Parshat Toldot
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Naftali Kassorla
This week's parsha tells us of the rivalry between Yaakov and Eisav. The Torah states that the "children were crushing within her." In explaining these words, Rashi brings two interesting ideas. When Rivka would pass houses of Torah study, Yaakov would push to get out, when she passed places of avodah zarah, Eisav would push. Rashi also quotes the Medrash saying that Yaakov and Eisav were struggling with one another over the inheritance of two worlds: this world and the world to come.
This Medrash is perplexing, for as we all know, Eisav was a very evil person. Chazal tell us that on the very same day of Avraham's passing, Eisav committed idol worship, murder and licentious relations with a betrothed woman. On a day of mourning, Eisav wasn't by his father's side comforting him or mourning the loss, rather he was out committing despicable and immoral acts. The question is: why is Eisav fighting Yaakov for this world? We already know that even from the womb, he planned to lead an improper life, as he was pushing when near places of idol worship. And throughout his life, he went against G-d's will and pursued physicality. The life he's going to lead won't be fulfilling; his chosen path does not bring him any real pleasure or enjoyment. As it says in Pirkei Avot (6-4) "This is the way of the Torah: Bread and salt will you eat, measured water will you drink, on the ground will you sleep………and in the Torah will you labor. If you do this……..'You are fortunate' in this world; 'and it is good for you' in the World to Come". We see from this that the real way to truly fulfill this world is only through Torah and mitzvoth. Chazal tell us that while we were in the womb, an angel taught us the whole torah. It would be safe to assume that this Mishna was also taught to Eisav in the womb, so why is Eisav fighting for this world – doesn't he know the emptiness of his way of life?
The answer is: it takes honesty and courage to look into oneself truthfully. The ability to feel the contradiction in ones life and to change for the better is a painful experience. One could even know the whole torah and its deepest meaning and still fool himself of the emptiness of the physical pleasures of this world. This was Eisav in his essence, a purely superficial person. This is why Eisavs nickname is Edom, for he called the lentils "that very red stuff." Eisav didn't even bother to call the food by its name; rather all he saw was the external. This defines his and his offspring's complete essence. A people that fawn over externals, and do not care about true internal content (case in point: Obama). When one does not have the courage to look truthfully at oneself, scars included, he will see depth in little else.
Modern western society views the attainment of money and power as the true sign of success in life. Yet if we look deeper, we will see a culture in which no one is happy or fulfilled. According to recent studies 20 percent of Americans are on some type of anti depressant, and nearly 59 million Americans have met with a therapist (parenthetically that number is almost 10 million more than there are uninsured Americans, which was called by many in the media an "epidemic" and thus necessitated "government intervention" – so where is the government therapy?!).* Thank G-d even in our current economic woes, our modern society is still the wealthiest and most abundant nation that has graced the earth. Yet with all of our amenities we are still depressed. These findings shouldn't come as a surprise to us, for Chazal tell us that if one has $100, he wants another $100 on top of that, meaning that no physical desire is ever truly fulfilled; It only grows bigger and bigger. And yet people still kill themselves to live this way! Why doesn't anyone just stop and think about their lack of happiness?
As we learned from Eisav's mistake, it is a difficult task to realize the falsities of this world and focus on what truly matters in life. May we all have the strength to do so.
Shabbat Shalom.
Naftali Kassorla
