Toledot

Parshas Toledos. Stam. I’m not that yeshivish/yeshivish even a little bit. I pronounce “Tav” like a “T”...most of the time.

Looks like I started this post off track. Bli neder, I’ll make a point about this week’s parsha at some point. And fill in awkward silences with my worldly observations.

Take two: Parshat Toledot. Upon my first readthrough of the parsha I came across (what I thought was) a brilliant observation; Rivka not only talks to HaKadosh BaruchHu all by herself but she is also answered by him! Women don’t get a lot of one on one time with HaShem and it takes quite a bit of courage to initiate such an encounter in the male dominated field of prophecy. Yet, there it is. Rivka demands to know why she is struggling so much in her pregnancy and HaShem answers that she is bearing twins..the futures of two very different nations are battling it out in her womb. Not only is she carrying twins but she even gets to know that the second born (Yaakov) will be the rightful successor of her husband Yitzchak. That’s amazing, I thought. Such an amazing encounter between HaShem and a woman will surely have volumes written about. Rivka must have been the first prophetess or something.

Oh..yes. Our sages have plenty to say about Rivka’s holy inquiry but it is not nearly as positive as I had thought it would be. Both the Maharal and the Netziv point out that Rivka inquired of HaShem behind her husband’s back. That she felt fear/awe of her husband and did not feel she could tell Yitzchak the truth. Which of course sets up the end of the parsha where Rivka helps Yaakov trick Yitzchak into receiving the first born blessings.

“If only Rivka was just honest with Yitzchak so much of the misunderstanding could have been avoided!” Yes. That is a cheap and easy point to be made using this understanding. HOWEVER, I do not wish to go there. First of all, I trust our matriarchs and patriarchs and the word of the Torah is holy. So I’m not about to condemn any of our holy ancestors. Or pretend like I am on their level and can understand their motivations. Everything happened the way it did for a reason. Using the Maharal and Netziv’s interpretations, however, does help teach a lesson. A lesson in understanding that emotional intelligence and rational action aren’t necessarily so easy to balance. Both are equally valid and should be respected and understood. There is a false dichotomy that things either “make sense” or don’t. That’s not quite how it works. There are many ways to see the world. Maybe if Rivka did what “made sense” she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to speak directly to HaShem. We weren’t given emotional reactions so that we could just ignore them...trust me. I’ve tried. That generally doesn’t end well. There are Rivkas and there are Yitzchaks in the world. Both serve HaShem and in different ways. As long as we’re following Torah and turning to HaShem (or his Sages as the midrash says is actually meant by Rivka’s encounter with the divine) then we’re free to listen to our inner truths as well.

Or something.