This week’s parsha has an interesting story that can be seen as a clear parallel to the world around us today. There is a trade between Esav and Yaakov for the birthright that rightfully belongs to Esav. The midrash (Yalkut, Toldos, 111) tells us that the reason Esav did this is that he believed that because his life is limited in time, he should not care about his birthright, and since he may not live long enough to enjoy the birthright he should just trade the long term goal for the short term benefit.
American society today has many values that are completely antithetical to Jewish values yet sometimes it is difficult to see the sharp contrast that exists. We, as Jews, need to understand that many of the values that we see in America today are rejected by Jewish tradition not because the Jewish faith is “old fashioned” but that is in fact only enlightened self-interest that leads us to the values we have today. America has created the ultimate in Epicurean cultures; the new “morals” that America promotes is to safeguard yourself while doing whatever you wish.
Everyone has heard the logic. If you are going to die anyway, why not jump out of a plane? People say that there is no use being alive if you can’t do what you want. This is exactly what Esav was saying when he bought the lentil soup from Yaakov: “I am a hunter and see life and death on a daily basis.” He thought that he understood, because he only believed in what he could see. We must train ourselves to reject these values so prevalent in society and to learn that there is a reason to live outside of our personal pleasure and day-to-day life: Hashem.
May we all be zocheh to see Hashem as a force in our lives, to reach a better understanding of the world around us.