by Rabbi Avi Billet
Rabbi Shimshon’s Raphael Hirsch’s commentary on the Torah’s introduction to Eisav and Yaakov is singularly refreshing.
From the words והנה תומם, Rav Hirsch derives several indications. First, the word הנה (behold) often introduces something unexpected. For Rivkah, who knew there were two boys in her, the appearance of twins was not a surprise. In fact, due to their seeming differences in nature, and thus their rumblings within her, they were presumed to be quite different. The surprise, therefore, was that they were identical! The difference was “in their constitution, one was more physically developed, stronger and healthier than the other.” Second, a source, from the double חסר, the fact that the word תאומים (twins) is missing two letters as it is spelled תומם, hints to their being identical.
I wonder, once we’re noting the spelling of תומם, whether it could also hint to the idea that they both had the potential to be תמים – a word we’ll define momentarily, as it ends up being a depiction of Yaakov alone.
Continuing with Hirsch, “The external resemblance, had they compared it with the revelation about the divergent future paths, should have drawn the attention of the boys’ educators. It was their duty to recognize that the root of the future dissimilarity lay deep below the surface, hidden in the depths of personality.”
Hirsch defines אדמוני as being “ruddy,” a sign of radiant health. He argues that hair on a newborn is a sign of surplus energy and life force, and that in Eisav’s case there was such a surplus of this energy that “the whole body was covered with soft hair.” His name, עשו, comes from the word עשה, which means “fully made and fully developed” as he brought “life and protective strength in full measure” along with him into the world.
In calling the second son יעקב, Yitzchak was the only one who noticed the contrast at birth. Eisav was distinct on account of his personality. Yaakov was distinct on account of his actions. By holding onto Eisav’s heel, he indicated he will follow on the heels of his brother and aim to overtake him.
The Midrash notes the mistakes in their upbringing, emphasizing the need for education and the raising of children to follow the principle of חנוך לנער על פי דרכו, to educate each child according to his particular proclivities. (Mishlei 22:6) Essentially, while they were little, no one bothered paying attention to the differences between them that were apparent at birth – and they were raised the same way.
In comparison, and to his credit, when Yaakov blessed his children near the end of his own life, he didn’t just see in them the teachers of Torah and the Kohanim. He saw the tribe of merchants and of kings and of warriors and of farmers. He saw the whole nation, with the manifold characters and diverse ways of development, as he blessed ALL of them, each according to his qualities (49:28).
For Yaakov’s personality, his way of learning comes from books and pursuit of knowledge. Eisav can’t wait to get out of the classroom so he could move on with his life in the manner he will design for himself.
Hirsch laments that had Yitzchak and Rivkah only seen this, Eisav had the potential to be much more than a גיבור ציד, a mighty hunter, but a גיבור לפני ה', a warrior before God. “The sword of Eisav could have entered into a covenant with the spirit of Yaakov, and who knows what turn world history would have taken!”
But it did not happen. The young men grew up, and only then was it noticed how different they were. Like many other commentaries, Hirsch notes that the depictions of them contain their vocations and a character trait. For Eisav who is יודע ציד איש שדה, the knowledge of trapping is his character while being a man of the field (a farmer?) is his work. Yaakov is an איש תם יושב אהלים, and being a תם (simple or complete person) is his character, while dwelling in tents references his profession (a shepherd? as compared to Bereshis 4:20). [Hirsch doesn’t refer to either as a farmer or shepherd, but leaves it simply as “man of field” and “dweller of tent” per the language of the verse – other commentaries go the route of farmer and shepherd, which begs a strong comparison to Kayin and Hevel!]
The ציד (tzayad) appears to be innocent, but in his heart he harbors the intent to kill. His art is the exercise of trickery… in a different sphere this is called diplomacy. As an expert hunter, Eisav “knew the art of self-control: set a trap and then wait patiently for the opportune moment. His upbringing… forced him to develop patience, the ability to wait for the opportune moment.” Being forced into one way of study caused him to reject everything and become completely and only a “man of the field.”
As an איש תם, Yaakov “knows only one direction and devotes himself entirely to it, a man single-minded in his whole essence. He was single-minded in seeking to fulfill the mission entrusted to him as Yitzchak’s son and Avraham’s grandson, and therefore became a dweller of tents, a person whose sphere of activity is in human society, in whose midst he leads a life of study and practice.”
The ways in which the Torah depicts the parents’ love for their children is also indicative of a problem – Yitzchak “loves Eisav because he was a hunter with his mouth” and Rivkah “loved Yaakov.” There should never be a “because” attached to a parent’s love for a child. And there should not be a seeming preference between which parent loves one child seemingly more or seemingly less or seemingly differently.
Knowing we are Monday morning quarterbacks on the raising of Yaakov and Eisav, Rav Hirsch is most grateful to the Torah for its honesty regarding the natures of Yaakov and Eisav and how their personalities were ignored in their upbringing, in their being given the same upbringing despite their natural differences, and in how that came to create opposites and enemies rather than two different cogs on the same wheel. We often think of a Yissachar/Zevulun relationship as being one of a scholar partnering with a merchant to achieve a particular goal in the service of God, where each focuses on his strength and lovingly, willingly, and at great sacrifice contributes to the partnership.
Knowing that people are different and that each person has strengths and weaknesses helps remind us that while goals and values are meant to unite us, there are different approaches to how to achieve those which can be reached through methods that utilize those different strengths that people bring to the table.
Could Eisav have been a תם? Does such a humble trait fit in with his surplus energy and his boisterous personality? Can we see such a possibility from his being depicted as one of two תומם? Could his strengths have been channeled through a pipeline more dedicated to the service of God so he could emerge as a hero of our people instead of a villain most noted for his descendants negative role against our people? It is hard to know or say for sure.
This is the tapestry of humanity, that people with different natures and energies can be part of a greater whole. When the strengths in questions are utilized properly, we can only elevate the service of God, as well as feelings of brotherhood we can have for one another.
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