, or are we satisfied with just
entering the arena and sitting in the bleachers. How many of us sometimes are
jealous of the gentiles for their easier life? They can grab a bite to eat
anywhere, for example. Does your bucket list consist totally of worldly
pleasures, or does it include activities that will help you grow spiritually?
Perhaps most important is how we react after an experience. Do we retain the
effects of the Yom Kippur service after that final shofar blast, or do we go
back to our daily routines without a second thought about the sanctity of the
day we had immersed ourselves in for the last twenty-five hours? A kohain gadol
who emerges from the Holy of Holies at the close of Yom Kippur and can spurn
great Torah Sages like Shmaya and Avtalyon because they were descendants of
converts is on a much lower spiritual level than Yosef Meshicha who entered the
Holy of Holies at the command of the Romans and removed a holy vessel. But,
having been in that sacred place for just a few moments, he refused to enter
again to desecrate it, even on pain of death.
Perhaps Esau was indeed overwhelmed with exhaustion and hunger from his very full
day, but, writes Rabbi Wachtfogel z”l, after he ate and drank, he showed no
remorse for his actions and for the sale he had agreed to. In fact, in this
state of satiation and calm, he mocked the birthright. When later he cries out
to his father, he cries for what he lost, not for what he had done. As Rabbi
Zeitchick z”l in Ohr Chodosh points out, when someone acts in a way that
is out of character, he may cover up his sense of guilt and discomfort by
momentarily affecting arrogance. But this arrogance soon dissipates. Not so
with Esau who continued his mocking and arrogant behavior well after his
discomfort for doing those evil deeds of the day.
Rabbi Frand gives us a wonderful analogy: “Guilt is to the soul what pain is to
the body.” Esau never felt guilty, and therefore never saw any need to heal his
soul. His mockery of the birthright reinforced his sense of self and negated
any sense of remorse.
In Heorat Derech, Rabbi Weissblum paints for us a picture related in the
Talmud Yerushalmi. In the future, Esau will be sitting among the righteous in
Gan Eden, and Hashem will come to drag him out. Rabbi Weissblum raises three
questions. First, why does Esau think he has a right to be there? Then, why
can’t the truly righteous people get him out? Finally, why does Hashem Himself
have to drag him out, as Esau was screaming, “But I belong here?”
Esau truly believed himself to be righteous, that he served Hashem out of fear
by refusing the birthright. But the Torah itself testifies that he made a
mockery of service to Hashem. In fact, there were sparks of holiness within
Esau, but like a hunter who may have the game in his mouth/tzayid befiv but
doesn’t swallow it, Esau never digests the holy sparks that were within him.
Contrast this, continues Rabbi Weissblum, with Yaakov Avinu who was an ish
tam/complete, integrated man, whose mouth and heart were merged. The
righteous in Gan Eden could not recognize the disconnect between heart, mind
and action that Esau represented. Externally, wrapped in a tallit, he indeed
looked like any other righteous man, and he himself considered himself
righteous. Only Hashem could discern the difference between Esau’s appearance
and his true character, Therefore, only Hashem could drag him out of Gan Eden.
And therefore also, Esau’s righteous mind/head was buried in Meorat Hamachpelah
while the rest of his body and his heart were not.
If one is really to honor the Torah, one must consider it more that just
another field of knowledge, writes Rabbi Schorr in Halekach Vehalebuv.
He must move it into his heart as well. Otherwise, continues Rabbi Schorr,
“...The unfortunate man’s wisdom is bezuyah/despised, and his words are
not heard.” (Kohelet 9:16) He is seen for what he is, a hypocrite who does not
act according to the wisdom and knowledge he preaches.
Esau fooled himself with his own distortions of truth. Rabbi Eisenberger in Mesillot
Bilvovom cites the Chasam Sofer z”l and brings some interesting examples of
this deception. Esau prided himself on a stringency he accepted for himself, he
would never take anything for free. Coming home from the field, he was
famished. When he saw the food his brother had prepared, he told Yaakov Avinu
that he didn’t want it for free, but he had nothing to give in exchange. Yaakov
Avinu solved the problem by suggesting that Esau give him the birthright in
exchange for the food and he would not violate his stringency. Esau finds this
a wonderful solution and considers himself so righteous in not violating his
stringency. He would not recognize the irony in making the stringency more
important than the principal. This distortion for self -deception is at the
heart of mockery.
We may also be sacrificing the principal for the outer trappings, continues
Rabbi Eisenberger. Is the essence of our Shabbat the good food and the
afternoon nap, or are these the medium to create an atmosphere to come closer
to Hashem? When we fool ourselves, we exhibit the Esau character of separating
our minds from our hearts. May Hashem grant us the strength and wisdom to live
integrated, whole, spiritually fulfilling lives so that we merit, after 120
years, sitting in Gan Eden among the righteous of our nation.