Two Separate Nations

Toldot

Gen. 25:19-28:9

 

Précis: The introductory phrase to this parasha is “These are the generations (“toldot”) of Isaac.” What follows is the birth of the twins, Esau and Jacob. Their childhood is omitted from the narrative. We learn that Jacob is a quiet man while Esau is a cunning hunter, that their mother Rebecca prefers Jacob, and that Isaac prefers Esau. Esau sells his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of porridge (or lentils). A famine takes place, and Isaac visits the Philistines where he claims that his wife Rebecca is actually his sister (as Abraham did with Sarah in Lech Lecha) and again, the woman escapes unharmed. The story turns to the “great deception” where Jacob pretends to be Esau in order to obtain the primary blessing from his father Isaac. Esau hates Jacob and threatens him; Rebecca urges Jacob to escape to her family in Haran, and he sets off at the conclusion of the parasha.

 

Gen. 25:23 “Two nations are in your womb, two separate nations shall issue from your body; one nation shall be mightier than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.’”

 

Rabbi Mordechai Silverstein has written about the implications of this verse (Conservative Yeshiva, 11/15/17).

            This promise is the answer to Rebekah’s inquiry of God: “She inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered her" (Genesis 25:22). Silverstein suggests that this establishes the Jacob/Esau paradigm of national conflict.

            First, of course, is the bitter rivalry and death threat by Esau to Jacob, followed by decades of estrangement, and completed with an inconclusive reconciliation. Much midrash suggests that the so-called reconciliation was temporary at best.

            During the First Temple period, our tradition identified Esau as the nation of Edom, a nation about which our texts had mixed attitudes. The Bible tells us not to mistreat Edomites (“You shall not abhor the Edomite, for he is your kinsman” [Deut. 23:8]). On the other hand, Balaam’s prophecy states that Edom would be the Jewish People’s enemy (“Edom becomes a possession, yeah, Seir a possession of its enemies; but Israel is triumphant.” [Num. 24:18]). It is reflected as well in the words of the prophet Obadiah: “And liberators shall ascend Mount Zion to bring judgment on Mount Esau; and dominion shall be the Lord's” Obadiah 1:21). The Edomites allied themselves with Babylonia at the time of the destruction of the Temple, cementing their role as adversaries.

            The Jacob/Esau struggle became the symbol for the Jewish conflict with the Romans during the time of the Second Temple. Subsequently, when the Roman Empire became Christian, Edom symbolized Christianity as well. Thus, the Jacob/Esau struggle came to be viewed by our Tradition as a fight of Good vs. Evil, what today we would call a conflict between two civilizations.

            The prenatal conflict between Jacob and Esau transmuted into the real struggles of a minority people (the Jews) in the context of a dominant broader culture (first Romans, then Christians). As Silverstein concludes, there is incredible ambivalence in this relationship. Will conflict ever end? This question looms large for us in every generation. Some suggest that the modern Edom is that part of the world which is steeped in anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. Even if true, we can take some solace that for more than 3 millennia, the Jewish People have continued to overcome the threats of Edom, and with God’s blessings, we will continue to do so.