Bereishis

The commentators grapple with the apparent redundancy in the first pasuk of the Parsha. “These are the chronicles of Yitzchak, son of Avraham, Avraham begot Yitzchak.” (See Rashi for the classic answer.) The Ba’al Shem Tov zy”a reveals an original explanation. The structure of the pasuk is one of question and answer. It is well known that Avraham’s primary characteristic was chesed, i.e. kindness. Avraham bestowed boundless and indiscriminant love and kindness on others, whether they deserved it or not. Yitzchak, on the other hand, possessed the characteristic of gevurah, i.e. restraint, fear, and awe. Yitzchak’s fear of G-d and transgression dominated him, causing him to give only in a controlled and limited way. The question therefore is: How is it possible that Yitzchak (gevurah) was the son of Avraham (chesed)? The answer is, “Avraham begot Yitzchak.” In order for there to be continuous chesed and giving, there must be recipients, who are the beneficiaries of kindness. The restraint of gevurah creates shortages and deficiencies which the midah of chesed is then able to remedy. Avraham needed to introduce the gevurah of Yitzchak in order to perpetuate his characteristic of chesed!!

A similar thought is suggested by the saintly Chofetz Chaim zt”l. “Olam chesed yibaneh” - “The foundation of the world is loving-kindness.” The altruistic expression of chesed is responsible for the maintenance and perpetuation of the cosmos. Hashem, therefore, created both the individual and the community with deficiencies and needs, in order to ensure that the institution of chesed be a permanent feature of the world. In this way, we perforce require the assistance of others, guaranteeing that chesed maintains the existence of the world. This is the meaning of the bracha of Boraei Nefashos. “The Almighty created many souls with their deficiencies” - enabling us to bestow life-giving assistance to one another - maintaining the world via the institution of chesed (Chofetz Chaim on the Torah, Parshas Beshalach, Maasei L’Melech).

After the demise of Avraham, all of his students mysteriously disappeared. The Alexander Rebbe zt”l suggests that because Avraham’s students tenaciously followed the chesed of Avraham, they categorically rejected the gevurah of Yitzchak and therefore, rejected Yitzchak as Avraham’s spiritual heir. Avraham’s students failed to realize that only gevurah could facilitate chesed’s success. The reason the Plishtim stuffed up Yitzchak’s wells with dirt can be interpreted in a similar vein. Wells are an allusion to the intellectual and spiritual waters of knowledge. Rav Simcha Bunim of Parshischa maintains that the Plishtim were influenced by the teachings and ways of Avraham. They therefore refused to allow Yitzchak to dig wells of gevurah and stuffed them up with “dirt” - which alludes to the chesed of Avraham who declared, “I am dirt and ashes.” Yitzchak, however, persisted in digging new wells of insight reflecting his approach of gevurah. Both Avraham and Yitzchak realized that ultimately gevurah would guarantee the actualization of chesed.

The practical application of the above concept should guide us in all of our relationships. People tend to conveniently gravitate toward similarly-minded people. As the holy Zohar teaches, “Every kind cleaves to its kind.” The reality is, however, that by sharing our lives with individuals who are different than us, our personal talents will find greater meaning and appreciation. Ultimately, it is the people most dissimilar from us who will value and need us the most.

The Torah describes Yaakov as an "Ish Tam", i.e. a wholesome person. Rashi explains (Toldos 25,27) that Yaakov was incapable of the art of deception but was wholesome and straight. This would seem to be a blatant contradiction to Rashi's comment on the following verse in Parshas Vayeitzei (29,12), "Yaakov told Rachel that he was her father's kin". Rashi comments, "If Lavan plans to deceive me, I too will react, as his relative, with commensurate deceit". How could the wholesome Yaakov assume he could outwit the most cunning of men - "Lavan the Deceiver"? Another question arises: How could Yitzchak have such intense love for Eisav, when Rashi (25,27) tells us that "Immediately after their Bar-Mitzvah, Yaakov went to the Bais Midrash and Eisav turned to the House of Pagan Worship". How could Yitzchak have been blind to Eisav's daily rendezvous with idolatry? Finally, what is Rashi's intent when he comments on the first pasuk in this week's parsha, "These are the offspring of Yitzchak" - "Yaakov and Eisav, who are spoken of, in the parsha". Who else could the pasuk be referring to?!?! In order to resolve these difficulties, we must study the Almighty's original mandate for Yaakov and Eisav.

Our patriarch, Avraham, was the personification of loving-kindness. His mission in life was "Asai Tov" - to perform acts of kindness, thus demonstrating through "Imitatio Deo" (emulating G-d), that the Almighty is a G-d of love. Our patriarch, Yitzchak, was the personification of justice. His mission in life was "Sur Merah" - to vanquish evil, thus demonstrating that the Almighty is also a G-d of justice. Yaakov and Eisav were originally destined to emulate both Avraham and Yitzchak, balancing each other in a harmonious and complementary relationship, referred to as Tiferes in Kabbalistic writings. Yaakov was to pursue a life of accentuating and developing Tov i.e. goodness and kindness. Eisav was to emulate his father, Yitzchak's, proclivity for battling evil and eradicating its existence from the world. Let us now "rewind" to the embryonic stages of Yaakov and Eisav. When Rivka passed by a pagan house of worship, Eisav's fetal movement was not indicative of a desire to serve the idolatry but rather, a reflection of his mission to battle evil and paganism. After Eisav's Bar-Mitzvah, his first act of adulthood was to visit houses of idolatry, in the hope of destroying them and shutting them down. This is why Yitzchak had such an intense love for Eisav, because he reflected Yitzchak's personality of "Sur Merah" - the perpetual struggle against evil. As the Zohar teaches, "Every kind loves its own". Yitzchak wanted Eisav to receive the brachos because he knew the great challenges in store for a warrior against evil. He wanted Eisav to have Divine assistance in his arduous life's mission. Unfortunately, Eisav's constant exposure to evil, slowly withered away his resolve, and instead of conquering evil, he was eventually consumed by it. We now understand the intention of the first Rashi of the parsha in telling us that Yaakov and Eisav were the offspring of Yitzchak. Don't entertain the thought, says Rashi, that Eisav's evil personality had its roots in the decadent Lavan and Besuel, from his mother's side. Eisav was indeed the progeny of Yitzchak, but corrupted the personality of "Sur Merah", by succumbing to its temptation.

This is Yaakov's intention when he proclaims to his father, "I am Eisav, your first-born" (27,19), for once the brachos were given to Yaakov, he was "invested" with his brother Eisav's mandate of battling evil. Yaakov is now the sole embodiment of both "Asai Tov" and "Sur Merah" and now single-handedly represents "Tiferes". We now can understand how Yaakov could present himself to Lavan as cunning and deceitful. After inheriting Eisav's mandate, he was also granted the skills to fight evil - the clever and cunning talents of Eisav. This is why Yaakov received the additional appellation, Yisroel, from the root "Sarisa" - "You have contended" (32, 38). Yisroel represented his newly acquired prowess and ability to battle evil with cunning and guile. With the advent of Moshiach, Eisav will repent and assume his original role as his brother's symbiotic partner, freeing Yaakov to pursue his mandate of "Asai Tov" without distraction. May we merit to enjoy this utopian paradise, speedily in our days.

The Torah describes the anecdote which caused Esav to be referred to as "Edom", the red one. Upon returning from a day of hunting and murder, Esav chanced upon Yaakov who was cooking a dish of red lentils. On this day, Avraham passed away and Yaakov was preparing the traditional mourner's meal for his father. Esav was so famished from the hunt, that he was even willing to negotiate his birthright to secure the right to eat the red lentils. Yaakov subsequently poured the lentils down Esav's mouth and therefore Esav was called "Edom". There is an obvious difficulty here. The Torah tells us that when Esav was born he had a ruddy complexion. Why then did they not call him "Edom" immediately upon birth? Another question is raised about the name Esav. The Midrash tells us that the name "Esav" is beautiful as it represents deed and action, from the Hebrew root, "Oseh". Why then was Esav given such a praiseworthy name? The answer lies in what the Gemarah teaches (Shabbos 156a), "An individual that is born under the constellation of the bull will be a spiller of blood. Rav Ashi commented 'either a physician or a murderer, a Shochet or a Mohel'". The Gemarah gives us a clear, understanding concerning the controversy of what determines our personality makeup: nature or nuture? The nature of a person is fixed and immutable and one who is born a spiller of blood can never change that disposition. However, one can and must nurture and guide his nature positively and constructively. This is what Rav Ashi adds, that it is the individual that determines if he will express his desire to spill blood positively, as a physician or Mohel, or negatively, as a thief and murderer.

When the prophet Shmuel met the young Dovid, he was taken aback by Dovid's ruddy complexion. "He is a spiller of blood, like Esav", commented Shmuel. The Almighty then told Shmuel not to fear, for Dovid would only kill according to the dictates of Halacha as interpreted by the rulings of the Sanhedrin. Even King David could not alter his nature, only guide it to righteousness. This is why Esav was not called "Edom", the red murderer, at birth. If Esav desired, he could have been as righteous as King David- spilling blood only to fulfill the will of Hashem, as a Mitzvah. Thus, the pasuk says "therefore, his name was called "Edom" (Bereishis 25:30) the reason Esav was called "Edom" was because he chose, on that day of the hunt, to murder and subsequently spurn his birthright. It was Esav that determined he would be "Edom", not fate and nature.

This sheds light on why Esav was given a name that reflects deed and action. The prophet Eliyahu tells us in the Sefer Tana D'vai Eliyahu. "Eliyahu testified that no matter who you are; man, woman, gentile, or lowly slave, commensurate to your good deeds does the Holy Spirit rest upon you." Yes, even you, Esav, can be a Tzaddik, just choose to act and perform deeds of righteousness. Then, even the 'spiller of blood' can channel his nature positively and beneficially. May the Holy Spirit rest upon all of us!