"Generations"
Gen. 25:19 - 28:9; Mal. 1:1 - 2:7; Rom. 9:6 - 13
5767
As we read this week's Parsha we find Yaacov (Jacob) purchasing the birthright of Esav (Esau). Many teachers have shared their thoughts about this portion of the Holy Scriptures. I am sure each of you has your own thoughts about the decisions made by both of these brothers. How could Esav have sold his inheritance for a bowl of soup? How could his brother Yaacov take such advantage of his brother's moment of weakness? Each of these and many other questions are not only valid but they are a responsible reaction to reading these verses. As we read these words this year, instead of jumping on the bandwagon of complainers against these two brothers, I think we should look back at our own lives to see if we have not in some ways done these same types of things. How many times have we chosen to respond to a situation in a worldly way rather then choosing to follow Torah? How many times has a business opportunity arisen that we know goes over the line and yet we chose to sell our values for a handful of cash? If each of us spent some time thinking back I am sure we can easily see how we have made bad decisions in our lives that have cost us blessings that G-D has promised to those who hold their Birthright in high esteem.
5766
In this week’s Parsha we find one of the greatest tragedies in all of Torah; the decision of Esav to trade his G-D given blessing (The Birthright) for a bowl of lentil soup. As believers most of us look at this event and wonder why in the world Esav would be willing to give up all of the promises given to the first born son for a bowl of soup. Could he have been that hungry, could he have held the birthright to have so little value? It seems to be beyond our ability to reason out within our own thoughts. While we are thinking about Esav’s decision we should also think about each time we traded a blessing from G-D for some temporary pleasure. That joke we listened to, the book we read, the movie we watched, or the clothes we wore. Each time we knowingly choose to do something contrary to Torah we are freely and willingly trading G-D's blessings for something as temporary as a bowl of soup. As parents and we saw these events transpiring in front of our eyes what would we say or do to stop our son from giving up his blessing? Remember that eating the soup was not a sin in any way. His sin was trading G-D's gift for a moment’s enjoyment. We need to remember that each of us has a responsibility to act like loving family to each other. We should look out for each other and whenever possible protect each other from bad choices. We also need to make sure that we are not offering them bad choices. There are so many promises and blessings G-D has made available to us. Let’s pray today and determine that we will not trade any of His blessings for any kind of temporary earthly pleasure.