Two Minute Torah Podcast

Toldot 5768 by Rabbi Mitch Cohen

Shalom. I’m Rabbi Mitch Cohen, National Director of Camp Ramah, and I’m happy to participate in Koach’s 2 minute torah, a project of the College Department of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

This week’s parasha, Toldot, forces us to confront the sometimes deceptive and aggressive behavior of one of our forefather’s: Jacob.

Human nature drives us to succeed. Success can indeed be wonderful, but at what expense? In our society, getting ahead can often conflict with showing respect and compassion for others. How many employees get promotions because they put down a co-worker? How many students see their grades not as barometer of their academic achievement, but rather as a way to get a higher class rank in a competitive environment. How many of us, like Jacob in our parasha, advance our own selfish interests with our parents, clearly at the expense of a brother or sister?

Our language is sensitive to these questions. Think about the words "over-achieve" and "over-reach," and their negative connotations. When Jacob is named early in our parasha, he is given the name Yaakov because he was grabbing onto the heel, the akev, of his brother Esau. This is understood in our rabbinic tradition as an attempt to prevent the prior birth of his twin brother; to thwart his becoming the bechor, or first-born son.

Within a few p’sukim, Jacob takes advantage of Esau’s famished state and trades a bowl of food for the Birthright. Later in our parasha, with his mother’s help, Jacob takes advantage of his dying father’s blindness and tricks him into pronouncing the blessing of the first-born. Jacob’s character is clear – he is someone who wants to get ahead, and takes full advantage of his brother to do so.

Esau remarks bitterly that the name Yakov suits his brother perfectly – hachi kara shmo Yaakov, vaya’akveini zeh pa’amayim. His name is Yakov, the trickster, for he has now tricked me twice. Rashi here quotes the Targum which translates tricking as outsmarting. How thin the margin is between our attempts to get ahead by outsmarting our competition, and downright deception or trickery.

Jeremiah picks up on this clear meaning of Yakov’s name. In chapter 9 of Jeremiah, the prophet cries out against human aggression and deception, stating that "everyone tries to deceive his brother" – ki kol ach akov ya’akov.

Perhaps Yakov couldn’t mature into his role as a leader of our people until he rid himself of this name, leaving any vestige of his deceitful personality behind. Indeed, the symbolic change of his name, from Yakov to Yisrael, begins his journey to greatness.

We can all deceive ourselves into thinking that we are simply getting ahead, when in fact we may be putting others down. As Yakov grew and changed, so may we all look into ourselves and only advance our cause when we can do so with clear respect for all those we encounter. Shabbat Shalom.