Community Magazine November 2008

22 Community magazine Dedicated in memory of Mr. Irving Semah   when she learned of Yizhak’s intention to confer the blessing upon Esav, essentially naming him the heir to Gd’s promise to Avraham, Rivka understood she needed to act swiftly. What more, the Zohar writes that Rivka learned of Yizhak’s intention through prophecy; the Almighty Himself informed Rivka that her husband had planned to bless the wrong son. Hashem’s obvious purpose for conveying this information was to urge Rivka to take action. But Gd’s direct involvement in the episode did not end there. The Midrash teaches that Gd dispatched a special angel to stall Esav, in order to allow Rivka and Yaakov to prepare the disguise. Esav was a skilled hunter, and would ordinarily have returned with the prepared meat soon after he left. However, as soon as he caught a deer, the angel would tear open the trap and allow the deer to escape. This repeated itself several times, until the angel had delayed Esav long enough for Yaakov to complete his preparations and come before Yizhak. It emerges, then, that the Almighty was an active “accomplice” to Rivka’s plan. Would He have participated in this plot if He had disapproved of it? If Rivka and Yaakov acted wrongly, would Gd have involved Himself on any level? Yizhak’s response to Yaakov’s disguise is also quite revealing. After he completed his blessing to Yaakov, Esav entered the room, expecting to receive the blessing. Yizhak immediately realized what Yaakov had done, and, rather than berate his younger son for deceiving him, he confirms his right to the blessing: “gam baruch yiheyeh – He shall indeed be blessed” – 27:33. Thus, even Yizhak, ostensibly a victim of the scheme, conceded that Yaakov was justi- fied in acting aggressively to seize the blessing of the first born. Furthermore, we read later (32:28) that even Esav was forced to acknowledge his brother’s right to the blessing. As Yaakov returned to Israel after a lengthy exile in Aram, he was confronted by a mysterious assailant identified by the Sages as Esav’s angel. Yaakov defeated the angel, who then changed the patriarch’s name from “Yaakov” – a form of the root a.k.v., or “deceit,” – to “Yisrael” – a derivative of y.sh.r., or “uprightness.” This name change signifies the angel’s affirmation of Yaakov’s rightful claim to Yizhak’s blessing, that he had obtained them “uprightly,” legiti- mately, and not through deception. At the end of the story, then, not one person involved had any claim against Yaakov; everyone readily acknowledged that he was entitled to the blessing received from his father. Undoubtedly then, Yaakov acted properly throughout this epi- sode. Rivka and Yaakov undertook the drastic measure of playing a ruse on Yizhak in order to prevent the blessing of Avraham from improperly and unjustly reaching the wrong hands, the corrupt, violent hands of Esav. For the sake of the future of the world, they had no choice but to maneuver surreptitiously so that Yishak’s blessing would be conferred upon the rightful heir, Yaakov. CAN WE TELL A LIE? Still, one wonders why specifically Yaakov, “Mr. Truth,” would be required to seemingly commit an act of deception. Why did Gd orchestrate the events in a manner that necessitated an appearance of falsehood? And why was Yaakov, of all people, compelled to disguise himself before his sightless father in order to receive what was rightfully his? Upon further reflection, it becomes clear that these questions are predicated upon a fundamentally flawed assumption. As children, we were all taught to admire George Washington, hero of the American Revolution and the first U.S. president, specifically for saying, “I cannot tell a lie.” Precision and honesty, we were told, are absolute values, and the truthful person is somebody who, without exception, speaks openly, frankly and honestly, down to the very last detail, regardless of the situation. To demonstrate the fallacy of this assumption, the Ben Ish Hai (Rabbi Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) told the story of a man who desperately wished to see the eradication of sheker, falsehood. One year, on the night of Rosh Hashanah, he pleaded with Gd with all his heart and soul that He should eliminate all the forces of false- hood and deception, which, since the time of creation, have caused untold numbers of people so much grief and sorrow. That night, the angel of sheker appeared to the man in a dream. “Gd has answered your prayers,” the angel announced. “I will no longer affect you. By Gd’s command I will leave you alone, and allow you to be completely truthful.” The man sneered and snickered at the repulsive angel, and cel- ebrated his victory over falsehood. “But I must warn you,” the angel quickly added, “that you will very soon come running after me and beg me to return!” The man dismissed the warning and went back to sleep, feeling proud and gratified over having defeated the insidious forces of sheker. A TASTE OF LIFE WITHOUT SHEKER When he arose the next morning, his devoted maidservant, as always, quickly brought him his water for washing and asked if there was something she could do for him. The man looked at her, and instead of paying the woman a polite, “GD HAS ANSWERED YOUR PRAYERS,” THE ANGEL ANNOUNCED. “I WILL NO LONGER AFFECT YOU. BY GD’S COMMAND I WILL LEAVE YOU ALONE, AND ALLOW YOU TO BE COMPLETELY TRUTHFUL.” ’ ’