<span style="font-size:130%;">In this week’s </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" ><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">parashah</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;">, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >Va’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">yetze</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> (Genesis/</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" style="font-size:130%;">Bereshit</span><span style="font-size:130%;">28:10-32:3), the saga of Jacob continues. After fleeing from the anger of his brother, Esau, he finally arrives in the land of </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" style="font-size:130%;">Haran</span><span style="font-size:130%;">, from where his ancestors came, and find </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" style="font-size:130%;">Rebecca</span><span style="font-size:130%;">, his bride. Later on we also read that Esau marries from the daughters of Canaan and the daughters of Ishmael, his father Isaac's "half brother."</span><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The primary narrative in the <span style="font-style: italic;">parashah</span> focuses on Jacob, as he is the patriarch from whom our people take it's name (once it is changed to Israel). The ancient rabbis demonize Esau for the most part, equating his name with the oppressive Roman empire. But in the Torah there is none of this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">demonization</span>.<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">If we view all the characters in the Torah as representing a part of each of us, much as one might analyze a dream, we can see Esau as that within us which we feel the need to demonize, criticize and ostracize. Only by viewing this piece of us with equanimity and compassion can we walk on the path of oneness.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">And so, through the original <span style="font-style: italic;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">midrash</span></span> that follows, I have tried to recover Esau as a patriarch and as part of myself, along with his brother and the other patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Shabbat</span> Shalom,</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Steven<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Peace of Brothers</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">The young man walked as fast as he could along the desert path. Surrounded by nothing but sand, stones and sparse brush he could feel the blood pumping, anger pulsing within.<span style=""> </span>Behind him, the setting sun burned bright red.<span style=""> </span>Mingling with the red hair that covered his body and the crimson of the anger in his face it seemed as if he were on fire.<span style=""> </span>For he was.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">“How could he have done it,” he continually muttered under his breath, “… my own brother.”<span style=""> </span>The anger in his eye mingled with an intense sadness the two struggling for domination of his mind and soul.<span style=""> </span>Currently, anger was winning the battle.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">“And my father …” he thought to himself, “ … how could he not have realized what was happening?<span style=""> </span>Even blind, how could he not have known in his soul that he was being tricked?<span style=""> </span>I expect no better from my mother …… but him!”<span style=""> </span>And so the young man continued walking, almost running, looking all around him for something – someone – who could not be see anywhere.<span style=""> </span>Looking for his brother who, unknown to him, was far away in the opposite direction.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Finally he realized that he had better make camp before the sun set.<span style=""> </span>At that moment he came upon a stream that he had never seen before, even though he thought he knew this part of the desert well.<span style=""> </span>He went to the stream, bent down and splashed its cool water on his burning face.<span style=""> </span>It did nothing to cool his rage.<span style=""> </span>Then he gathered odd bits of wood and brush to make a fire.<span style=""> </span>He then sat down upon a large stone and began to arrange the wood, all the while mumbling to himself “when I find him I’ll kill him for what he has taken from me.”<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">While still muttering to himself he lit the fire and stared into it’s burning flames as they tried to stay alive.<span style=""> </span>Suddenly he noticed a shadow on the ground in front of him.<span style=""> </span>He looked up and saw a strange man standing there, his facial features eclipsed by the sun that was setting directly behind him.<span style=""> </span>Out of the blackness of this sunset shadow the man, “Esau, what are you doing?”<span style=""> </span>Esau was stunned, “how did you know my name?” he asked.<span style=""> </span>The man did not respond, but simply continued to speak to him with great intensity and purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">“Esau.<span style=""> </span>Your anger has cried out to me.<span style=""> </span>I have heard the screams of your desire for vengeance.<span style=""> </span>It is your rage that has brought me here to you.” The man paused and Esau sat in silence not knowing how to respond.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">“But why are you so enraged?<span style=""> </span>Why is murder the only thought on your mind?” “How could I think of anything else? My very own brother has stolen my birthright along with the blessing from my father! <span style=""> </span>I have been left with nothing!<span style=""> </span>And beyond that, my father, who I thought loved and understood me, allowed himself to be duped by my brother and my mother.<span style=""> </span>Now I am left with nothing except my desire for revenge and justice!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">“Justice!” replied the stranger, “true justice does not require the blood of another human being!<span style=""> </span>Especially the justice of the God of your ancestors!<span style=""> </span>The God whose name is shalom/peace.<span style=""> </span>The God who brought me to you at this very moment.”<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">“That God is no longer my god,” replied Esau.<span style=""> </span>“That God has abandoned me.<span style=""> </span>That God, in which that I believed with my whole being may still be my father’s God, my mother’s God, my brother’s God.<span style=""> </span>If that God were my god this would not allow this to happen.<span style=""> </span>I no longer have a God!”<span style=""> </span>With that Esau turned away from the stranger, looked down at the ground and began stoking the flames of the slowly dying fire.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">As the sun continued to set behind the stranger he spoke to Esau in a voice that filled Esau with fear and awe.<span style=""> </span>“If that is the case, then why am I here?<span style=""> </span>Your voice cried out to the God of your ancestors, of your God. And it is God who has sent me to you to deliver a message.”<span style=""> </span>“But why?” Esau replied, “If God truly cared God would not have allowed any of this to happen.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">“ Listen closely Esau, for I am here to give you a message from the Divine, but which comes from my experience and my all-too-human heart.<span style=""> </span>I am here to beg you, to plead with you, not to continue your hatred of your brother.<span style=""> </span>You must let go of the hatred in your heart.<span style=""> </span>You must rid yourself of your murderous desire.<span style=""> </span>For hatred destroys compassion and mercy and eventually will destroy you.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Upon hearing these words Esau looked up with fierceness in his eyes that mirrored the hatred in his soul.<span style=""> </span>“How dare you tell me what I must or must not do?<span style=""> </span>You have no idea what I have gone through!<span style=""> </span>You haven’t a clue what it feels like to be a pawn in a game of favorites between your parents and then to think that finally, the fact that you are just a few minutes older will finally pay off because – no matter what –father’s blessing is yours!<span style=""> </span>And then to have all of that taken from you. To see your brother, whom you have tried to love in spite of everything, become the chosen one instead! <span style=""> </span>This is more than anyone can bear!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">The stranger replied with a sense of compassion and equanimity that began to slowly have an affect on Esau’s anger, though he did not know why.<span style=""> </span>“Esau, know what you are feeling. I have felt this way as well.<span style=""> </span>I know what it’s like to feel rejected by a parent figure, to feel inferior to your brother and to allow my hatred to become so strong, so uncontrollable that it eventually led me to murder.<span style=""> </span>Unable to find compassion within or to change the direction of my heart I reached out my hand to slay my own brother!<span style=""> </span>That is why God sent me, begging you not to make the same mistake as I.<span style=""> </span>Do not to doom yourself to a life of endless wandering, loneliness and hopelessness, such as I.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">At that moment Esau looked up at the stranger.<span style=""> </span>The sun had finally set so that he could see his face a little more clearly in the light of the flames.<span style=""> </span>It was worn with years, and yet he still appeared young in some strange way.<span style=""> </span>Esau could see in the man’s eyes a sadness and a tenderness that told him this man was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">bringing</span> him a truth that he needed to hear. A truth that transcended the hatred he had been feeling. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">As the flames grew even brighter, Esau’s eyes were drawn to the man’s forehead, for in the middle there was a mark.<span style=""> </span>As he was attempting to make out if it was a letter or an image of some other kind he suddenly realized who was speaking to him.<span style=""> </span>“You …” he stammered “ you are …” he could not make himself say the name.<span style=""> </span>“Yes,” said the stranger, “I am Cain, son of the first human beings and the first one to murder … my very own flesh and blood! I have been doomed since that day to wander the earth trying to repent for my sin by preventing others from doing the same.<span style=""> </span>And so when your heart cried out to me in anger and pain I knew I had to come.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p face="trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p face="trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">Esau remained sitting in stunned silence as Cain continued, “The message I have for you is a simple one.<span style=""> </span>If you turn your heart and soul away from your anger and return to your home, then this place on which we stand will be blessed, just as your life will be blessed. It will be a holy place, as you have inherent holiness within you.<span style=""> </span>It will be place of <span style="font-style: italic;" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">rahamim</span> and shalom, of compassion, peace and tranquility, as will your soul.<span style=""> </span>This place will forever be known as a place where God’s presence dwells.<span style=""> </span>It will also be the place to which, when the time is right, you shall return and reconcile with your brother in peace and in love.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p face="trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p face="trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">“But if you continue to hate – whether or not you find or kill your brother – this place will forever be cursed.<span style=""> </span>It shall be known as a place of death and hatred where nothing shall bloom or grow.<span style=""> </span>It will remain forever as empty and desolate as a heart of hatred and jealousy.<span style=""> </span>The choice is yours, my son.<span style=""> </span>I only pray that you chose the right path and do not do as I did.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p face="trebuchet ms" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">The two men looked into each other’s eyes and each other’s souls.<span style=""> </span>Not another word needed to be spoken. Esau looked down at the flames at his feet he allowed Cain’s words to enter him. He paid attention to the message be sent and he could feel the anger within him beginning to melt. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">When he looked up to reply to Cain, he was no longer standing there.<span style=""> </span>Esau arose and looked around.<span style=""> </span>But he knew that he was once again alone.<span style=""> </span>But he then realized something important.<span style=""> </span>Filled with anger he had cut himself off from humanity, from family and from God. <span style=""> </span>He was truly alone. But as the anger subsided he realized that he was not alone.<span style=""> </span>Standing there he could sense his connection to all, to God.<span style=""> </span>He looked at the flames, now beginning to die, he listened to the water flowing and imagined it dousing the flames of hatred in his heart and purifying his soul.<span style=""> </span>For a long time he simply stood there paying attention to these feelings within him. H knew that there was still anger and hurt within him, but he was no longer allowing this to control him. Then he looked down at the place where he stood and he knew at that moment that it was indeed destined to return.<span style=""> </span>He then lay down on the ground next to the stone where he had been sitting and fell into a deep sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;">In the morning when he awoke, Esau anointed the stone next to him with the water from the stream and named the place <i style="">M’kom Shalom</i> <span style=""> </span>- place of peace, in honor of what had occurred.<span style=""> </span>He then returned home to live his life, knowing that one day he would once again stand by that stream, the one that he had never noticed before, and embrace his brother in peace, compassion and love.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->
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Posted By Rabbi Steven Nathan to <a href="http://mindfultorah.blogspot.com/2009/11/peace-of-brothers-midrash-on-vayetzei.html">Mindful Torah</a> at 11/27/2009 02:58:00 PM