![]() ![]() Hence, the proximity of the two portions (i.e. The identification of Jacob and Israel symbolizes development, growth, progress, the good fight to grow and transcend oneself. Notice that the name Yisrael does not incorporate the word “vatukhal,” the concept of triumph and victory, important as it is, but rather “sarita,” the concept of struggle. As a result of this encounter, his name is changed to “Israel,” as we read: “ Ki sarita im elohim ve’im anashim vatukhal,” “Because you fought with angels and men and you prevailed” (Genesis 32:29). And struggle he does! We read of Jacob’s wrestling with the angel, a crucial incident in his life. His insecurity and weakness plague him all his life. He hangs on to his brother’s coattails, or, to use the original biblical idiom, his hand holds the akeiv, the heel, of Esau: hence his name Yaakov (Jacob). He follows Esau out of the womb and into life. He is born as a straggler: “And afterwards his brother came out” (Genesis 25:26). Therefore the equation of Esau and Edom is symbolic of the static, of one who has arrived, who experiences no development or growth, who has no place further to go. Edom thus implies the same idea: completion, maturity, finished development. And what does “Edom” mean? According to the Torah, the name was given to Esau when he approached Jacob, who was preparing a meal of red lentils, and said to him, “ Haliteini na min ha’adom ha’adom hazeh,” let me have some of this adom, red, food. ![]() Rashbam indicates that this is the significance of the name Esav (Esau): “ adam asuy venigmar.” He was mature, developed, complete. Esau was born precociously mature: “Full of hair” (Genesis 25:25), and, as Rashi points out, the newborn infant was, in his covering of hair, as mature as a young man. Is there any special significance to it? I believe there is, and that it lies in the fact that these references follow the chapter in which God affirms that Jacob’s name shall be changed to “Israel.” In this juxtaposition of Esau = Edom to Jacob = Israel, I believe we find a most important Jewish insight. The commentators seem not to have noticed this repetition. In one chapter of our sidra, the Torah mentions no less than four times the relationship between Esau and Edom (“ Esav hu Edom” – “Esau is Edom”) – either describing their mutual identity, or pointing out that Esau is the ancestor of Edom. Excerpted from Rabbi Norman Lamm’s Derashot Ledorot: A Commentary for the Ages – Genesis, co-published by OU Press, Maggid Books, & Yeshiva University Press Edited by Stuart W. ![]()
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