Parshat Toldot
In this week's Torah portion, we meet Isaac and Rebecca's twins: Jacob and Esau. Even when they were in their mother's belly, they didn't get along. (If you have brothers or sisters, you might know firsthand how hard it can be to get along sometimes!) Unfortunately, this sibling rivalry between Jacob and Esau continued throughout their lives.
The twins were complete opposites of each other. Esau liked hunting and being outdoors. He was big and hairy. Jacob preferred to spend time with his mother Rebecca at home. He was smaller and quiet. There's another reason why Jacob and Esau didn't get along. Jacob tricked Esau twice. Jacob tricked Esau out of two of the most important things in his life.
In ancient times, the first born son received two special things: a Birthright and a Blessing. Esau was the older twin, but Jacob wanted the Birthright and the Blessing. One day Esau came back from hunting and he was starving. Jacob convinced him to sell his Birthright for a simple bowl of soup. Maybe Esau really was so hungry he would have given anything, including the precious Birthright for food. Maybe he didn't believe that Jacob would *really* claim the Birthright for a bowl of soup. We don't know for sure. We do know that the soup incident did not help these brothers get along.
When Isaac was old and he could sense that he would pass away soon, he knew it was time to give his first born the special Blessing. He asks Esau to prepare a special meal for him. Rebecca overhears the request and finds Jacob. She tells Jacob that he needs to pretend to be Esau to trick Isaac into giving him the Blessing. Rebecca prepares the special meal for Isaac and Jacob delivers it to him dressed as Esau. Isaac gives the special Blessing to Jacob and not to Esau.
You can only imagine how angry Esau was when he found out. In fact, he threatens to kill his brother. Jacob fearing for his life flees from his home. It seems as though Jacob gets away with his deceitful acts. We will read in the next few stories, however, that isn't the case. Stay tuned to learn how the trickster gets tricked!
Just as Jacob could not escape from his history of deception, our misdeeds follow us in unimaginable ways. As one deceitful act leads to the next, it can feel like we are stuck in a never-ending war of deceit. It’s hard to break the cycle. There is a phrase in Hebrew, mitzvah gorreret mitzvah, aveirah gorreret aveirah - One mitzvah pulls along another; one transgression follows another. When we fall into a pattern of behavior, it is difficult to change it. If we practice doing good things (treating people with kindness, being honest and trustworthy, etc), then we develop the skills to continue doing those good things and hopefully, be rewarded with good things. If we play tricks and deceive others, this pattern of behavior will be more natural to us. Not only will we do it more often, but also, like Jacob, we will pay consequences at some point.
TALK TO YOUR KIDS about the ways our actions follow us.
• Have you ever deceived anyone? Has anyone ever deceived you? How did it feel?
• Have your actions ever come back to haunt you?
• How can you break the cycle?
• Have you ever done something nice for someone and been unexpectedly rewarded for it?
• How can you continue the cycle of good?
The twins were complete opposites of each other. Esau liked hunting and being outdoors. He was big and hairy. Jacob preferred to spend time with his mother Rebecca at home. He was smaller and quiet. There's another reason why Jacob and Esau didn't get along. Jacob tricked Esau twice. Jacob tricked Esau out of two of the most important things in his life.
In ancient times, the first born son received two special things: a Birthright and a Blessing. Esau was the older twin, but Jacob wanted the Birthright and the Blessing. One day Esau came back from hunting and he was starving. Jacob convinced him to sell his Birthright for a simple bowl of soup. Maybe Esau really was so hungry he would have given anything, including the precious Birthright for food. Maybe he didn't believe that Jacob would *really* claim the Birthright for a bowl of soup. We don't know for sure. We do know that the soup incident did not help these brothers get along.
When Isaac was old and he could sense that he would pass away soon, he knew it was time to give his first born the special Blessing. He asks Esau to prepare a special meal for him. Rebecca overhears the request and finds Jacob. She tells Jacob that he needs to pretend to be Esau to trick Isaac into giving him the Blessing. Rebecca prepares the special meal for Isaac and Jacob delivers it to him dressed as Esau. Isaac gives the special Blessing to Jacob and not to Esau.
You can only imagine how angry Esau was when he found out. In fact, he threatens to kill his brother. Jacob fearing for his life flees from his home. It seems as though Jacob gets away with his deceitful acts. We will read in the next few stories, however, that isn't the case. Stay tuned to learn how the trickster gets tricked!
Just as Jacob could not escape from his history of deception, our misdeeds follow us in unimaginable ways. As one deceitful act leads to the next, it can feel like we are stuck in a never-ending war of deceit. It’s hard to break the cycle. There is a phrase in Hebrew, mitzvah gorreret mitzvah, aveirah gorreret aveirah - One mitzvah pulls along another; one transgression follows another. When we fall into a pattern of behavior, it is difficult to change it. If we practice doing good things (treating people with kindness, being honest and trustworthy, etc), then we develop the skills to continue doing those good things and hopefully, be rewarded with good things. If we play tricks and deceive others, this pattern of behavior will be more natural to us. Not only will we do it more often, but also, like Jacob, we will pay consequences at some point.
TALK TO YOUR KIDS about the ways our actions follow us.
• Have you ever deceived anyone? Has anyone ever deceived you? How did it feel?
• Have your actions ever come back to haunt you?
• How can you break the cycle?
• Have you ever done something nice for someone and been unexpectedly rewarded for it?
• How can you continue the cycle of good?
Amended from a posting by Rabbi Yael Hammerman, © 2012 Joyce and Fred Claar; www.torahtopicstoday.com
