Abundance!
This week's Torah portion, Parashat Toledot, prominently features the foundational stories of Jacob and Esau. From their wrestling in the womb to the intense sibling rivalry and parental favoritism that feature prominently, it's no wonder that their tale culminates in estrangement! The family dynamics between parents Isaac and Rebecca and children Esau and Jacob are certainly not models of family relationships that we want to emulate (in fact, some of our Kavana Moadon Yeladim students recently put Rebecca "on trial" to evaluate whether or not she was a good parent!).
At the peak of this Torah portion's narrative, we find the most famous scene, where Isaac blesses each of his two sons in succession. First, Jacob goes to his father disguised as his older brother Esau -- with hair on his arms and a goat dish that his mother has helped him prepare -- and receives what should have been the blessing for the first-born child. Then, Esau approaches his father with a dish he has prepared from the game of his hunt. Isaac realizes that he has been tricked, but manages to come up with a second blessing.
The two blessings that Jacob and Esau receive are substantively different. Jacob is promised that other nations will bow to him and his brother will serve him (see Gen. 27:29), whereas Esau's blessing says that he will live by the sword and serve his brother (Gen. 27:40).
Given how opposite these messages are, it is striking that the blessings also overlap so significantly. The commonality between the two blessings is the language of abundance. To Jacob (in disguise), Isaac says: “May God give you of the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth, abundance of new grain and wine" (Gen. 27:28), and to Esau, Isaac says: “See, your abode shall enjoy the fat of the earth and the dew of heaven above" (Gen. 27:39).
At the time of receiving these blessings, Jacob must have felt triumphant (if also somewhat guilty), and Esau must have felt like he had just lost everything. And yet, Isaac communicates to both of them that they will have plenty; they will receive what they need from above and below.
These feel like especially powerful lines to highlight this week, in light of Thanksgiving. The roots of this American holiday are actually somewhat complex, but the tradition that has come down to us has everything to do with acknowledging and giving thanks for the bounty and abundance that is ours.
Although some Thanksgivings happened earlier, our American tradition of celebrating a national Thanksgiving Day each year on the final Thursday of November began with a proclamation made by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War. Lincoln's proclamation reads, in part:
"The year that is drawing towards its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, the order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict...Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years, with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Highest God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy..."
The underlines above are mine: I am struck by the way the "blessings of fruitful fields and beautiful skies" mirrors the "fat of the earth and the dew of heaven above" in Isaac's blessings. In addition, in Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation, much as in the blessing to Esau, there is an acknowledgement that circumstances are not ideal, and yet, still, there is an abundance of good that must be acknowledged: "gracious gifts of the Highest God," given in "mercy."
This Thanksgiving, it may not feel to us like all is well in the world: not in America, and not as Jews nor as humans. And yet, our lives are filled with abundant blessings, each and every day. Most of us have what we need and so much more! Let us acknowledge our abundant blessings with gratitude. And may our gratitude, in turn, motivate us towards deeds of kindness and acts of generosity, as we seek to pass on the blessings and the bounty which we have received.
Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving and a Shabbat Shalom (in advance),
Rabbi Rachel Nussbaum
