Parshat Toldot 
                                                                                                     
                                                                                                        by Shayna Weiss

It is funny that in a parsha whose name (Toldot) is dedicated to the continuation of generations, we learn how messy the family lives of our forefathers and foremothers were. Identities are fluid as wives become sisters, and brothers change place. We learn that Rebeka is pregnant after Isaac prays on her behalf, and she experiences the beginnings of an existential struggle as two nations fight in her womb. Esau quickly becomes the rival of Jacob, and his eventual enemy. One might assume that the text of the Bible might itself take care to drastically separate these two poles of good and bad to illustrate how far one should distance one's self from evil.

Yet in this week’s parsha, we find the intermingling of the two identities. The parents themselves are split on who is to be loved more--Rebeka loves Jacob, and Isaac loves Esau. It is not enough that Jacob and Esau are brothers, and that Jacob steals his blessing. In the process to obtain what is rightfully his, Jacob decides to become the other. He dresses up as his brother and prepares his father's favorite dish, playing on Isaac's weakness.  Yet the character that emerges is neither Jacob nor Esau. Isaac, despite his blindness, realizes the paradox before him when he says that the hands are of Esau, but the voice is of Jacob.  I suspect that after this encounter Jacob never recovers his original, singular identity. After all, his name must later be changed--the culmination of a long process of searching and discovery.  Jacob embraces the Other, the opposite of who he is to become, someone who embodies pure evil in the rabbinic imagination. This new figure who is no longer Jacob now understands his terrifying capacity for deception and greed, and righteousness and justice, and how subtle the dividing line can be.

Our hero realized that he would never succeed unless he understood his own capacity to do evil, recognizing that his brother Esau is also within him. With this recognition that we are all acting in roles that can change at a moment's notice, Jacob has begun his journey to become the progenitor of Israel--a great, complex people that becomes famous for wrestling with God. As we fight to effect change, we should remember the messiness of not just our own lives, but also the lives of others whom we try to help. The reality is rarely as it simple as it seems.