The streetwise scholar 

(November 15, 2023 / JNS)

It’s quite a dramatic tale: Twin brothers who are as opposite from one another as you can get. Jacob and Esau. Different looks, different personalities and very different philosophies of life.

Jacob is the scholar. Patient, placid and studious. Esau is virile and violent, a hunter of animals—and women.

Their father Isaac is nearing the end of his life and decides to bless Esau, the older brother. He asks Esau to bring him a tasty meal. Then he will bestow upon Esau the blessings that will, in effect, transfer Isaac’s powerful patriarchal status to his first-born son. Rebecca, Isaac’s wife, learns of her husband’s intentions and is horrified at the thought of Esau rather than Jacob receiving these all-important blessings.

While Isaac seemed to be deceived by Esau, who would regularly ask his father religious questions, giving an impression of piety, Rebecca was not fooled. As a wise and intuitive mother, she knew the nature of her two sons. She was determined not to allow these critical blessings to be given to a barbarian. That the legacy of Abraham and Isaac should be inherited by a depraved rogue was unthinkable. Should the malevolent Esau become a founding father of the Jewish people, what would become of Jewish destiny?

So, Rebecca instructs Jacob to impersonate his brother. Isaac is old and can barely see. He will not know that it is Jacob and not Esau. She gives Isaac’s favorite food to Jacob and dresses him in Esau’s distinctive clothing. Jacob follows her instructions and is duly blessed by Isaac, who seems to be fooled by the impersonation.

The obvious question is: Why did Isaac want to give these blessings to Esau in the first place? He may have been blind, but he was a holy man. Surely someone of such spiritual stature would not be duped by a corrupt charlatan.

One fascinating answer is that Isaac’s decision was, in fact, conscious and deliberate.  He foresaw the future awaiting his descendants, the Children of Israel. His prophetic vision showed him that our nation would be plagued by hate and hostility and that the nations of the world would revile us down through the generations. Isaac foresaw the villains of history who would attempt to annihilate us: Haman, Hitler and now Hamas were all envisioned by the wise patriarch. He wondered whether a shy, seemingly timid and peace-loving scholar like Jacob would be able to defend himself against the hordes of haters who are today marching in the streets of Western capitals and getting away with their lies and violence.

Isaac thought not. He believed that an Esau type would be better at securing Israel and the Jewish people. Esau the powerful hunter would know what to do. He would defend himself. He wouldn’t just roll over and die. A rugged fighter like Esau would no doubt put up a good fight and he’d probably win. That’s why Isaac planned to give the blessings to Esau rather than Jacob.

But after Jacob’s deception and impersonation of his brother, Isaac sees another side to Jacob. He is not the shy, timid, insular scholar Isaac assumed him to be. Now he appears as a courageous activist. He’s a mover and shaker, a real go-getter who takes the initiative. Jacob is no fool. He is streetwise after all. 

That’s why when Esau appears and cries out that his brother has cheated him and stolen his blessings, Isaac declares: Gam baruch yihyeh, “May Jacob indeed be blessed.” Isaac now saw Jacob as a worthy successor and was pleased that Jacob received the blessings and not Esau. 

Today, we see not peaceful protests for the humanitarian cause in Gaza but the hate and venom of monsters who would kill every single Israeli and every single Jew in the world if they only could. It is shocking that in civilized countries in the 21st century, our enemies are glorifying Hitler and shouting aloud, “Gas the Jews!”

But Israel is the other name of Jacob, and Jacob was no fool. Yes, Israel was lulled into a false sense of security that allowed the Oct. 7 Hamas invasion and massacre to occur. But no more. We now know that there was never a ceasefire. Even the die-hard liberals among us now get it. We have no peace partner, only a mortal enemy hell-bent on our destruction.

But as David Ben-Gurion famously said, “It doesn’t matter what the non-Jews say. It matters what the Jews do.” So, the question is: What can we do? Yes, we can march on Washington and we did. Yes, we can donate money to help financially and we do. Yes, we can do a mitzvah for Israel, which will help protect our defenders spiritually.

I am reminded of a true story that occurred in London some years ago at the famous Speakers Corner in Hyde Park. The ubiquitous Chabad Mitzvah Tank was parked there and passing Jews were invited to put on tefillin or take a Shabbat candlestick home. One Jewish man declined the invitation to do a mitzvah.

He went to Speakers Corner where anyone and everyone has their own milk box and can vent their opinions on whatever issues they choose. No holds barred.

When the man heard a fiery enemy of Israel denouncing the Jewish state in no uncertain terms, he stood up to argue. But this preacher was a pro. He would do this every Sunday and was adept at dealing with opponents and even hecklers. Our well-meaning Jewish visitor couldn’t get a word in and was utterly flustered and frustrated.

What did he do? Unable to make any headway with the guy on his milk box, he rushed back to the Mitzvah Tank, rolled up his sleeve, grabbed the Chabadnik and said, “Put those tefillin on me!”

At the end of the day, that is perhaps the most meaningful form of protest against our enemies and of solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Israel. 

Let us be like Jacob, the cool and clever successor of Isaac and Abraham. May we all do whatever we can to protect our people. And Jacob’s descendants, the Children of Israel, will live and flourish in safety and security now and forever.

The opinions and facts presented in this article are those of the author, and neither JNS nor its partners assume any responsibility for them.