Dear Friends,
'Rabbi, I'm a bad Jew'- How often do we hear modern Jews speak about themselves in self deprecating terms. But is there really such a thing as a 'Bad Jew'?
When Isaac our forefather grew old and blind, he wanted to bless one of his two sons with eternal blessings. He chose the Esau and sent him on a mission to bring him dinner before imparting the blessing upon him.
In a dramatic twist of the Torah portion this week, Rivka, Isaac's wise wife, sends the righteous Jacob in for the blessing. Concerned that the blind Isaac would realise that he was being duped, she dressed him in the clothes of Esau, so that Isaac eventually declared that the 'voice is the voice of Jacob but the hands are the hands of Esau'.
How interesting! Instead of adopting the age old tradition of Jewish wives criticising their husbands when they disagree with them, Rivkah goes to great lengths to deceive her husband by exploiting his blindness so that Jacob would receive the blessing instead of Esau! Why didn't she just talk to him?!
Our sages reveal to us that within Rivka's actions lie tremendous meaning and depth. As a yiddishe mame, she intuitively anticipated a day, far in the future, when her righteous Jacob, would indeed dress like the wild Esau. Instead of studying Torah and observing mitzvahs all day, she saw a Jacob far off in time that would live as the other nations, though deep inside he would remain Jacob.Indeed- Rivka forsaw the typical American Jew.
Rivka loved not just her openly righteous Jacob, but even the Jacob who would dress and behave like Esau. This is why she went to great lengths to ensure that the blessing Isaac gave to Jacob would impact him whilst he was dressed as Esau. In this way she ensured, that even when the American Jew would arrive on stage, he too would know that he was loved, accepted and embraced by our Yiddishe Mame.
A Jew is a Jew is always a Jew!
Good Shabbos
Rabbi Dovid and Chana Vigler