Parshat Toldot 5773 Schedule

Weekly Words of Torah

Wide Awake

Insights into Parshat Toldot of Mr. Yaakov Blustein of Yeshivat Sha’alvim, by Rav Re’uven Ungar of Yeshivat Sha’alvim.

When describing Esav in this week’s Parsha, the Torah tells us: ‘V’hu Ayef’- that Esav was tired.

We know that everything in the Torah has a message we can learn from. Knowing this, there’s a question that can be asked: What is the Torah trying to convey to us by telling up that Esav was tired? To further the question, we know that Avraham was involved with much Chesed and Kiruv druing his lifetime. In order for him to do this, Avraham was constantly running around helping others. But yet by Avraham, the Torah doesn’t tell us that he was tired.

So what’s is the Torah telling us when it tells us that Esav was tired? Al Pe Pashut P’shat (the simple reason) that Esav was so tired is because Esav would go out hunting for many hours everyday and this was tiring. This could answer the question of why Esav was tired, but it doesn’t answer why the Torah goes out of its way to tell us this; it seems unnecessary!?

In order to answer this, you can look at Esav from a physical/spiritual perspective. Although Esav excelled in the mitzvah of Kibud Av V’Em (honoring one’s parents), we also know that he was an extremely physical person. The Torah tells us that Esav confronted Yaakov and tells him:’Give me some of that red stuff’– he wants the red lental soup to satisfy his physical hunger, not his spiritual aspiratons.

This can now help up answer why Esav is described as ‘Ayef.’ Esav’s essence was his body- so if his body was tired, his whole essence was tired. But even when Avraham’s body was tired, his spiritual essence was ‘wide awake.’ We know that the Torah is described as the ‘Torat Ohr’- the Torah of Life. So even when our physical body is tired, the Torah is what really can, should, and does give us life.

May we be Zoche to uplift ourselves spiritually with the Torah so that we can in turn uplift our physical bodies as well.