18 Nov TOLDOT- WAGING THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE AGAINST ESAV

Parashat Toldot
tells the story of the
blessings that Yishak
Abinu decided to
give to Esav, but
ended up conferring
upon Yaakob, who, at his mother’s behest,
disguised as Esav and came before Yishak
to receive the blessing. The Torah relates
that when Esav came, and Yishak then told
him that his brother had deceived him and
received the blessings in his place, Esav
cried bitterly (“Va’yiz’ak Ze’aka Gedola
U’mara Ad Me’od” – 27:34).
The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni 115) comments
that Esav actually shed only three tears. One
fell from his right eye, another from his left
eye, and a third remained stuck inside his
eye. This third tear, the Midrash concludes,
is what has caused the Jewish Nation to shed
rivers of tears throughout the ages.
Rav Solomon Breuer (Germany, 1850-
1926), son-in-law of Rav Samson Raphael
Hirsch (1808-1888), offered a meaningful
explanation of the Midrash’s description.
The two tears that fell from Esav’s eyes
correspond to the two “wrongs” that Yaakob
committed against him. The first was
Yaakob’s purchasing the birthright from
Esav in exchange for food when Esav came

into the home weary and famished. And the
second, of course, was Yaakob’s seizing
the blessings which Yishak had intended to
grant to Esav. These two tears, Rav Breuer
explained, were what we would call today
“crocodile tears.” Esav was not really upset
over losing the birthright and Yishak’s
blessings. The birthright entailed performing
the special service in the Bet Ha’mikdash,
which Esav surely had no desire at all to
participate in. And as for the blessings,
the Midrash elsewhere (Bereshit Rabba
66:3) comments that in these blessings
there are allusions to all the different areas
of Torah – the Tanach, Mishna, Gemara,
etc. These blessings of success, prosperity
and dominance were not given “for free”;
they were promised only on condition, in
exchange for serious commitment to Torah
learning and observance. This is certainly not
something that Esav had any interest in.
Esav’s only real tear, Rav Breuer explained,
was the tear that remained in his eye, and
could not be seen. Meaning, what really
troubled Esav, what really pained him, was
not the birthright or the blessings, but rather
the knowledge that Yaakob was the worthier
brother, that he truly earned the right to bear
the legacy of Abraham and Yishak, to be a
patriarch of Hashem’s special nation.

And it is this hidden pain that has
caused Am Yisrael so much pain and
so many tears throughout the ages.
The enemies of the Jewish Nation
outwardly shed different kinds of
fake “tears,” they give different
reasons for why their hostility
toward us is justified, why they feel
they have the right to cause us harm
and to seek our destruction. But the
real reason is the hidden “tear,” the
resentment over Am Yisrael’s status
as G-d’s special nation.
When Yaakob first came before
Yishak disguised as Esav, Yishak
heard what sounded like Yaakob’s
voice, but when he felt Yaakob’s arms,
they felt hairy, like Esav, because
Ribka had wrapped goatskins around
his arms. Yishak then proclaimed, “Ha’kol
Kol Ya’akob, Ve’ha’yadayim Yedeh Esav” –
“The voice is the voice of Yaakob, but the
hands are the hands of Esav” (27:22). The
Midrash uncovers for us the deeper message
of Yishak’s pronouncement, explaining that
he was saying, “When the voice of Yaakov
is heard in the synagogues, the hands are
not the hands of Esav; otherwise, the hands
are the hands of Esav.” The way we protect
ourselves against the threat of Esav, from the
hostility and animosity of the enemy nations,

is through heartfelt prayer.
And so in our times, when there are so many
who are trying to inflict harm upon Am
Yisrael, both in Israel and around the world,
let us commit ourselves to increasing the
“voice of Yaakob,” to pray and beseech G-d
for His protection and assistance. We must
raise our voices and pour our hearts before
Hashem, and ask that He shield us from
those who seek our destruction, and grant
our nation the peace and serenity that we
long for.