28 Isaac’s Stubbornness
Ha Torah does not gloss over or cover up mistakes by the holy patriarchs, matriarchs, or the children of the holy families, Regardless of how painful or embarrassing they may be. Ha Torah is a Book of Truth. (Psalms 119.142) says, ‘Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your Torah is the Truth.’ When Ha Torah states in (Genesis 28.7), ‘Jacob obeyed his father, and his mother,’ Ha Torah teaches us that Esau did not obey his parents. (Genesis 27 – 28) shares the mistakes of Isaac and Rebekah and the sins of Esau. The holy patriarchs and matriarchs were nomadic people who normally lived in tents. Their lives were an open book that could be constantly scrutinized by anyone within the sound of their voices.
•That is how Isaac learned that his father, Abraham commissioned Eliezer not to take a wife for [his] son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom Abraham lived; Instead, you shall go to my country, and my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.’
•That is how ‘Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son’ (Genesis 27.5).
•That is how Esau knew ‘Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Padan-Aram, to take a wife. That is how he heard Isaac’s command to Jacob not to take a wife from the daughters of Canaan, and that is how and when Esau learned that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father or mother. Had Esau not skipped classes at the Academy of Shem and Eiver, he would have also learned this.
(Genesis 28.1) says, ‘And Isaac, he called out to Jacob – Jacob was close. He was within the sound of Isaac’s shout, and so was Esau. They live in proximity to each other. And [Isaac] blessed [Jacob] – without pretense – and commanded [Jacob], – of his own free will – and said unto [Jacob],‘ You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan.’
Arise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take a wife from there of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. And may God Almighty Bless you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, that you may be a multitude of people; And give the blessing of Abraham to you, and your seed with you; that you may inherit the land where you are a stranger, which God Gave to Abraham. And Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan-Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother. (Genesis 28.6-9) says, ‘When Esau perceived that Isaac had [freely] blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Padan-Aram, to take a wife from there; and that as he blessed him, he gave him a charge, saying, You shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; And that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother,and had gone to Padan-Aram; And Esau discerned that the daughters of Canaan did not please Isaac, his father; Esau Then went to Ishmael, [his uncle] and took, In addition to the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife.’ Esau understood all along that his Canaanite wives were forbidden. Technically speaking, he had not heard his father say that Canaanite daughters were forbidden to him until that day. Being technical in Judaism is sometimes an issue. Perhaps Esau thought that marrying these Canaanite women was okay because his father didn’t say don’t do it! The fact of the matter is Esau married at the age of forty without consulting his parents. Esau’s in-your-face unabashed shameless brazen, blatant vile evil act showed he did what he wanted without concern for his parents. (Genesis 26.35) says, ‘They [Esau, Judith, and Bashemath] became a מֹרַת – Moh Raht – a defiant impediment to the רוּחַ – Ruach – Spirit Breath for Isaac and for Rebekah.
Some may say that despite Esau’s humiliating, embarrassing sinful, evil actions, Isaac held out a ray of hope for Esau. Isaac is the example of a strong-willed, stubborn, obstinate, uncompromising leader, husband, and father who refused to acknowledge what he saw, heard, and experienced. Being pernicious does NOT CHANGE THE FACTS!! If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is the duck. As a side note: Conservatives, it is time for us to move on from the 2020 elections. Holding a grudge For something that may or may not have happened does not benefit us one iota. We have the opportunity to make good, righteous choices in the fall of 2022.
Had Isaac not turned a blind eye to Esau’s sins, the outcome may have differed. It may have made a difference in his life. Parents who make mistakes should acknowledge them and not dwell on them. I want my four sons to follow Ha Torah As best as possible. Even though they may make choices not supported by Ha Torah, they are adults who will be held accountable for their choices.
In conclusion, Rashi shares a story about Isaac’s influence on Esau’s firstborn, Eliphaz. Let’s consider the blessing of the firstborn. Jacob received a double portion of Isaac’s wealth. How were the portions determined? Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau. Isaac divided his wealth into three parts. Jacob received two parts, i.e., 2/3rds of Isaac’s wealth. Esau received one portion. i.e., 1/3 of Isaac’s wealth.
When Isaac sends Jacob away to live with Laban and marry one of his daughters, The Torah does not say much about Jacob traveling with his servants, cattle, and gold. Yet, Jacob took all his wealth and left for Padan-Aram to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah Jacob’s and Esau’s mother. That is why Esau was so angry and filled with hate toward Jacob. That is one reason why Esau wanted to murder Jacob. Esau saw the vast wealth of Isaac departing with Jacob.
What happened to Jacobs’s wealth? What happened to Jacob’s double portion? When Jacob fled from Esau, Eliphaz, the son of Esau, went after him and overtook him. Eliphaz was ordered by his evil father to murder his Uncle Jacob. How could he do such a horrible act? His grandfather, Isaac, raised Eliphaz in the precepts of righteousness, purity, holiness, truth, and spirituality. He taught Eliphaz The Commands of Ha Torah. Eliphaz did not want to disobey his father’s order to kill his Uncle Jacob because it was evil. Eliphaz recognized responsibility to his father, while at the same time, he wanted to be righteous as Grandpa Isaac had taught him. He was conflicted! How could he do both? When he overtook his Uncle, he explained his predicament. Uncle Jacob was a Torah Scholar. He helped Eliphaz sort things out.
Some of us may be in a predicament because we have strong allegiances to others and responsibility to Observe Ha Torah. That is where Eliphaz was.So what did he do? Eliphaz consulted with a tzaddik, i.e., a Righteous man. He consulted with Uncle Jacob regarding his predicament. Jacob’s counsel to his nephew was to take everything he owned because a poor man is considered dead. Eliphaz heeded his Uncle’s counsel and took everything but the clothes Jacob was wearing and his staff. Eliphaz did not know the value of his Uncle’s staff. Devarim 2.20) – Rabbi Yisrael Isser Zvi Hertz, e.g., The Sapirstein Edition Rashi Bereisheit / Genesis {Brooklyn, New York: Mesorah Publications, Ltd. First Edition 10th impression 2007}, p 320.
Our goal should be to rely on Ha Torah, live as Ha Torah teaches us, and encourage our spouse and children to do likewise.
Good Sabbath,
Dr. Akiva Gamliel Belk – ‘George’
