Rabbi Rael Blumenthal

Yitzchak has two sons: Yaakov and Esav. And the Torah is not shy in telling us that Yitzchak had a favorite – Esav!

This has bothered parsha teaches throughout the generations, and I remember the first time I learned this story as a child.

“How could you have even thought of choosing Esav?” Esav, whose decedents were later to destroy the Beis Hakidash, exile the Jewish people, and bring about the Crusades, the Inquisition and shed the blood of millions. Yizchak Avinu, what were you thinking?

And we are left with two choices: Perhaps we are to write off the entire episode as a lapse in judgement of a blind old man; that perhaps was swayed by Esav’s smooth words and flattering respect.

Alternatively, we need to try in some way to understand that indeed, Esav was the one who Yitzchak always intended to bless. Indeed, the Sforno (25:28) comments on the passuk: “And Yitzchak loved Esav”:

גם את עשו אע”פ שידע בלי ספק שלא היה שלם כיעקב

He loved also Esav, not only Yaakov, even though he must have been aware that Esav was far less perfect than Yaakov.

To understand this enigmatic decision, we need to reconsider the twins that are Yaakov and Esav. Yaakov is the mild mannered Yeshiva bochur. Sweet, uncomplicated, courteous and studious. Esav, on the other hand is an entrepreneur, street smart, enterprising, savvy and shrewd, if a little rough around the edges.

Now you need to make a decision, who should be the leader of the Jewish nation? Who will be able to bring the legacy of Avraham to fruition. Who will be able to take the reins and father a Jewish nation? In this light things become clearer. Esav is the natural leader, he is engaged in the world, and in his very nature, a king.

When the Torah (36:31) lists the kings of Edom/Esav, it tells us:

וְאֵלֶּה הַמְּלָכִים אֲשֶׁר מָלְכוּ בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם לִפְנֵי מְלָךְ־מֶלֶךְ לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites.

Long before the Jewish people developed kingship, Esav was ruling, leading and commanding.

But Esav is missing a serious piece. He has talent and drive, but no purpose. He has ambition, but he is deficient in moral fibre. It is Yitzchak’s dream that Esav will learn to channel his wit and desire to the vision of Avraham and Yizchak. Esav has the Yadayim – the capacity and ability. Yaakov has the Kol, the voice of reason and transcendence.

Towards the end of Yitzchak’s life, when a son presents himself in front of his father, bearing both the Kol of Yaakov and the Yadayim of Esav, Yitzchak, finally at peace, can bestow the bracha, the legacy of the Jewish people.

Ultimately the Bracha of Avraham and Yitzchak is given to neither son, but rather to the one who possesses both the drive and the vision of a Godly world. The Kol of Yaakov as well as the Yadayim of Esav.

The goal is integration. The ability to hold both values in their entirety, and this is the challenge of our generation, the challenge of the Modern State of Israel, and this moment in Jewish History.

But for us, in our lives, how do we live with Kedusha while immersed in the Modern World without compromising on either? Or perhaps we could ask, how did Yaakov Avinu transform himself from an introverted yeshiva bachur to the next of the Avos?

To answer this, we should turn to the bracha that Yitzchak gives Yaakov; or rather this man who personifies both voice and action.

The bracha begins:

וְיִתֶּן־לְךָ הָאֱלֹקים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ May God give you of the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth...

Strangely, this is quite similar to the Bracha that Yitzchak finally agrees to give Esav:

הִנֵּה מִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ יִהְיֶה מוֹשָׁבֶךָ וּמִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם מֵעָל See, your abode shall enjoy the fat of the earth, And the dew of heaven above

But there is a subtlety to note, the thing that’s missing from the bracha of Esav is “Elokim”.

The Sfas Emes (תולדות תרנ”ה) explains that the bracha of וְיִתֶּן לְךָ הָאֱלהִים means that Hashem will give you himself.

הגם כי הפסוק מסיים מטל השמים ומשמני הארץ. אך הכוונה שצריך איש ישראל לקבל אלקותו ית”ש מכל נמצא שבעולם

The intention of the Pasuk is to instruct that a Jew should find Godiness in everything in the world.

Inherent in the land, the rain and the dew will be opportunities for Godliness and connection. It’s the desire that our hands and voice make a complete person, not two sides of a broken one.

So here is Yaakov’s mission – peel back the layers of the world and recognize the opportunities for Godliness. A beautiful home is an opportunity for hospitality. Shalom Bayis and healthy children are an invitation for generosity, chinuch and growth in our middos. Free time is for far more than relaxation – it should be filled with learning, volunteering, building, growing and doing.

The challenge of being and becoming the Jewish nation ultimately comes down to one question: If Hashem gives us everything we want and need, what will we do with it?

May He give us the courage to use it for Him.