It’s Tuesday, and we have a fresh Tuesday TorahTutors Tidbit! Real Torah, from real TorahTutors sessions.
One of our students who is studying the weekly Torah portion delved into the midrashic background of Yaakov’s lentil soup and the trade he made for it.
According to a midrashic tradition, this incident took place while Yitzchak was sitting shiva for Avraham; the round lentil was considered a symbolic food appropriate for mourners.
This context provides a new angle on what Avraham’s twin grandsons were doing just after his burial: Yaakov was helping out with the cooking, being present for his father; Esav, however, was apparently so unaffected by Avraham’s death – despite Avraham’s personal greatness as well as their close familial connection – that he left his father to mourn and went out for an exciting day of hunting.
By abdicating his responsibilities toward his father and the family as a whole, focusing only on himself and his lust for “red red stuff” (lentils, and by implication, the blood of the animals he hunted), Esav showed that he was the wrong one to continue the family’s legacy as a founder of its blossoming nation.
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It’s hard to learn anything these days, anywhere in the world, without drawing connections to the situation in Israel. With this idea from the parsha that our tutor and student explored together, we can’t help but think of all our brothers and sisters who have been mourning their loved ones in such awful circumstances. Wherever we are, we stand with you in spirit, figuratively cooking your lentil soup and just being there for each other.
This idea is especially poignant considering today’s gathering in Washington, D.C.
May today’s event be a shining example of the unity and strength of the Jewish people, as we take responsibility to show up for each other and raise our voices for the future of our legacy, our family, our nation.
**Image created with the help of AI
