GENESIS XXV:19-XXVIII:9

THE UNQUESTIONABLE AFFINITY OF THE BROTHERHOOD

When Rivka felt that a struggle was developing, a kind of rivalry between the twins that she carried in her womb, God informed her that she would be the progenitor of 2 nations, 2 kingdoms that would not share power. The rise of one would imply the retreat of the other. The prognosis concerned with the future incompatibility of his sons: Yaakov and Esav. Jewish tradition identified Esav with Rome and, later, with Christianity. 

Kayin and Hevel represent the primordial rivalry that only ceased with Hevel’s assassination. The competition continued with Yitschak and Yishmael, although in this case they were brothers only on their father’s side, a fact that may partially explain the marked difference in their respective characters and behavior. In the case of Yaakov and Esav, however, they were not only sons of the same father and mother; they were also twins, though obviously not identical.

The personality discrepancy exhibited by the siblings originates in the mother’s placenta, a fact that points to a Divine decision: Rivka will beget 2 typologies that will be in constant conflict. Apparently, confrontation and war are part of God’s plan for humanity. They are unavoidable, because these attitudes are an integral part of the genetic code of humanity, which are most intensely present in the case of patriarchs. In this regard, the prophet Malachi testifies: “After all, says the Lord, Yaakov, I have accepted Yaakov while I have rejected Esav.” The evil inclination Esav and Yishmael has been determined in advance with a resultant adversity for the Jewish people.

Notwithstanding the above, the Vilna Gaon refers to an ancient Midrash that states that Esav’s head is buried in Me’aratHamachpela, the land acquired by Avraham to bury Sara and which will later serve as an eternal rest for the patriarchs. According to the Midrash, Esav does not only symbolize irrational strength and aggressiveness. There are positive and valuable elements in his personality that merit that his head rested in the earth that would serve as the burial place of the founders of monotheism.

The Midrash establishes a dichotomy between Esav’s warrior body and his head, which had been nourished by the sanctity of Yitschak. That is why Yitschak was attracted to Esav. While Rivka forms judgments about Esav‘s personality by his violent actions, Yitschak is forward-looking and downplays the importance of the extreme manly behavior of the young man who wishes to assert his personality in the countryside through hunting. 

Yitschak’s blindness did not allow him to evaluate closely the behavior of his firstborn in his daily life, because his penetrating vision of the future indicated to him that the destiny of humanity had to include the reconciliation of brothers at the end of days. Only Esav‘s body was rebellious, while the head remained loyal to the patriarch’s teachings.

Judah Zoldan emphasizes that, according to the biblical prism, the Jewish people will not dominate other peoples. That is not their destiny. The task of the Jewish people is to be a beacon that points out to other nations the path of justice and solidarity with others. Esav does not represent insurmountable evil. Perhaps there is no such thing as absolute perversity within humanity, although the Nazi era challenges this hypothesis in a formidable way.

The Torah testifies to the temporary reconciliation of the brothers: Yitschak and Yishmael, Yaakov and Esav take care of and participate together in the burial of their father. Episodes that point to the “end of history”, to the possibility that antagonisms and confrontations will give way to fraternity and the rapprochement that must take place in a messianic era. 

The advent of an era of tranquility and peace for humanity depends on men and women, on their fraternal behavior and solidarity with their neighbors. The initial condition of Kayin and Hevel, Yitschak and Yishmael, Yaakov and Esav isbrotherhood which, for equivocal reasons, gives way to divergence and bitter conflict. The return to the roots makes it necessary to highlight the common origin, as in the words quoted by Malachí: “After all, says the Lord, Esav is the brother of Yaakov…”