Two Minute Torah Podcast

Toldot 5772 by Rabbi Steven Wernick

Shalom! My name is Rabbi Steve Wernick, CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.

Welcome to KOACH's 2 Minute Torah, a project of the college department of USCJ.

A riddle: you are trapped in a room and must get out, because to remain is to die of hunger and thirst. There are two exits to the room, one is the way to safety, and the other leads to a hungry lion that will surely eat you. Two twin brothers guard the doors, and know which is the way out. One brother always tells the truth and one always lies. You are allowed one question to only one brother. What can you ask that will lead you to the safe exit? If you were your brother, which door would you tell me to take? Then you take the opposite. That's because the brother who always lies will tell you the wrong door and the brother who tells you the truth, will tell you the door that the liar would have you go through.

Another riddle: in the parashah of this Shabbat, Toldot, Jacob and Rebekah lie to Isaac. They dress Jacob like Esau in order that Jacob will receive the blessing. Is what they did right or wrong, and why? In Bill Moyer's series on Genesis from a few years back there was an article written by Noam Zion on hypocrisy. In it he writes: "Let us not, therefore, accuse Jacob prematurely. The parashah raises important issues and provides an insightful answer. Apparently even God must select imperfect instruments to fulfill his purposes. He must choose between Jacob, a man who desires the birthright so deeply he will cheat to secure it, and Esau, who so lightly esteems it that he forfeits the birthright for a bowl of lentils. Jacob's calculated cunning, must be weighed against Esau's undisciplined craving for immediate self-gratification."

Working with human material involved God in a difficult, but inescapable choice. We are all human and, therefore, imperfect material. But if we fall short, we are not doomed to hypocrisy. As long as we hear the voice of Jacob, and the ideals that that voice represents, we may yet succeed in making them into the actions of our hands and solving whatever riddles life places before us.