Devar/5769/Toldot
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< Devar | 5769
עברית
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Now Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison; and Rebekah loved Jacob. (Gen 25:28)
According to the simple reading of the words, Isaac loved Esau because he fed him delicacies (see also the matter of the blessing further on in our portion). But according to the Midrash, he loved him because "he hunted him with words", with his mouth. That is, Esau was a deceiver and successfully deceived his father -- because were it not for that, Isaac would not have loved the man Esau. In contrast, "Rebekah loved Jacob" -- what does that add to our understanding? That she would hear his voice, and add to her love of him. She would hear him learning wisdom, and her love towards him would grow stronger.
It is clear that both of them loved both their children. Is it possible to think otherwise? Rather that as they grew and their personalities became established, it was difficult to love the man Esau because of who he was, and easy to love Jacob.
And the Torah's words show a different issue: regarding Isaac it says, "he loved" -- that is, he loved in the past-tense. And regarding Rebekah it says, "she loves" -- that is, an ongoing and continuous love, unhindered by restrictions of time. Perhaps that is simply the difference between a mother's and a father's love -- but it seems to me more correct that in order to love Esau one needed a reason -- whereas there was no such requirement regarding Jacob.
And therefore "because he did eat of his venison" -- whether in the simple or Midrashic interpretation -- was a reason for this love. And as our Sages said, Any love which depends on a reason - when the reason vanishes, so does the love (Avot 5:15)
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