“And he took Judith and Basemath… and they were a source of bitterness of spirit to Isaac and to Rebekah.”

With God’s help, 6 Nisan 5782

In the Torah’s story there are several prior facts that raise a question about the legitimacy of giving rulership in Isaac’s family — “Be lord over your brothers” — to Esau.

A. God’s statement to Rebekah during the difficult pregnancy: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples shall separate from within you; one people shall prevail over the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.” It sounds as though the rule is supposed to go to the younger one.

B. Esau sold the birthright to his brother, and even swore to it. That implies that the rights of the firstborn passed to Jacob by virtue of the sale.

C. Isaac and Rebekah’s bitterness of spirit because of the behavior of Esau’s wives.

Despite these three weighty reasons, Isaac decides to appoint Esau as the ‘continuing son.’ The verses do not explain whether Isaac knew about the prophecy “and the elder shall serve the younger” and about the sale of the birthright, and nevertheless wanted to appoint him “lord over his brothers,” or whether he did not know — and yet for some reason retroactively accepted Jacob’s act of deception and said, “He too shall be blessed.”

It is worth noting that even in the blessing Isaac intended for Esau (according to what he thought), there is no reference at all praising Esau’s ‘hobby’ — hunting. Isaac blesses him דווקא with success in… farming: “May God give you of the dew of heaven and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of grain and wine.” “By your sword you shall live” was not there…

It seems that Isaac’s blessing scene is mixed with implicit criticism of the ‘career’ Esau chose for himself as a ‘hunter.’ Isaac may appreciate Esau’s originality and his occupation as a hunter, but he is gently trying to hint to his son: start putting down roots and start being a farmer like me.

Perhaps Isaac understood that the prophecy “one people shall prevail over the other, and the elder shall serve the younger” is a prophecy of calamity. If the brothers fight, then specifically the younger will win; but if they develop parallel careers, one a farmer and one a shepherd, a “dweller in tents” — then the birthright should belong to the elder, the tiller of the soil!

When Isaac saw that his plan to overcome the prophecy “and the elder shall serve the younger” by sidestepping it did not succeed — he accepted the judgment and said, “He too shall be blessed.”

But at the end of the day, Isaac is the victor. The two brothers make peace with each other. Jacob treats his older brother with royal honor, and Esau consciously chooses to give up the land of Canaan and leave it in Jacob’s hands: “And he went to another land because of his brother Jacob.”

With blessing,
Yiftach Lehad Argamon-Bakshi

It should be noted that the one who initiated the ‘operation’ was Rebekah. There is a dispute here between a prophet and a prophetess over the interpretation of “and the elder shall serve the younger.” Jacob is only his mother’s agent.

And the mother has a justified claim against the father: ‘I am a partner as a parent of the sons, no less than you. I am a prophetess no less than you, and in fact I have a major advantage: I’m the one who suffered nine months of the hardship of pregnancy, so don’t I have the right to be a full partner in the decision, just as when God said to Abraham: Listen to her voice.’

That is why she can say to Jacob, “Your curse be upon me, my son.” It is clear to her that even if Isaac discovers the ‘trick,’ he will immediately understand that Rebekah cooked it up, and he has a lot of respect for her.

With blessing,
Y.L.A.B.

It is worth noticing that Rebekah suggests putting kids’ skins on Jacob’s neck and hands only after his question: “What if my father feels me?”

Perhaps her original intention was that Jacob would not disguise himself, but would say straight out: ‘I’m Jacob. I brought you delicacies that Mom prepared, because she wants you to bless me and not only Esau.’ From Jacob’s question, Rebekah understands that Jacob is not capable of arguing with his father. He doesn’t have the brazenness of someone who grew up among ‘nations,’ so she has no choice but to go along with him.

It may be that Rebekah’s understanding that Esau must not be appointed “lord over his brothers” was rooted in her recognition of Esau’s weakness: someone who cannot restrain himself and is willing to sell his birthright for a lentil stew would sell out his brother for much less. To hand the reins of power to such a fellow — that’s simply dangerous…

Rebekah had a deep understanding of the depths of her elder son’s soul, and so she too sensed more than Isaac the intensity of his anger and his willingness to kill his brother — things Esau did not dare say openly, but Rebekah excelled at understanding the depths of the psyche.

With blessing, Ami’oz Yaron, may his light shine forever

You can also see Rebekah’s ‘extra insight’ in her meeting with Abraham’s servant. He merely asks for one sip from her jar. She immediately sees the whole picture: there are also thirsty camels here…

[In memory of my mother and teacher, Mrs. Viorika Keila Odell daughter of Rebekah Esther, today being the day of her passing, the 24th]

Let’s not forget that the end proved the beginning: “Let the days of mourning for my father draw near, and I will kill my brother Jacob.” A person who wants to murder his brother is fundamentally corrupt, and that was presumably already in him beforehand.

David.
And what if that man is a Rebbe?