By Rabbi Dovid Markel
Parshat Toldot begins with an account of Rivka’s pregnancy. The verse (Bereishit 25:22) states: “And the children struggled within her, and she said, “If [it be] so, why am I [like] this?” And she went to inquire of the Lord.”
Rashi explains based on the Medrash (Bereishit Rabba 63:6), that already from the womb, each of her children expressed their natures: “When she passed by the entrances of [the] Torah [academies] of Shem and Ever, Yaakov would run and struggle to come out; when she passed the entrance of [a temple of] idolatry, Esav would run and struggle to come out.”
It appears though, that Esav got the short end of the stick. It hardly seems fair that even prior to his birth—by no fault of his own—he had a predisposition towards sin; it seems that he was set up to fail.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains this (Litutei Sichot, 20:2) based on Maimonides in Shemona Perakim (Ch. 6), which elucidates as follows: In man there are two variant traits. There is an individual who is thoroughly righteous and there is the individual who overcomes his evil inclination.
The first is parallel to the tzadik and the second to the baal teshuvah. Now, from the Talmud’s (Berachot 34b) statement that “In the place where penitents stand even the wholly righteous cannot stand,” it is understood that in potential, Esav had the ability to be greater than his brother Yaakov, but he squandered it with his own bad decisions.
Yitzchak saw this potential in Esav and it was for this reason that he wished to bless him. For he understood that the ultimate goal of the world is not to sit in the tent and study, as Yaakov had done, but to elevate the world.
Rivka realized however, that in truth, in order to effectuate change in the world, one needs Torah study as well.
There is in this a twofold lesson: Often we are told that the life of Torah study is the ultimate goal—a person who does not have this ability often seems dejected, as they have an impediment from the onset of their lives.
However, in truth there are two objectives – one to transform the world and one’s natural proclivities and the other to be a naïve scholar, separate from worldly affairs. The reality is that there is an advantage in Esav’s world that Yaakov deeply wanted. He understood that ultimately G-d wished to transform the world, and indeed, after Yaakov received the blessings, he enclothed himself in Yaakov’s characteristics.
For, only with a symbioses between the two traits will we speedily merit to a time where the vision of G-dliness permeating the world will be fulfilled. May it happen speedily—now!
