The first section of the Sidra of Tol’dot is devoted to the birth of Isaac’s and Rebecca’s two boys, Jacob and Esau. Sadly, at first, Rebecca did not have any children and there was sadness in the home. Eventually, Rebecca became pregnant. Her pregnancy was unusual in the sense that the children clashed inside her to such an extent that she suffered and didn’t see the purpose in going on living. Finally, we are told that she went and enquired of God, which means that she turned to a Prophet to find out the significance of the clashes. We do not know who this Prophet was. However, we do know that the Patriarchs had a relationship with some important spiritual figures of their time. Thus, for example, when Abraham returned from his war against the attackers of Sodom, he was welcomed by Malkizedek, the King of Shalem, who made a reception for him with bread and wine and blessed him. Rebecca might have gone to someone like him. In his prophecy, the Prophet told her that her two sons would produce two nations, Edom and Israel. There will be a constant struggle and eventually the nation coming from the younger boy will prevail over the nation coming from the older boy. The older will become subservient to the younger. This prophecy was fulfilled later on in Israelite history. The Edomeans settled in the South, in the region of the Dead Sea, on the Eastern side of the Jordan and established their kingdom before the Israelites. But, in the days of King David, they became subjugated to the Israelites Empire. This prophecy was the basis upon which Rebecca justified her actions, when she urged Jacob to cheat his father and wrest the blessing from Esau. She acted in accordance with God’s will.

The background to this story is a Mesopotamian legal practice in which the eldest son was entitled to an inheritance share which was double that of the younger son. But, particularly in Hurrian law, it was common practice for the father to designate whoever he liked as the older son, contrary to the actual order of birth. This practice continued during the lifetime of the Patriarchs and Jacob himself followed it within his own family. However, later on, the Torah outlawed it.

We are told that, when the two brothers grew up, they proved to be opposites. Esau went to the field regularly to hunt, which means that he was a crafty person. Jacob is described as an ISH TAM, which means that he was not crafty; he was a straightforward person who loved peace and quiet. He is also described as a tent dweller which means either that he was a student of Torah or a shepherd. Indeed, in Laban’s house he became a shepherd for many years.

In the next episode the Torah tells us of Jacob’s transaction with Esau. It is probable that Jacob knew of the prophecy that had been transmitted to Rebecca, before he was born. Therefore, he took the opportunity to make a deal with Esau and obtain the birth-right. There is a widespread view that Jacob cheated Esau, taking advantage of his tiredness, because a plate of soup is not sufficient compensation for the birth-right. But this is not the view of our traditional commentators. The Spanish commentator ABRABANEL, who flourished in Spain in the 15th century and was expelled from that country, together with his brethren in 1492, explains that Jacob knew that Esau did was not fit to be the spiritual leader of the family because he did not believe in God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants. The mediaeval commentator, Rashbam, Rabbi Shmuel ben Meir Rashi’s grandson, offers an alternative explanation. He says that Jacob did pay Esau a handsome fee before giving him the soup. The soup was not the payment. The soup was intended to be a symbol of the treaty that they made. It was similar to the meal which Jacob had with Laban, when he made the treaty with him after leaving Haran.

The truth is that the picture that we get from this story of Esau’s character is not at all positive. He is unfriendly, aggressive and most impolite. At the end of chapter 26 we are told that Esau married Canaanite women and caused both his parents considerable anguish. He turned out to be a great disappointment even to his father Isaac, who loved him. To his credit, however, at the end of the Sidra, we are told that, after some years, he married Ishmaelite women in order not to cause his parents further upset. So this is an indication that Esau had a conscience.

Chapter 26 records that there was a second famine in the land and that Isaac was also compelled to go down to Egypt. But unlike his father, he did not complete his journey and remained in the land at God’s instruction. God reassured him that he should not worry about the famine and that even in the land he would be able to prosper. Indeed, this promise was fulfilled. Isaac became rich. He was a successful farmer as well as a successful shepherd and he acquired many slaves and maidservants. His success attracted the attention of his neighbours and they became envious of him. As a result, they harmed him by filling up the wells, which his father had dug, so that he didn’t have any water with which to satisfy his flocks. When Avimelech, the King of the Philistines, saw the friction, he advised Isaac to leave the place. Probably, he was not in the position, or he did not want, to protect Isaac from his neighbours’ attack. The entire episode was extremely unpleasant for Isaac and it may be regarded as the first account of anti-Semitism. However, in the end of the chapter we are told that AVIMELECH and his chief of staff, PICHOL came to his tent and requested that he make a treaty with them. Isaac agreed and they wished him all the best. Before they left, they made a feast together and celebrated this event. To commemorate this peace treaty, Isaac’s home town was named SHIVAH, which means an OATH. Later on, the town was renamed BEER SHEVA, which is today the capital of the Negev. The meaning of the word Sheva is also OATH. Let us hope that, one day in the future, Beer Sheva will again immortalise a peace treaty with our neighbours.