Parshah Toldot, Genesis 25:19-28:9 covers the birth of the fightin’ twins Jacob and Esau, Isaac’s favoritism, Esau selling his birthright for a mess o’ pottage (mmmmmmmmmmm, pottage), Isaac pulling that old she’s-my-sister trick rather ineffectually (why do I get the feeling Isaac never told Rebecca about it?), the water wars, the blessing trick with the goatskin (why do I get the feeling Isaac knew about it?), and Jacob starting on his wife-hunting journey.
Now, the interesting story here is the goatskin trick. But before that happens, before they are even born, Rebecca feels the twins fighting inside her and goes to ask the Lord what’s up (the rabbis tell us that she asked Abraham, or went to the School of Shem, but the text says she goes to the Lord). And the Lord says “Look, these two are always going to fight, they will be very different, one from another, and the greater will serve the lesser.” What does Rebecca do?
What would you expect her to do?
Well, I tell you what she doesn’t do, she doesn’t tell Isaac. She doesn’t, as far as we know, even tell him how miserable she is, and this seems like a bad pregnancy. That’s not too surprising; Rebecca’s no whiner. But she doesn’t say “Oh, by the way, husband mine, the Lord dropped by today and said...”
She doesn’t say it that day. She doesn’t say it when they’re born, hand on heel, and she doesn’t say it when Isaac starts to favor Esau. She doesn’t mention it when Jacob buys Esau’s birthright (how close was Esau to dying there?) and she doesn’t mention it when Esau marries those two hos, and she doesn’t say it when Isaac gets all morbid about his blessing. Why not? Isaac is a pious man, perhaps the most pious man in the Scripture; surely a wink would be as good as a nod, there. What would the story be like if she did? What would the family be like? Would Isaac have grown to love Jacob for who he was, and still loved Esau? Could Rebecca have loved Esau, and still backed Jacob for the patriarchate? Could Esau have learned to farm a little, and Jacob to hunt a little, and perhaps consulted each other on the wives?
Could the younger still have taken the clan leadership, without all of them being so miserable all the time?
Thank you,
-Vardibidian.