~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~
Parshas Toldos
Don’t Pick Your Poison
By: Daniel Listhaus
וַיְהִי כִּי זָקֵן יִצְחָק וַתִּכְהֶיןָ עֵינָיו מֵרְאֹת וַיִּקְרָא אֶת עֵשָׂו | בְּנוֹ הַגָּדֹל וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו בְּנִי וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו :הִנֵּנִי
“And it was when Yitzchak had become old, and his eyes were dimmed from seeing, that he summoned Eisav, his older son, and said to him, ‘My son.’ And he said to him, Here I am.’”
-Toldos 27:1
Before relating the episode of Yaakov ultimately receiving the berachos (blessings) from Yitzchak, the Torah describes that the reality was that Yitzchak had intended to give the berachos to Eisav. The passuk (verse) begins the story by setting the scene that Yitzchak had become hard of sight in his old age. This ultimately played a vital role in Yaakov’s ability to pretend that he was Eisav in order that he would be able to receive the berachos. However, the cause of Yitzchak’s eyesight loss is one of major dispute.
The Rashbam[1] learns simply Yitzchak’s blindness was a pure function of old age. After all, it is common for people to begin losing their eyesight when they are older, and that is precisely what happened to Yitzchak. As proof to this, the Rashbam brings a passuk[2] from Navi regarding Eili ha’kohen who lost his eyesight when he reached old age. Interestingly, the S’forno[3] also quotes a passuk[4] in Navi regarding Eili’s dimmed eyes which states, “And Eili was 98 years old, and his eyes were set, and he could not see.” However, the S’forno specifies, supported from another passuk[5], that Eili lost his eyesight not of old age but rather because he looked the other way while his sons acted inappropriately as kohanim. Presumably, the S’forno mentions this to parallel to Yitzchak and seems to hold that Yitzchaks’s loss of eyesight was a punishment for looking the other way while his own son, Eisav, was committing horrible aveiros (sins) under his watch, so to speak.
The Ba’al Ha’Turim,[6] based on the Medrash[7], also attributes Yitzchak’s blindness to being Yitzchak’s fault. He writes that Yitzchak was accepting of Eisav’s bribes; and the passuk says, “…And you shall not take a bribe, for bribery blinds the eyes of the wise…”[8]
Rashi[9] presents three alternative explanations as to what caused Yitzchak’s blindness. Unlike the other meforshim (commentaries), Rashi connects the blindness to one of three completely external causes. Rashi’s first explanation is that it was caused from the smoke of avodah zarrah that Eisav’s wives would offer in the house. The Ramban[10] further clarifies that certainly Yitzchak was unaware that they were serving avodah zarrah under his own roof, for if that was the case he would have without a doubt stopped them immediately. Rather, he was under the impression that they were serving l’shem Sha’mayim, and yet it had a profound effect on him for the reality was that it was for avodah zarrah purposes.
Rashi’s second reason is that the blindness was rooted from the time of the akeidah when Avraham avinu was tested by Hashem to see if he would follow the tzivuy Hashem to the point of being willing to give up his own son. At that time when Avraham stood over his son Yitzchak ready to do what Hashem had asked, the Heavens opened and the malachei ha’shareis saw and stared crying. The tears they shed dropped into Yitzchak’s eyes and caused him to lose his sight.[11]
Rashi’s third explanation is that Yitzchak’s eyesight loss had absolutely nothing to do with his age or any experience from his lifetime. Rather, Rashi suggests that Yitzchak’s loss of eyesight was directed by Hashem as a necessary means for Yaakov to ultimately be able to receive the berachos through means of pretending to be EIsav as the story played out.
If we take a moment to step back we would notice that, with only one exception, every single one of the aforementioned p’shatim (explanations) have something in common – they are all valid explanations as to why Yitzchak alone was blind and Rivkah was not. Rivkah was 37 years younger than Yitzchak, did not look the other way regarding Eisav, did not accept bribes from Eisav, was not present at the akeidah, and was not in the position to give the beracha to Yaakov. However, according to the first p’shat in Rashi that Yitzchak’s blindness was caused by the smoke of the avodah zarrah offered in their house by Eisav’s wives, how was it that Rivkah was not blinded as well? Rivkah lived in the same house as Yitzchak and should have also experienced loss of eyesight due to the avodah zarrah smoke. Why wasn’t Rivkah affected the same way?
The Sifsei Chochomim[12], as well as the Chizkuni[13] are bothered by this question and offer the following explanation. They explain that Rivkah grew up in a home of reshaim (wicked people) who were ovdei avodah zarrah (idol worshippers), whereas Yitzchak grew up in the pure house of Avraham. Growing up among reshaim like Lavan and Besuel, Rivkah was exposed to all possible forms of avodah zarrah and chose not to tag along. In a sense, she built immunity toward avodah zarrah from her childhood that she carried with her the rest of her life. Thus, despite her eyes unknowingly breathing in the same avodah zarrah smoke as Yitzchak, her immunity allowed her to come out unscathed while Yitzchak was taken off-guard being introduced to a level of tumah (impurity) that he grew up so careful to avoid.
The idea that growing up in a house of avodah zarrah allowed Rivkah to be better equipped to deal with the situation that she was put in later on in life is in stark contrast to Rashi in the beginning of the parsha during the time that Yitzchak and Rivkah were davening to be able to have a child. The passuk[14] there states, “Yitzchak entreated Hashem opposite his wife, because she was barren. Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated by him, and his wife Rivkah conceived.” Rashi[15]comments that the passuk says that Hashem answered Yitzchak specifically as opposed to Rivkah because the prayer of a righteous person who is the child of a wicked person (i.e. Rivkah daughter of Besuel) is not comparable to the prayer of a righteous person who is the child of a righteous person (i.e. Yitzchak son of Avraham).
How could we come to term with these two ideas? Which path is better: Growing up in the house of Avraham where dust had to be washed off one’s feet before entering lest it contain remnants of avodah zarrah; or the house of Besuel where explicitly forbidden expressions were encouraged? At first glance it seems from the parsha that either way has its pros and cons. On the one hand, growing up in Avraham’s house allows for a higher level of relationship and appreciation of Hashem, yet left inexperienced to deal with “real-life” struggles. On the other hand, Rivkah’s ability to navigate struggles was superior as she had her dosages of immunity shots as a child, yet was lacking the wholesomeness and capacity for an extra spiritual relationship which accompanies one who grew up among great figures. Seemingly the argument could be made either way. Which is correct?
The Derech Hashem[16] discusses the system of individual providence that Hashem exhibits in the world. He writes that each person according to his or her qualities are put into specifically designed environments in order to provide the opportunity for the individual to be tested within his own capacity. The Derech Hashem further elaborates that every single person’s predicament in life is by definition his own challenge. Hashem divided myriads of tailored challenges throughout the human race as a means to fulfill His profound plan which is beyond human comprehension. Every individual has his own unique battle with the yetzer hara (evil inclination) that is his own responsibility to fight and prove to be victorious. After 120 years, a person is judged not by what he did compared to others and not even necessarily if he accomplished what he might have perceived as being the full battle. Rather, the person will be judged solely based on his own abilities and challenges given to him by Hashem and the extent that Hashem in His infinite wisdom determined that the person has the ability to reach.
The Derech Hashem compares this system to a body of government. A country’s leader will put together a vast government system with many people in place, each performing a specific task that they are able to undertake. There are cabinet members, governors, tax collectors, janitorial staff, and everything in between. It would be unjust to say that a cabinet member makes a bad governor, a governor a bad tax collector, or a janitor an incompetent president. Every person has their own talents and abilities and is therefore expected to perform very different roles. All are necessary and the government would not function at capacity if any of the departments was not doing its part. Similarly, Hashem runs the world with a master plan beyond human comprehension. However the one thing we could comprehend, at least partially, is that as similar as every human being is at the core, the aggregate of nuances within each individual ultimately yields a completely different person. Imagine comparing two people’s faces millimeter by millimeter zoomed in, it will be practically impossible to find any noticeable differences, yet when zoomed out the color, complexion and details are so different. The same is true of a person’s interior. Comparing two people it is easy to say on a simple level that they both have levels of haughtiness, cruelty, hate, desires, jealousy, etc. Yet the reality is that both the sources and manifestations of each person’s middos (traits) could come from such totally different places that it is hard enough to fully comprehend what makes someone tick, let alone understand which areas are challenges for him or her to overcome.
Each person has their own life settings they are born into and specific challenges they are faced with during their lifetime. These nisyonos (tests) are from Hashem and it is our job to do our best to fight. Fighting for one person might mean completely obliterating, while for another it might mean overcoming just slightly. However one thing that we do not always consider is that it is possible for a person to bring unauthorized nisyonos onto oneself. A person with his bechira (free choice) and especially with lack of full control of his middos could allow himself to drift and enter an arena of nisyonos that was never meant for him. This is extremely dangerous because although one might have the basic tools to fight off and exit while it is still the beginning of the battle, there is no guarantee that he will even be carrying the right weapons to do so long term. It is therefore of utmost importance to distinguish between nisyonos that we are born with and naturally lean to during our lives, and those which we almost put in the extra effort to go out of our way to introduce ourselves to.
It is a deep and profound trick of the yetzer harrah to convince us that a nisayon we were introduced to is just a test and we have to try our best. Of course, as a rule it is an axiom of truth, but to be applied to circumstances we allow ourselves to drift to is extremely dangerous and is a snare which could chas vshalom lead to a point of literally being up a creek without a paddle.
In the last beracha of birchas ha’shachar we ask Hashem to please protect us that we should not come to sin, to embarrassment or to nisayon (test). On the surface, this is a very strange request. After all, since the beginning of time, nisyonos have been known as an integral aspect of creation to challenge man’s bechira and properly reward and punish according to each individual’s capacity. Why would we ask Hashem to protect us from entering nisyonos as opposed to simply helping us succeed in our nisyonos?
Perhaps the answer is along the lines which we are discussing. Certainly Hashem purposely and sends each of us tailored nisyonos to challenge our middos and bechira. However, there is another class of nisyonos which we are able to put on ourselves through our own drifting and effort exerted into trying “new things”. Those forms of nisyonos are not tailored to us by Hashem’s Wisdom but rather by our own foolishness. These are the nisyonos we ask Hashem to protect us from entering. We daven that Hashem help us not veer off the path of our own problems and struggles and become enticed with someone else’s challenges.[17]
Perhaps this is the foundation to really understanding the p’shat of the Sifsei Chochomim and the Chizkuni. Rivkah was born into a house of avodah zarrah. That was a nisayon she was born into clearly given to her directly by Hashem to overcome which she did with flying colors despite the incredible pressures from family and friends to worship avodahzarrah. Yitzchak avinu on the other hand, was not presented with the nisayon of avodah zarrah. He was born into the family of Avraham avinu who ensured that no trace of avodah zarrah made its way into his home.
The two Rashis we contrasted earlier are discussing two very different points. Rashi in the beginning of the parsha refers to the special place that a tzadik ben tzadik has in Hashem’s eyes because of the good he and his ancestors brought to the world and the relationship with Hashem that they value. Hashem’s extra willingness to listen to the tefillos (prayers) of a tzadik ben tzadik is reciprocating the beautiful kesher (connection) which was formed through the toil of avodas Hashem that the tzadikim established. The Rashi later which singles out Yitzchak as the only one negatively affected from the smoke of avodah zarrah that Eisav’s wives offered in his home is a demonstration of the consequence of Yitzchak avinu being introduced to the smallest trace of a nisayon which he was not meant to be introduced to. Although we are in no place to find fault in the avos or begin to understand why they did some of the things they did, at some level Yitzchak was responsible for allowing Eisav and Eisav’s wives to worship avodah zarrah, and was certainly solely culpable for letting it seep into his house. This was an area of nisayon which Yitzchak was not necessarily supposed to have anything to do with, but for reasons of keeping Eisav around in the way he did, he was ultimately introduced to a nisayon which he – Yitzchak avinu – was not equipped to deal with. Of course Yitzchak was not involved even the slightest, and as the Ramban explains, he was even under the impression it was being done l’sheim shamayim. Yet, still the brief encounter of the slight product of their aveiros, the mere smoke that dispersed in the air, had an adverse impact on Yitzchak and caused him to go blind. Imagine the danger it could have led to had there been a broader contact, chas v’shalom. Rivkah on the other hand had been given that particular nisayon during her childhood by Hashem, and passed with flying colors; therefore the later mistaken entry of remnants of avodah zarrah into her life had no effect on her.
This is a vital lesson for us to keep in mind: Don’t pick your poison. Hashem in His infinite wisdom has the sole ability to determine what nisyonos are proper for us and sets a unique expectation for each individual. We cannot determine this for ourselves nor could we even pretend to be capable of doing so. Our responsibility is to accept the nisyonos Hashem gives us with love and do our best to fight and win as well as to make sure that we do not get sucked into the nisyonos that others are dealing with in the world which we see through the proverbial glass window and may be enticed to open the door to try out. We must bear in mind that it is relatively easy to stay away from new enticing things. However it is exceedingly more difficult to stop doing something once a barrier has been breached especially given the fact that if we venture too far into uncharted territory we may find ourselves ill-equipped to find the exit.
May Hashem help us by providing us with the siyata dishimaya to overcome our nisyonos as well as the strength to stay away from the nisyonos which we may have to see out of the corner of our eyes as they belong to those we interact with, but that are not really there for us ourselves to encounter.
[1] Beraishis 27:1
[2] Shmuel Alef 3:2
[3] Beraishis 27:1
[4] Shmuel Alef 4:15
[5] Shmuel Alef 3:13
[6] Beraishis 27:1
[7] Medrash Tanchuma Toldos 8
[8] Devarim 16:19
[9] Beraishis 27:1
[10] Ibid.
[11] See Beraishis Rabbah 65:10
[12] Beraishis 27:1
[13] Ibid.
[14] Beraishis 25:21
[15] Rashi ibid.
[16] Derech Hashem 2:3
[17] I heard the application of this p’shat to the beracha in birchas ha’ashachar from Rabbi Steinhardt, ra”m Ner Yisroel
