"Vayitrotzetzu habanim be'kirbah"
And the children struggled in her womb. Bereishit 25:22
|
Be'kirbah (in her womb) seems to be superfluous. The word kav lies within
Rivka's name and it shares the same gematria as emunah (faith). Esav’s and
Yaakov’s struggle within Rivka's womb was because of their different faiths.
As the commentators note, Yaakov wanted to leave the womb when his mother
neared a house of learning and Esav wanted to leave when she approached a
house of idolatry.
from the sefer Od Yosef Chai, Drashot
"Vayetzei harishon admony. . . "Why does our verse honor Esav by calling him "the first?" Esav's progeny boasted that their forefather was called "the first." Our verse actually ridicules Esav by using this appellation. The Mahara Gabishon in Omer HaShich'chah stated that if a Torah scholar has a son who is a boor and a servant who is a Torah scholar, he should put his servant before his son. In the Arabian land Cartoba, the dayan (judge) of the city knew that he was near death. He had a son, who was no rocket scientist, and a particular student who was unusually diligent in Torah study; his student was the son of the town butcher. The dayan's son was clearly not on par with the student, so the dayan decided that his student should fill his position after his death. When his son heard that he was being passed over, he belittled the butcher's son by ridiculing his lineage. The student responded that even though his father was no Torah scholar, he was a scion of wisdom and knowledge although he was the first in his line. On the other hand, wisdom and knowledge ended in the dayan's generation for the dayan's son was the first in a line of fools and idiots. Avraham and Yitzhak were holy and wise men. Had Esav walked in the righteous paths of his forebears, he would not be called "the first." He would have been known as "the third" if his actions echoed those of his righteous forefathers. Since Esav was a rasha, our verse calls him "the first" because he behaved contrary to his forefathers. The cord of wisdom and righteousness was severed at Esav's generation. As a proper heir to Avraham and Yitzhak, Yaakov merited becoming the third av (patriarch); his righteous deeds reflected those of his father and grandfather.
|