Hand it Over – Toldot
וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת עֵשָׂו כִּי צַיִד בְּפִיו וכו' (בראשית כה, כח).
One of the most perplexing things in sefer Breishit is Yitzchak's inexplicable love for Eisav.
We know that Yitzchak was physically blind. Some postulate that the reason Yitzchak did not know his son Eisav was a rasha was because he was blind.
At which point did Yitzchak lose his sight?
One Midrash (בראשית רבה, פרשה סה, אות י) states two possible reasons why Yitzchak went blind. The first is that after Avraham Avinu died, Eisav (aged 15) became a rasha. R' Elazar ben Azaria says in this Midrash (ibid.), that to save Yitzchak the embarrassment of going out in public and hearing from everyone how evil his son Eisav was, HKB"H made Yitzchak blind and he became housebound. Whether Yitzchak (75) went blind exactly when Eisav (15) became a rasha, or … later, is not clear from this Midrash.
The second reason, according to this Midrash, is that Yitzchak became blind as a result of the Akeida - Yitzchak (37) either gazed directly at the Shechina, or the angels' tears fell in his eyes. Either way, this should have caused Yitzchak to die on the spot, but HKB"H had mercy on Avraham and He delayed Yitzchak's blindness until he was "old" (an unspecified age). This first Midrash does not give exact dates or ages when Yitzchak went blind.
A second Midrash (בראשית רבה, פרשה סה, אות ד) says that Yitzchak went blind from the incense that Eisav's Hittite wives were burning for avodah zara. Eisav married Yehudit and Bosmat when he was aged 40. At that point Yitzchak was 100-years old. Did Yitzchak become blind immediately when Eisav married these wives, or a number of years later? This second Midrash also does not specify an exact age.
The only definitive indication we have is from a third Midrash (תנחומא תולדות, אות ח) which says that in order for Yaakov to get Yitzchak's bracha instead of Eisav, Yitzchak had to lose his sight. How old was Yitzchak when he gave the bracha of Eisav to Yaakov? 123-years-old. According to this opinion, for the last 57 years of his life Yitzchak was certainly blind.
From all this, it is very clear that by the time Yitzchak lost his sight, Eisav was already 63-years-old. In all this time, it is impossible to attribute Yitzchak's "love" for Eisav to his physical blindness.
According to other perushim, Eisav "deceived" Yitzchak כִּי צַיִד בְּפִיו. Eisav would pretend to be a big talmid chacham and a tzaddik in front of his father, but otherwise he behaved like a total rasha.
Was Yitzchak (who could still see) deceived by Eisav's playacting?
Eisav and his Hittite wives were living in Yitzchak's house and Yitzchak could smell the incense they were offering to avodah zara – it was inescapable.
By the time Yitzchak gave Yaakov Eisav's bracha (when Yitzchak was 123-years-old) it is clear that he knew that Eisav was not a tzaddik. Otherwise, why would he give Eisav explicit instructions how to hunt and prepare the meat for him - וְעַתָּה שָׂא נָא כֵלֶיךָ תֶּלְיְךָ וְקַשְׁתֶּךָ וְצֵא הַשָּׂדֶה וְצוּדָה לִּי צָיִדה (בראשית כז, ג). The Baal HaTurim says the word צָיִדה is written in the Torah with an extraneous letter ה, referring to the five halachot of shechita and the five simanim of purity in birds. Yitzchak was saying to Eisav "Make sure to do the shechita properly and don't bring me treif meat!" If Yitzchak thought that Eisav was such a "groisse tzaddik", who was "machmir" in taking trumot and maasot from salt and hay, then there would have been no need for spelling out to him the halachot of shechita.
When Yaakov entered the tent and uttered HKB"H's name, Yitzchak was confused הַקֹּל קוֹל יַעֲקֹב וְהַיָּדַיִם יְדֵי עֵשָׂו (שם, כב). Yitzchak was stunned to hear from who he thought was Eisav – the name of HKB"H … because Eisav never uttered HKB"H's name!
It is clear from the pshat of the psukkim (not from some convoluted "drush" or hints) that Yitzchak knew exactly who Eisav was and despite this … Yitzchak loved Eisav. What does it mean he "loved" Eisav, how can it be that Yitzchak would love someone he knew was a rasha? True, he didn't hear it from neighbors' gossip (HKB"H spared him that), but he saw it with his own two eyes (before he went blind) in his own house.
Let us revisit that passuk again and we will notice a very interesting thing.
The passuk above says וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת עֵשָׂו כִּי צַיִד בְּפִיו וְרִבְקָה אֹהֶבֶת אֶת יַעֲקֹב. There is something out of place here, can you notice what it is?
The second part of the passuk says וְרִבְקָה אֹהֶבֶת אֶת יַעֲקֹב, Rivka loves (in the present tense) Yaakov. If this is the Hebrew grammatical structure – loving in the present tense, then, for symmetry, the first part of the passuk should read וְיִצְחָק אוֹהֵב אֶת עֵשָׂו כִּי צַיִד בְּפִיו - Yitzchak loves (present tense) Eisav … and Rivka loves (present tense) Yaakov. But that is not what it says.
The passuk says וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת עֵשָׂו, that Yitzchak loved (past tense) Eisav. When you have a patach under the letter "vav", this changes the word from present tense to past tense (conversely, if there was a she'va under the vav, it would change it to future tense). So וַיֶּאֱהַב means Yitzchak loved (past tense) Eisav. But that is a very convoluted way to write "loved" (past tense). If you want to say that Yitzchak loved Eisav, it would have been much simpler to say וְיִצְחָק אָהַב אֶת עֵשָׂו – just like וְרִבְקָה אֹהֶבֶת אֶת יַעֲקֹב. That would be syntactically symmetrical (although we still need to explain the difference of tenses between Yitzchak and Rivka).
The word וַיֶּאֱהַב is a very strange word. It is a kind of a "schizophrenic" word. The addition of the letter "yud" seems to indicate future tense, but the patach under the "vav" seems to indicate past tense. It is almost as if the word is struggling within itself. It is a mixture of love in the past and love in the future, but it is not totally clear which. The only thing that is clear from it is that it is not love in the present.
Let us re-read this passuk using the above. "Yitzchak loved (will-love?) Eisav … and Rivka loves Yaakov".
When you read it in that way you get a profound insight into the entire parsha and begin to comprehend the greatness of Yitzchak.
Yitzchak did not love Eisav (in the present tense). In fact, Yitzchak had ZERO naches from Eisav from age 13 onwards. Until age bar mitzvah, the twin brothers Eisav and Yaakov were practically indistinguishable in character. They were both bochrim, learning Torah in yeshiva, they both had long payot, they both wore tzitzit, they both sang zmirot at the Shabbat table (in harmony). Aside from the outward physical appearance (hair disproportionality), they both seemed like good Yiddishe ingelach!
At age 13, however, their distinct personalities began to emerge (Rashi). Then we have our passuk above. From this point on, Yitzchak did not love Eisav in the present tense. He loved him in the past tense (how Eisav was before bar mitzvah) and also, he will love him in the future tense. What does that mean – in the future tense?
The Gemara (Avodah Zara 11a) says that when the passuk says שְׁנֵי גיֹיִם [קרי: גוֹיִם] בְּבִטְנֵךְ it is referring to Rebi (Yehuda HaNasi) and Antoninus.
We all know who Rebi was – he was descended from the lineage of David HaMelech and was the author of the Mishna. But who was Antoninus?
Antoninus was a Roman Emperor. There is a discrepancy amongst historians exactly which emperor (Marcus Aurelius, Septimius Severus, etc.), but that detail is irrelevant for our purposes. The "legend" of Rebi and Antoninus involves a kind of "dialogue" between leaders of the sons of Yaakov and the sons of Eisav (Edom).
We formerly have similar dialogues taking place - in the Greek era between Alexander the Great and שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל and later, in the Roman era, between R' Akiva and Tinnius Rufus. What makes Rebi and Antoninus special though, is that this dialogue was one of friendship, not animosity.
This friendship began from birth (מנורת המאור, סימן פג). When Rebi was born, the Roman emperor at the time, Hadrian, decreed that it was forbidden to perform brit milah. Rebi's father, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel defied the decree and circumcised his son Yehuda. A Roman governor discovered this and sent a report back to Rome. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, his wife and the baby Yehuda were summoned to Rome to stand trial.
On the way, they stopped off at an inn, where they met a royal Roman couple, who had also just given birth to a son, Antoninus. This common thread sparked a discussion between the couples and when the mother of Antoninus heard that baby Rebi and his family were summoned to Rome to be executed, she was shocked and offered a solution. She suggested that she and Rebi's mother temporarily switch babies. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel and his wife would take Antoninus to Rome instead of Rebi and the emperor Hadrian would see that he was uncircumcised and release them.
This is in fact what happened. When Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel showed Hadrian the uncircumcised baby, the emperor in a fury executed the Roman governor who had informed on them. Meanwhile baby Antoninus was temporarily breast fed by Rebi's mother (Tosfot, Avodah Zara 10b) and Rebi received Antoninus' mother's milk.
Throughout their lives Rebi and Antoninus were like brothers, although Antoninus considered himself Rebi's servant. There was a tunnel connecting their houses and they shared sumptuous feasts (Breishit Rabba 11,4). Antoninus always consulted with Rebi before embarking on a battle and as a result always triumphed. He rewarded Rebi with wealth and lavish gifts, which enabled Rebi to devote his entire time to formulating the Mishna, without the yoke of parnasa. The two engaged in deep spiritual discussion on various Torah topics.
As a result of receiving the pure milk of Rebi's mother, Antoninus eventually converted to Judaism (ירושלמי מגילה א, יא). On the other hand, by receiving Antoninus' mother's impure milk, Rebi later suffered thirteen years with pains in his teeth (Bava Metzia 85a).
The Megaleh Amukot (ואתחנן, אופן פג) says that Rebi was a gigul of Yaakov Avinu and Antoninus was gilgul of Eisav. Although Eisav was a rasha most of his life, for the first 13 years he was a tzaddik, by virtue of the pure milk he received from Rivka Imeinu.
This is what it means וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת עֵשָׂו. Yitzchak loved who Eisav was in the beginning, before he became a rasha. Yitchak will (in the future) love the descendant of Eisav – Antoninus.
Rebi and Antoninus embodied what Yitzchak envisioned for his two sons. That Yaakov would be the talmid chacham and Eisav would be the provider, in a Yissachar-Zevulun relationship. If Eisav had not become a rasha, that is what might have been. Instead, Eisav, through his evil choices, gave rise to both the darker side of Edom – Amalek, as well as the pinnacle of Edom – Antoninus.
Yitzchak Avinu was not blind to Eisav, not physically and not spiritually. Yitzchak Avinu could see down the path of history to two future eras where his vision for the two brothers would be realized.
The first was with Rebi and Antoninus after the destruction of Bayit Sheini when Am Yisrael descended into galut Edom. The second will be when the HKB"H sends the Mashiach. The gematria of וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת עֵשָׂו כִּי צַיִד בְּפִיו is also the gematria of וּמְצָאוּךָ כֹּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה בְּאַחֲרִית הַיָּמִים (דברים ד, ל). The gematria of וַיֶּאֱהַב יִצְחָק אֶת עֵשָׂו is also יִרְגְּזוּ כֹּל יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ כִּי בָא יוֹם ה' (יואל ב, א) and לְעֵת עֶרֶב יִהְיֶה אוֹר (זכריה יד, ז) - the prophecies of the Geulah.
Rashi, quoting Tehilim (פ, יד) says that Eisav is likened to a חֲזִיר. R' Bachyei (Vayikra 11, 14) says that the reason for this is because Edom destroyed Bayit Sheini and it will the task of Edom לְהַחֲזִיר הָעֲטָרָה לְיָשְׁנָהּ. Since they destroyed the 2nd Beit HaMikdash, Edom will be instrumental in rebuilding the 3rd Beit HaMikdash.
After almost 2000 years during which they held the reigns of malchut by virtue of the milk that Eisav received from Rivka and the tears Eisav wept when Yaakov stole his bracha, Edom will eventually מַחֲזִיר the malchut, they will "hand it over", back to HKB"H.
Some people think that we are seeing this process unfolding before our very eyes, with the modern day Rebi and Antoninus. Although the resemblance between Bibi/Rebi and Trump/Antoninus requires some stretch of the imagination, there are also unmistakable similarities. The political leaders of Am Yisrael and Edom, the close friendship between the two, the conversion of Trump's daughter to Judaism, etc.
It might simply be wishful thinking, but on the other hand it might not. The only thing separating it from reality is not the US, but us - Am Yisrael! If we can get it together and be worthy of it, it will not be fantasy, but reality. After millenia of missed opportunities, we have a golden chance to make things right by concentrating on the עִקַּר and not the טָפֵל. If, instead of continuing to quibble amongst ourselves we can for once rise above the occasion, with a common cause, perhaps we will b"H merit seeing Yitzchak's vision in our time.
It has already begun with the younger generation. The youngsters are waking up. A wave of reconciliation and קֵרוּב is washing over the younger generation of our nation. We need to foster it and at the very least - not hamper its natural course. Jews all over galut are receiving reminders in ever increasing intensity - where our true home is. We need to heed the call and begin making plans.
הַקֹּל קוֹל יַעֲקֹב וְהַיָּדַיִם יְדֵי עֵשָׂו – We need to do our part, with our voice, not our hands. It is Am Yisrael's job to concentrate on the voice, not the hands. We will not merit the Geulah because of the labor of our hands, but because of the unity of our voice. The job of the hands is that of Eisav, of Edom. If we are of one voice, then and only then - the hands of Eisav/Edom will be the hands that hand over the malchut to HKB"H who will reign forever.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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