The honor of Esau
Hey Miki
Before I get to the point – are you familiar with the website “Against Religion” edited by Adi Abir?
About two years ago, I read a commentary by Rabbi Reuven HaCohen Uriah in “Makor Rishon,” in which he claimed that when Jacob met with Esau on his return to Israel from Haran, Esau behaved appropriately as the eldest and responsible brother: After the meeting, according to the Bible, Esau fell on Jacob’s neck and kissed him. Later, he took his family and his flocks and left in disgrace. But in our myth, Esau is the evil one. The sages did not cool their minds until they claimed that Esau tried to bite Jacob’s neck…
My cousin Moshe [Hardal] answered me – So why did Esau come with 400 men? And then it occurred to me that Esau came to demonstrate his strength, and after the demonstration of strength he gave in to Jacob because he remembered the deal of selling his birthright.
Question: After all, Esau was Isaac’s favorite son, and Esau probably received not only love but also a good education. It is true that Isaac became blind in his old age, but before that he could not see that Esau had not absorbed his values? And perhaps this is nothing more than a late and very forced interpretation by Chazal.
But later it seems that perhaps Esau taught his sons a lesson – one must not trust the honesty of Jacob’s descendants . Therefore, when Moses asks the king of Edom to pass through his land – he firmly refuses. And when the people of Israel turn back again – the king of Edom threatens with his army.
I was not required to do this, but rather because of the discomfort I felt [to put it mildly], due to the sages who allowed themselves to distort and distort a certain event described in detail in the Torah, a distortion created to serve some agenda of theirs, and earned the blessing of “Yashrakhuyah” from their colleagues. And since then, Esau has been the ultimate evil.
Now I will exaggerate my words – in the Book of Deuteronomy, the secret of the face is raised. Indeed, the secret of the face is raised in it as a consequence if the people of Israel abandon their God and worship the God of the people of Canaan. Since the gods of Canaan of all kinds are not relevant at all since the conquest of the land by the Babylonians, and since Christianity and Islam have taken over most of the world, paganism does not challenge the Torah of Moses. In contrast, ignoring the divine command – “You shall not abhor an Edomite – for he is your brother” is a transgression against an explicit no. Moreover, this disgust causes humiliation of the Reds, and there is no need to exaggerate to explain how an individual or a group of people behaves when they feel humiliated!
For example – if observant Jews continue to focus on studying Torah and observing the laws, and continue to ignore the atrocities that are being committed around the world , meaning they are causing irreversible and unnecessary harm to what God created – then I suspect God will continue to hide His face from us.
And now something on a personal note – I am motivated by the hope that we can improve the world. And of course improving the world is a way of perceiving the world through purposeful, practical action. I have no expectations from God – I just hope that through purposeful action He will help us preserve the entirety of creation.
All the best and have a nice day.
I don’t know.
Indeed, there are interpretations of the Sages that contradict the simple. That is why there is a sermon. Indeed, there is a dross and there is a dross. The dross is an argument whose goal is the conclusion (even if it does not depart from the parasha), that is, it has an educational purpose. The dross is an interpretation parallel to the simple and should meet its own coherence tests. That is why I do not engage in mythological midrash. I really do not care whether Esau was wicked or righteous. Why does it matter at all? What interests me is what is incumbent upon me.
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