<HTML>In partial response to Hayyim Zweiter - Lookjed Digest 110:
I am surprised by Rav Lichtenstein's comments (assuming they were reported
accurately):
1. "By this point in the story, the birthright already belonged to Yaakov
as a result of a sale which occurred earlier on the parsha. Therefore
Yaakov knew that there was no actual lie, trickery, or theft involved in
trying to get the blessing intended for Esav."
The birthright (of the firstborn) is not synonymous with the blessing.
Note the blessings of Hashem to those who are not firstborn, as well as
Yaakov's blessings in chapters 48 and 49. Furthermore, concerning lie and
trickery, see 27:35, where Yitzchak tells Eisav that Yaakov deceived him
(bemirma, and see Ibn Ezra there), the same shoresh used by Yaakov when he
complains to Lavan about Leah's "appearance" instead of Rachel - 29:25,
remetani. And that is a point at which all attempts to whitewash Yaakov
and Rivka fail - the pshat of the text clearly sees Yaakov's behavior as
worthy of punishment:
a. Isn't is ironic that Yaakov, after terrible inhospitality (the opposite
of Avraham), pressures Eisav to trade him the birthright, then deceives
Yitzchak into getting the blessing, and ends up leaving home without
anything except the shirt on his back? So what good is the blessing then?
b. Yaakov and Rivka are separated forever when Yaakov leaves home. Rivka
will never see her beloved son again.
c. Yaakov is deceived by Lavan the same way that he deceived his father.
Just as he was able to deceive his father due to his father's blindness,
so Lavan deceived him with Leah when Yaakov couldn't see - in the darkness
of the night. And then Lavan slaps Yaakov with, "It is not done so in our
place to give the younger before the firstborn" (29:26).
d. Because Yaakov comes without anything ( he must flee because of Eisav's
reaction to his trickery), he has to work 20 hard years for Lavan.
e. Yaakov didn't learn the lesson about not playing favorites. His
favorite was Yosef, so Yosef's brothers temporarily sought to kill him
like Eisav temporarily sought to kill Yaakov. Then, as Yaakov tricked
Eisav with goatskins, his sons tricked him by dipping Yosef's garment in
the blood of a goat.
f. Yaakov's statement to Paroh that the years of his life were bad (47:9,
and see Ramban) may very well be testimony to the punishment he received
for his unworthy behavior.
The question we should be considering, after all this, is, "Does Hashem
want or need us to lie, cheat, deceive, etc., in order to fulfill His
plan?" Perhaps, what we should realize is that Rivka does not have
sufficient faith in Hashem. Further, is this the model of family behavior
that the Torah wants us to emulate? That one parent should use a child to
deceive the other parent? To say nothing of the damage to Eisav's
feelings!
2. "Rav Lichtenstein explained that Rivka was actually being very
sensitive to her elderly and sick husband by preferring to "get" Yaakov
the blessing without having to explain to Yitzchak all the bad deeds and
traits of his beloved and favorite son Esav."
Is this the model of behavior the Torah wants for husband and wife - that
they can't openly discuss their children's behaviors and plan together
what is best? Would Rav Lichtenstein want his own wife to treat him this
way? And will someone be kind enough to show me exactly where the Torah
mentions all the bad deeds of Eisav? Would that we should all practice
honoring our parents the way he honored his father!
3. The final point quoted in the name of Rav Lichtenstein concerns our
inability to understand the flaws of the Avot because we can't come up to
their level of greatness and virtues, and therefore we shouldn't criticize
them. This is yet another attempt to whitewash their negative behavior. We
have no problem casting every infamy upon Yishmael and Eisav because they
are not the chosen ones, despite the lack of evidence of their negative
behaviors in the text. Any yet Yishmael was the son of Avraham, and Eisav
the son of both Yitzchak and Rivka! No one says, "Can we imagine how great
these children were who were children of the Avot and grew up in their
homes?" If only these great spiritual guides of our own day would show the
same consideration for the other children of the Avot as they show for
Yaakov!
More importantly, this attempt to reinterpret the Torah as a document
which is beyond our reasoning powers (unless we ourselves are spiritual
giants), takes the Torah away from the Jewish people and puts it solely in
the hands of an elite. Unfortunately, this approach is part of the growing
tendency in the Orthodox world to imply that there are not 70 panim to the
Torah, but rather only one interpretation. Further, a new tenet of belief
is created - you must believe in the truth of the prevailing
interpretation in the yeshiva world. In other words, many more items have
been added to the credo formulated by the Rambam. This one goes something
as follows: "You must believe that the Avot were all tzaddikim and
spiritual giants, and that you are so inferior to them, that you do not
understand what really went on. Therefore, no matter what the pshat of the
Torah appears to say, you must suspend your intellect and moral thought
and only accept the line of interpretation which says that the Avot are
innocent of all wrongdoings." Educationally and morally, when you are
taught that that there is only one way to think, then you don't think at
all.
Jeremiah Unterman
Senior Educators Fellow
Bar-Ilan University</HTML>
