Parashat Toldot

This week’s parsha reinforces the idea that Abraham is not only the father of the Jewish people but that numerous nations have grown from his seed, fulfilling the Divine promise. In fact, from the single pregnancy of Isaac’s wife Rebecca come the nations of Israel and of Edom.

Edom (Esau’s nick-name) is associated with the powerful Roman Empire, and thereafter the Christian world. When Rebecca complained to G’d that her twins ‘struggled together within her’, G’d responded that that two nations were in her womb and that the elder would ‘serve the younger’. This has been taken as a promise that the nation of Israel will eventually prevail over the world of Edom.

Even without the eschatological interpretation, (to do with the ‘end of days’), in this week’s parsha we read how Jacob (Israel) prevails over Esau (Edom) to win his birthright and blessing from their father. However, the commentator Abravanel believes that language of the exchange between them indicates that Jacob was humble before Esau and this could not be the moment of ‘domination’.

Commentators note that although Jacob having the blessing was the fulfilment of the Divine intention, the means by which it was accomplished led to Jacob’s absence from his father’s house for many years, which, in turn, led to Jacob’s estrangement from his beloved son, Joseph, for a similar number of years. Unjust means, even to attain the right outcome, will have negative repercussions for generations to come.