Shabbat Toldot
It is often said that women in the Bible play a very secondary role. And it may be true that the Bible was written in a very different society to the one in which we live today. Nevertheless, if you look beneath the surface there are plenty of indications that the role of the woman was both valued and appreciated.
This week’s reading from the Torah concerning Rivkah gives us an example. Like Sarah she was unable to conceive for a long time. Yet they both lived in a loving environment with husbands who cared about them and were sympathetic to their needs and their anxieties.
We see how both Rivkah and Yitzchak come together to beseech God to solve their problem of infertility. God answered their prayers Rivkah and became pregnant. But the pregnancy is a hard one. This time she does not go with her husband but directly to God. She is told she has twins and they’re struggling within her and the younger will rule over the elder. She takes the initiative, and God replies directly to her. We have no knowledge at all if God conveyed the message to Yitzchak or indeed if she did.
The boys grow up. Eysav is a strong, ruddy, hairy baby who becomes a hunting man. Jacob is more of a home loving, reflective personality. He becomes Rivkah’s favorite. Yitzchak prefers Eysav. These two very different characters represent two different models of leadership. The aggressive, the physical on the one hand, and the reflective, calculating meritocratic character.
As Yitzchak gets older, he wants to bless his two children. The blessing is in two separate parts. One is the physical benefit that an elder brother has from the birthright, the double portion in the estate. The other is maintaining and furthering the moral spiritual traditions of the father into the next generation. Eysav has already sold his birthright to Jacob for a cup of soup. Which indicated a lack of respect for tradition. Although you might see it as an admirable lack of interest in materialism. But he has shown disrespect to his parents otherwise over his choice of wife.
It is surprising that Yitzchak sees Eysav as the son who will carry on his heritage. As between Abraham and Yaakov, Yitzchak is the least aggressive of the two. It’s surprising therefore, that Yitzchak chooses the physicality of Eysav as a potential leader in a violent world, to the more academic or considered character of Jacob. Perhaps as a compensation for his own passivity.
We don’t know if Rivkah ever discussed this issue with her husband. But she was convinced that Yaakov would be the far better person to carry on the spiritual heritage of Avraham and Yitzchak, and so she set about ensuring that Yaakov would get the blessing even if it involved deception. She brushes aside Yaakov’s reservations and promises that she will accept any repercussions.
She dresses Yaakov in the clothes of Eysav, with goat hair on his harms, provides him with the substitute food imitating Eysav’s and sends him in to say that he is Eysav. Yitzchak is not completely persuaded “ The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are those of Eysav.” And yet he allows himself to be persuaded.
When Eysav returns and it’s clear that Yaakov has deceived his father, still Yitzchak refuses to change his mind despite Eysav’s heart rending tears of disappointment. In the end it seems that Yitzchak is reconciled to confirming the deception. Rebecca has won and history shows that she was right in her choice. Had she not carried out the deception we would not be who we are. We might have been Hamas today!
Eysav then swears that he wants to kill Jacob in revenge. Rivkah is desperate. Eysav surely will blame her and if he carries out his wish to kill his brother then she would have lost both sons. Rivkah wants to avoid saying anything negative against Eysav that might upset her husband, and so she tells Yitzchak that she wants Yaakov to go back to his and her family in Aram and find a wife. Rather than let him fall into the arms of the local girls as Eysav has already done. Once again, she hides her motives. Is this a case of defending deception or rather conviction of what is the right thing to do?
The role of Rivka in this whole episode is crucial, not just for her but for the future of the Jewish people. Regardless of what succeeding pressures were brought to bear by other cultures and their values in keeping women down or suppressing their importance, the Torah clearly encourages women to fight for their rights so to speak, and to stand up for what they believe is the right course of action .
Bereishit 27-28:8
Rosh Chodesh Kislev Sunday
Rabbi Jeremy Rosen lives in New York. He was born in Manchester. His writings are concerned with religion, culture, history and current affairs – anything he finds interesting or relevant. They are designed to entertain and to stimulate. Disagreement is always welcome.
