Toldot can mean “history” or “generations,” a word that can also speak to the idea of “results'' or “outcome.” As people, we know “what” Toldot means, but do we feel a sense of belonging on a gut level? We recognize that when it says “This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham, Abraham begot Isaac,” it is about a family genealogy that also speaks to Rebekah as well (Genesis 25:17). Yet when we read it do we have a personal connection or is it just another story? We further read in Genesis 25:27 about the birth of their sons, Esau and Jacob. It says that “when the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob became a mild man, raising livestock,” the former a hawk and the later a dove. And like with many other families, one parent gravitated toward one child, as Isaac did with Esau and Rebekah did with Jacob (Gen. 27:28). It was the same family, but they were all different, but they are our family as well.
Regarding Esau and Jacob, our tradition has much to say. Rashi and Ibn Ezra tell us that Esau is a “trickster,” a man not to be trusted, while Jacob is a “simple” or “naive” shepherd, who spends his days studying Torah, a justification of Rebekah’s later deceit. The Netziv, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin, teaches that Isaac proposed to bless Esau with birkat haaretz (the blessing of the land) – physical plenitude and mastery over the physical world. Reserved for Jacob was the birkat Avraham (the blessing of Abraham) – the blessing that Abraham received ensuring that his descendants would be God’s chosen nation. In the promise to Abraham found in Genesis 12:2, the blessing itself was about the “physical land,” so I am not sure how you can break them up between birkat haaretz and birkat Avraham. In that spirit I’d say the blessings of Isaac were not either/or, meaning that the blessings that Esau and Jacob received each had their own meaning and purpose. Yet in Isaac's blessing to Esau he told him that Jacob had a responsibility to do right by him, or as a Midrash (Genesis R. 67:7) says, “If he (Jacob) merits, you will serve; if not, you will eradicate,” or “revolt.” Esau serving Jacob did not give Jacob the right to do as he pleased.
That is what makes this partly so tough; Arabs and Jews are cousins and have responsibility toward one another's well being. What is even tougher is the Jewish divisions within our community that are emerging over what is happening in Gaza. The Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) on October 27th organized a rally in New York City where hundreds of activists engaged in a peaceful sit-in and wore black T-shirts that read “Not In Our Name, ”saying that “The Israeli government has declared a genocidal war on the people of Gaza.” The JVP, and other like groups, are helping to shape the minds of the younger Jewish generations who have a different connection to Israel and a different worldview. While it is true that JVP calls out “the massacres committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians are horrific war crimes,” they do not do not condemn Hamas and do not stand in solidarity with their family tragedies of October 7th, only blaming Israel for their apartheid policies concerning the Palestinians. In response Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) wrote, “who in their right mind can watch Hamas commit atrocities. Brutally murder civilians, kidnap children & elderly & then protest Israel’s right to defend itself???”
Calling a ceasefire is not a bad thing, and the fact is that the Palestinians are also prisoners of Hamas who have taken their freedoms and human rights away, many of their lives being unnecessarily lost. I get it, no one wants to see war and no one wants to see innocent lives being taken away, Jew or Arab. While I feel the heart of JVP my heart belongs with the toldot of the Jewish people who are fighting for survival regardless if the world wants to see that. This has been Israel's life for 75 years, if not more, being attacked by people who do not want them to exist. Therefore, as Jews we must support Israel's right to defend themselves and not call for a ceasefire, even more so since Hamas continues to say that their main stated goal is to kill Jews and destroy Israel and will not give every hostage back. I wish JVP, and others, could see that. I wish JVP would teach that to the new generations of Jews that follow them. But what JVP teaches is that Israel is an apartheid state and in the end break's up the family. But I also get this as well: Although the world knows that Hamas is hurting their own people and only cares about their own interests to destroy Israel, the world calls out Israel as a country that values people and human rights to stop this war with a ceasefire, because Hamas will not. That is an unfair burden to put on any one country given their situation to secure their survival. This is much more than Israel's problem alone.
The roadmap of the Middle East is complicated, and not all Jews have the same political views, but this is not about politics but about the survival of our family. So circling back to Esau and Jacob, despite their early squabbles and differences, both brothers shared a common desire - their father's blessing. Jewish division will not help, especially over Israel, the only Jewish state in the world. We have to find common ground as Jews to allow Israel to defend herself as this is about survival and not about territories. Like Esau and Jacob who saw their father's blessing as a part of their lineage, we also must connect to the toldot of our ancestors and the survival of our/the Jewish people.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam Ruditsky
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