- Torah Portion and Tanach
- Toldot
The Torah study is dedicatedin the memory of
Asher ben Chaim
999
I have always felt that the interpretation lay in the fist part of Yaakov’s answer "I am." The core of Judaism is that a person must have an acute and accurate awareness of one’s self. If a person feels that he or she is only part of the herd and has little or no self-awareness then it is impossible to grow spiritually and intellectually. We have a tendency to judge ourselves through the prism of external factors. Wealth, age, appearance, career success, public opinion and other factors completely external to our true selves blind us to our true essence. The great rebbe of Kotzk, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Morgenstern (Halperin) stated: "If I am I and you are you, then I am I and you are you. But if I am you and you are me then I am not I and you are not you." Yaakov tells his father "I am"– I am I and not a creature of external forces, drives and ambitions. I am here because through me the Jewish people will be built. That is my essence and my soul and my mission in life. Eisav on the other hand is formed by purely external factors – jealousy, physical desires, violence, greed and station in life. His claim to fame is that he is your son but that is an external accomplishment not related to his true identity. The blessing to which I am entitled can in no way help Eisav for he has no permanent deep self-identity. He will live by the sword but no lasting holy people with a divine and eternal mission can be built from him. So "I am" is the correct response of Yaakov to his father Yitzchak.
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