The central dramatic incident in Parashat Toldot is the “purloined blessing” described in Beraishit 27. Yitzchak intimates that he wishes to give a special blessing to his son Eisav prior to the patriarch’s death, which sets Rivka in motion to orchestrate a means by which Yaakov can intercept the blessing and obtain it for himself. Although Rivka appears to take the lead in aiding and abetting her preferred son’s subterfuge (Ibid. 27:5-13), an earlier incident involving the twins already demonstrates that Yaakov was interested in supplanting his older brother’s preferred status, even if doing so meant taking advantage of an infirmity and sense of desperation on Eisav’s part:

Ibid. 25:29-34

29 And Yaakov sod pottage; and Eisav came in from the field, and he was faint. 30 And Eisav said to Yaakov: “Let me swallow, I pray thee, some of this red, red (pottage); for I am faint.” Therefore was his name called Edom. 31 And Yaakov said: “Sell me first thy birthright.” 32 And Eisav said: “Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit shall the birthright do to me?” 33 And Yaakov said: “Swear to me first;” and he swore unto him; and he sold his birthright unto Yaakov. 34 And Yaakov gave him bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. So Eisav despised his birthright.

R. Binyamin Lau, in an essay entitled “’Haliteini Na’: Ayeifuto Shel Eisav” (Etnachta: Kriyot BeParashat HaShavua Parashat Toldot) extrapolates from the Tora’s vignette in general, and v. 30 in particular, a number of insights regarding Eisav’s personality:

a.  “Let me swallow”—Eisav is interested not in any pleasure from the food he craves, but simply that he be force-fed, i.e., he will open his mouth and food poured into it, as one would treat an animal, in order to assuage his deeply-felt hunger pangs.

b. “This red, red”—Eisav makes an instinctual decision that he wants this food without discerning any more than its external color. When the Tora adds in the same verse, “Therefore was his name called Edom,” the text implies that his attitude of carpe diem in an immediate, visceral manner, was not only evident in this parti,cular incident, but rather was intrinsic to his general personality.

c. “For I am faint”—The Tora notes how Eisav feels both objectively in v. 29 and subjectively in v. 30. Not only does Eisav say about himself that he is deeply weary, but the impersonal narrator states as much at the end of the previous verse. R. Lau reflects upon the weariness and what it seems to imply not only about Eisav, but about certain people in general. He suggests that while Eisav’s exhaustion could be attributed to the strenuous tasks that he sets for himself as a hunter, perhaps his physical state is also indicative of the same state of mind that leads him to the conclusion: “Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit shall the birthright do to me?” R. Lau suggests that hunting whereby an individual lives off of the land and takes advantage of whatever opportunities present themselves in the here-and-now, indicates a lack of purpose and thinking about the future and what one wishes to accomplish over the course of a lifetime.

“Weariness results from the lack of enjoyment of life. The source of joy for a person comes about by means of the connection between the past and the future by way of the present.”

R. Lau sensitively points to the literary quality of the rapid-fire listing of verbs in v. 34 as indicating Eisav’s obsession with living in the present. “…and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way…” The immediate objective, i.e., obtaining some sustenance, has been achieved; what will be the next thing that will cross my path or what I wish to do?

R. Lau finally notes that Eisav at this point in his life when he is so tired and concerned about his impending mortality, is notably quite a young man. 25:29-34 follows on the heels of v. 27, whose opening phrase “And the boys grew,” is traditionally understood to connote that they had reached adolescence, i.e., the age of thirteen (see RaShI).

On the other hand, we can calculate that a half century passes between the incident of the pottage and the striving after receiving Yitzchak’s blessing. We know that 1) Yitzchak was 60 when the boys were born (25:26); 2) Yishmael was 137 when he died (25:17); 3) Yishmael his daughter (28:9), and therefore the oldest he could have been at that point was 63 if Yishmael was still alive; 5) because Eisav appears to become sensitized to the inappropriateness in his parents’ eyes of his having married Canaanite women only after Yaakov is sent away due to the ostensible concern that he not marry a Canaanite (juxtaposition of 28:8-9 with 28:1-7 without the space of a “Petucha” or a “Setuma” separating the accounts, as well as a connecting “Vav” beginning v. 8– see my blog post “Honest Communication” 11/8/15), then Yaakov must have been 63 at this time as well; 6) Eisav bitterly recalls the earlier incident of his selling the birthright as soon as he realizes that Yaakov has been given the blessing meant for him by Yitzchak (27:36), fully 50 years after the earlier event took place! While the old saw states that time heals all wounds, this was obviously not the case with respect to the slights that Eisav perceived.

It is tragic when a person has no trajectory for his life and simply lives day-to-day, obsessed with past slights and hurts, as R. Lau depicts Eisav. While Eisav is thought of as the “dark” twin who is always in conflict with Yaakov, there is an aspect of his life being presented as his having no goal or purpose, that engenders sympathy.

I think that the troubling aspect of the bible’s account of Eisav is how his life appears to be already predetermined from the day of his birth. Even at the outset, when he first emerges into the world from Rivka’s womb, the Tora states, (25:25) “And the first came forth ruddy (i.e. red), all over like a hairy mantle; and they called his name Eisav,” concerning which RaShI comments: “Everyone called him this (Eisav) because he was made and completed with respect to his hair like one who is several years old.” While RaShI’s interpretation is focused upon Eisav’s hairiness, the fact that he is born with a reddish hue, and later is attracted to the “red, red” that Yaakov is cooking, suggests that there was no development or differentiation not only with respect to his external appearance, but also in terms of how he identified with certain likes and dislikes.

Such an approach flies in the face of a haunting series of comments made by R. S.R. Hirsch regarding the education that Yitzchak and Rivka gave their twin sons and the power and effectiveness of appropriate education for virtually anyone:

R. S.R. Hirsch on Beraishit 25:27 s.v. VaYigdilu

In no place our Scholars have not avoided mocking the weaknesses and errors, both small and large, regarding the deeds of our great Forefathers; and specifically by means of this approach they have made the Tora greater, and glorified its lessons for generations… Here also, one of their inferences hints to us and that deep antipathy between Avraham’s grandsons (Yaakov and Eisav), its original origins was not only with respect to their respective attributes, but also their inadequate education.

Beraishit Rabba, Parashat Toldot 63:27

R. Pinchos in the name of R. Levi: It is a parable to a myrtle and Butcher’s Broom (a thorny green plant) that grow next to one another. Once they become grown, this one presents flowers and this one thorns. So too all of the first thirteen years they both went to school and came back from school. After thirteen years this one when to the houses of study and this one went to the idolatrous temples. Said R. Elazar b.r. Shimon: A person has to intensively engage with his child for the first thirteen years. From that point on he must say, “A Blessing that I have been exempted from the punishment of this one.”

As long as they were young, no one paid attention to their different private experiences. The identical aspect of Tora and education was offered to both of them. And they (Yitzchak and Rivka) forgot the great rule in education: (Mishlei 22:6) “Train up a child in the way he should go…” One must gear the education to what is appropriate for the child’s unique way of doing things going forward, that takes into consideration his attributes and predilections that reside in the depths of his soul. In this way to educate him towards the pure goal, which is simultaneous humanistic and Jewish. The great Jewish task is one and unique in its essence, but the ways of how it is manifested are multiple and multi-dimensional, corresponding to the attributes of man and the great diversity of their ways of life…

R. Hirsch suggests that while Yaakov’s needs and personality were well-served by the education that he received, Eisav was not given the type of Jewish learning, perhaps particularly extra-curricular experiences, that could engage his interests and abilities. This lacking, according to R. Hirsch, contributed as much to his eventual alienation from living the lifestyle established by Avraham, as did Eisav’s own nature and personality. Can we even imagine what might have been if he had been approached differently, taking into consideration who he was and what he liked to do? (See my blog post “Oliver Sachs Remembers his Religious Childhood” of Oct. 29, 2015.) A long-standing criticism of Yeshiva and day school education is the focus placed upon those who are particularly adept at “book learning,” while students who may have other talents and strengths are doomed to feel inadequate. A poor educational experience while young can often lead to general alienation from Tora and Mitzvot down the road.

So even if viewing Eisav as an archetype of everything that Jews must not be, in the spirit of (27:22) “…The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Eisav,” it seems to me that the humanity and potential of Eisav as a person and even spiritual exemplar is overlooked. While individuals can choose certain paths from which it progressively becomes more and more difficult to change and take up a different lifestyle—both for better and for worse—the potential that exists during an individual’s early years must never be overlooked and taken for granted. Insightfully trying to understand as many individuals as possible and design for each of them an ILP (Individualized Learning Program) should not only be a priority for those who have been identified as being beset by learning difficulties, but as many students as possible in the spirit of “Train up a child in the way he should go.”