Parashat Toldot:
Rivkah is barren and she and Yitzchak pray for a child
G-d answers Yitzchak’s prayers and Rivkah conceives
Rivkah gives birth to twins, Yaakov and Eisav
Eisav sells his birthright to Yaakov for some red stew
Yitzchak journeys to Gerar to avoid famine encountering Avimelech
Yitzchak’s servants dispute with the shepherds of Gerar over wells
Avimelech makes a treaty with Yitzchak
Eisav marries women who cause bitterness to Yitzchak and Rivkah
Rivkah encourages Yaakov to acquire the blessing assigned to the first-born
Yaakov receives the blessing and Eisav becomes hateful towards him
Yaakov flees for his life to the house of Lavan
Yitzchak instructs Yaakov not to marry a Canaanite woman
Yitzchak bestows Avraham’s blessing upon Yaakov
Eisav marries the daughter of Yishmael
“And the youths grew up, and it was that Eisav became a skilled hunter, a man of the field, and Yaakov was a complete man dwelling in tents” (25:27).
Yitzchak and Rivkah were childless. Yitzchak prayed on behalf of his wife and was granted his request. Rivkah then conceived and gave birth to two children, Eisav and Yaakov. In verse 27 (above), the Torah records the deviation of their personalities as the two boys developed.
Rashi comments and further elaborates on the nature of their development. “While they were little, they were indistinguishable by their deeds and no one paid attention to their specific nature. Once they turned thirteen, one went to the houses of study, while the other went to worship idols” (Commentary on 25:27). Why is this addition necessary to our understanding? What significant fact is Rashi adding?
The Talmud in Bava Batra is quoted by the Torah Temima’s commentary on verse 27 and 29. “So long as Avraham was alive, Eisav did not rebel. The day Avraham died, Eisav committed five (serious) transgressions” (16b). There was an obvious flaw is Eisav’s attachment to the Torah and mitzvot. However, Yaakov remained loyal to the teachings of our forefathers. What yielded such a drastic divergence in the two children¹s development? Given the fact that “they were indistinguishable by their deeds” adds further perplexity to their variance.
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch offers enlightenment into our subject. He attributes the children’s deviation in development to an incorrect parental approach to education, combined with a radical difference in the children’s natural personalities. R. Hirsch states the following in his commentary on verse 27:
“Had Isaac and Rebecca studied Esau’s nature and character early enough, and asked themselves ‘how can all this strength and energy, agility and courage that lies slumbering in this child, be won over to be used in the service of G-d?’ then Jacob and Esau, with their totally different natures could still have remained twin brothers in spirit and life.”
R. Hirsch further clarifies Rashi’s earlier statement. Rashi mentioned, “no one paid attention to their specific nature.” This is the reason why “once they turned thirteen, one went to the house of study, while the other went to worship idols.” The same educational philosophy was applied to both children when due to their personalities varying methods were required.
It is imperative that a child receives an education specific to his or her needs. R. Hirsch quotes King Shlomo who states, “educate each child in his or her own way” (Mishlei 22:6). R. Hirsch further elucidates the implications of this verse in his essays on Jewish Education (Collected Writing Volume VII). Regarding Yaakov and Eisav, the same approach was taken in educating two very different children. This resulted in one of the children’s ultimate digression into idol worship.
R. Hirsch’s clarity needs no further explanation: “Each child must be treated differently, with an eye to the slumbering tendencies of his nature, and out of them, be educated to develop his special characteristics for the one pure human and Jewish life. The great Jewish task in life is basically simple, one and the same for all, but in its realization is as complicated and varied as human natures and tendencies are varied, and the manifold varieties of life that result from them.” (R. Hirsch 25:27)