Written by Rabbi Daniel Yaakov Travis
(based on a derasha from
HaGaon Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita,
Ravad of Yerushalayim
Leil Shabbos)
In the Merit of Avraham
"Yitzchak prayed to Hashem [for a child] together with his wife, for she was barren, and [Hashem answered] his prayer…" (Bereshis 25,21). "His prayer [was answered] and not her prayer for Yitzchak was a tzadik who was the son of a tzadik, while Rivka's parents were rashayim" (Rashi, Bereshis 25,21)
Rivka grew up in a house of rashayim, and abandoned her family to marry Yitzchak Avinu. In this sense, she could be considered greater than Yitzchak, who was raised by Avraham to be righteous from the day that he was born. So why does the Torah consider Yitzchak's prayers more powerful? Why were his tefilos accepted over Rivka's?
The answer is that Yitzchak did not ask Hashem to help him in his own merit. Rather Yitzchak asked the Almighty to consider the merit of his father Avraham Avinu as a reason to bless him and his wife children. Granting children to Yitzchak would perpetuate the dynasty that his father had begun, and in essence would be an act of kindness for Avraham himself.
A person's achievements in this world are linked to his parents. If they provided him with poor chinuch and that caused him to falter in this Torah observance, they will be held responsible. Conversely if children grow up to be great tzaddikim, the parents receive reward for their children's accomplishments. For this reason every year the niftar is judged on the yahrzeit regarding the action of their offspring that year.
Avraham Avinu was extremely dear to Hashem, as the posuk calls him "Avraham, my beloved." Because of the loving closeness of their relationship, it gave the Almighty great pleasure to do things for Avraham’s benifit. For this reason Yitzchak's tefilos found favor in the Almighty's eyes more than Rivka's.
In the Merit of Yitzchak
From a different perspective, we can understand that Yitzchak's personal merit was actually greater than that of Rivka. While Rivka was a baalas teshuva who grew up amongst reshayim, Yitzchak, who was brought up by tzadikim, was also was a baal teshuva. We can understand this based on the following story.
Rav Sadya Gaon was once traveling, and stopped to lodge at a roadside inn. The innkeeper had no idea who his distinguished guest was and treated him like a regular person. Eventually word spread that Rav Sadya Gaon was staying at that inn and he was inundated by visitors.
After the innkeeper realized his guest’s true identity, he begged Rav Sadya Gaon for forgiveness. Had he known who his guest was, the innkeeper would have treated him the honor befitting a rav of his stature.
Rav Sadya Gaon told him he had nothing to apologize for, and in fact thanked him for teaching him a valuable lesson regarding teshuva. Rav Sadya had learned from this incident that we may act improperly due to a lack of recognition of someone's true greatness, and that the same is true of our relationship with Hashem. For the rest of his life Rav Sadya did teshuva every day for his past failures to treat Hashem with the honor he now realized He deserved, based on his present recognition of Hashem's greatness.
In this sense, Yitzchak Avinu was also a baal teshuva. He used every day of his life to strive for even greater levels of awareness of the Almighty's greatness, and was constantly doing teshuva for his “lesser” mitzvos performed before he reached his current level. Since he was constantly improving and constantly repenting, Yitzchak both the son a tzaddik and a baal teshuva simultaneously. Therefore, his tefilos were answered over Rivka's.
In the Merit of Yaakov
Yaakov Avinu is considered the paradigm of integrity as the pasuk states "Truth is given over to Yaakov." Even when he was compelled by Rivka to take the berachos via deception, he clung to his innate honesty. When asked his identity he would not say that he was Esav, rather he replied, "It is I. Esav is your firstborn."
Yitzchak asked his son how he had managed to find meat so quickly, and Yaakov replied that Hashem had sent it to him. The use of the Almighty's name caused Yitzchak to doubt if this was really Esav, and he touched him. After feeling that his son's arms were in fact hairy Yitzchak commented, "The voice is that of Yaakov, but his hands are those of Esav.”
Yaakov could have easily concealed his identity by omitting Hashem's name from his words. However as the pillar of emes in the world, Yaakov could not do anything that showed signs of dishonesty. To debase his truthful nature by leaving the Almighty's name out of his answer went against the grain, and even if it meant taking the risk of being caught claiming the berachos, he was not willing to compromise on truthfulness.
Yaakov's actions guide his descendants for all generations. No matter what happens, we must act with complete integrity in all situations. Even if we have a great deal to lose, this is not a reason to act dishonestly.
All About Esav
Rashi writes that when the pregnant Rivka passed by a Beis Medrash she felt her baby kicking, and when she walked near a house of idol worship her child also kicked. These reactions were a cause of great concern to Rivka. She initially thought that she had a single infant in her womb that had strong tendencies to both good and evil.
When Rivka went to Shem to ask for an explanation, he told her that she would give birth to two children; one would be drawn to tzidkus, and another who would have tendencies towards evil. Rivka was consoled slightly that at least she did not have a single son who was indecisive and could not make up his mind what was the right path to follow in life. The most dangerous thing in this world is an inconsistent and volatile person, who at any moment can switch from being a tzaddik to acting like a rasha.
In contrast to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov who constantly strived for greater levels of righteousness, Esav was a rasha through and through. Yet despite his evil nature, Esav had complete faith in the Almighty, and his commitment honoring his father was unparalleled. This is in contrast to the reshayim of our times who follow Amalek, and have absolutely no emunah in Hashem.
Esav however believed that the Almighty put us in this world to enjoy ourselves as much as possible. The most heinous crimes were justifiable if perpetrated in the pursuit of happiness. He did not see this as a contradiction to his service of Hashem.
Esav's Berachos
Both Yiztchak and Rivka were aware of Esav and Yaakov's natures, yet they had different opinions about how this should affect the giving of the berachos. Yitzchak felt that since Yaakov was completely spiritual, the material abundance conferred in berachos would harm him. He believed that Yaakov should be completely absorbed in spirituality and not be involved with worldly affairs at all.
Yaakov suffered tremendously in his lifetime during the various episodes with Esav, Lavan, Yosef, Dina, Rachel and others. Esav was meant to be a constant thorn in Yaakov's side and this was hinted to at birth. All of these tribulations were meant to bring Yaakov closer to the world to come. Yitzhak thought that Yaakov was meant to be lacking in this world, and there had no need for his berachos.
Hashem gave Rivka prophetic insight to understand the situation otherwise. Even though Yaakov was destined to inherit the world to come, he still needed the berachos during his sojourn in this world. But why did they have to come to him in such a roundabout manner?
The way Yaakov received the berachos while pretending that he was Esav set the tone for all future generations, when Klal Yisrael would reap benefit from these blessings without losing their portion in the next world. If we relate to all material wealth as if it really belongs to Esav and we are merely using it to help us serve the Almighty, then we may take part of it. Any wealth we accumulate will help us to get to the world to come.
However, if we try amassing material wealth as an end unto itself, as if possessions are inherently valuable, then we will suffer greatly. When the non-Jews see us flaunting our wealth, it will stir up past memories of Yaakov's encounter with Esav, they will feel a seemingly irrational fear that we are once again trying to steal this world away from them. This will cause them to hate us and result in persecution for the Jewish people.
Hashem gave us the berachos for sustenance in this world as a way to help us gain great reward in the next world. If we view our possessions as a means unto this end, and let Esav know that this world belongs to him, we will be successful in this world and the next. We should constantly be wary lest we forget this fundamental principle, and stir up Esav's anger against us.
(HaRav Shternbuch's shiurim on the parsha are being prepared to be published by Feldheim Publishers as a sefer. For information about dedication opportunities, ideas for the title of the sefer, or shaylos for the Rav, contact dytravis@actcom.com.)
