Thoughts on Parashat Toldot 5785
Menachem Mirski
Human history is, to say the least, complicated. While our tradition explicitly teaches us how to distinguish between (objective) right and wrong and (objective) good and evil, the historical fate of human communities and historical processes are rarely black and white. They are sometimes – we have no doubts that Nazi Germany had to be defeated in order bring peace, stability and growth to the world, but most of the time historical realities are more complex and nuanced. For this exact reason our tradition focuses on ethics and notions of right and wrong, good and evil – it is to give us tools to judge an infinite number of social and historical realities and to navigate within them.
Our parasha for this week describes the very origin of a very long, historical relationship between two distinct nations, two distinct religious cultures. This origin is the birth of Jacob and Esau, the fathers of two nations – Israelites and Edomites.
and יהוה answered her, “Two nations are in your womb, Two separate peoples shall issue from your body; One people shall be mightier than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)
What we know for sure from this passage is that “the older shall serve the younger”. This second part of the verse may be understood in a variety of ways, starting from the plain meaning, that the descendants of Esau will be in the position of servitude to the descendants of Jacob; it can also mean the religious supremacy of Judaism over other ancient, pagan religious cultures. The Edomites practiced various pagan cults in the ancient times, worshiping deities like their national god Qaush but also Baal and Uzzah, until they were all forcibly converted to Judaism by the Hasmoneans during the 2nd century BC and were incorporated into the Jewish population.
At the same time, the Torah prohibits discrimination against Edomites who convert to Judaism, emphasizing justice and inclusion. In his Sefer HaMitzvot, Maimonides (Rambam) explains the prohibition against avoiding marriage with descendants of Esav who have entered the Jewish religion.
But according to our Sages the Edomites didn’t cease to exist in the time of massive conversion of Hasmoneans’ time. Interestingly, soon after the notion of who is considered an Edomite (let’s say the definition of an Edomite, their identity) becomes expanded to include new religious, syncretic seck – Chrisians – a Judeoadjacent religious movement that becomes very successful in the pagan world and at the end of 4th century becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire. In Talmud, Edom widely represents the Roman Empire and consequently, the Western Christian world emerging from it. Here is where to the understanding of the first part of the verse I have already quoted becomes particularly relevant:
One people shall be mightier than the other (Genesis 25:23)
Rashi explains what he believes this phrase means:
SHALL BE STRONGER THAN THE OTHER RACE —They will never be equally great at the same time: when one rises the other will fall.
It seems more clear but still very abstract and therefore can be applied to various historical relationships and dynamics between different nations or religious groups.
It can be applied to the current political dynamics between Israel and the Western World. What would it mean in terms of guiding principles? Please forgive me; it’s not a simple math translating historical models (that’s what the Hebrew Bible is generally thought to contain) into temporary historical realities. But let me try to come up with something that can make sense. Ok, given the laws the Torah teaches us to obey regarding Edomites, we should not attack them or deliberately involve or create conflicts with them, meaning, the People of the Western world, who define themselves as Christians or post-Christians. Let’s respect those boundaries, especially that the dynamics of power may not favor us, Jews. Secondly, if someone wants to become Jewish and is sincere about it – let’s accept them without caveats or suspicions. The more people on our side, the better for us. The fact that currently way more people convert from Christianity to Judaism than the other way around is in my opinion a sign of growing spiritual power of our tradition after many centuries of deliberate and political supression done by nobody else but the leadership of the religious Edomites. The more power and influence Judaism gains among the nations of the world, true, tradition-ancored Judaism, the better for all Jews – more understanding and respect from the general society, more friends and less hostilities.
However, wherever our power, political or spiritual, is stronger than the power and will of Edom, or where Edom’s presence is irrelevant – we should not worry about Edom and its influence on our fate and do what we think is right. The more decisive we are in our actions, the better for us and the effects of our actions. We have been the leaders among the nations for a long time and have a lot of experience in it.
Shabbat shalom.
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