VOLUME 123 NUMBER 6
Kislev 3, 5787
November 13, 2026
Parshas Toldos
Candlelighting Time 4:28
Eisav sold the first born rights to Yaakov. He reasoned that to serve in the Beis Hamikdash is fraught with danger. He stated that there are many prohibitions that the first born who are serving in the Beis Hamikdash must be aware of and cautious not to transgress. Some of them if they are disobeyed, the penalty is very severe, death. Therefore, he was not willing to put himself that in kind of a situation and sold the rights to Yaakov. The Torah indicts Eisav for his attitude and terms him as one who has disdained an incredible opportunity and instead turned it down. Rashi adds the Torah is clearly stating that Eisav is an evil person due to his insolence!
Harav Moshe Feinstein a preeminent Torah giant of the previous generation asks a very obvious question. Eisav had concerns that seem to be valid. After all, those who serve in the Beis Hamikdash do have many restrictions and some of them do carry significant consequences if they are transgressed. Can we blame Eisav for his worries that seem to be valid?
He explains that when we think about investing money in a certain enterprise of course there is a risk. Some people do not mind taking the chance because they are expecting to have a healthy return from their money. Other people are not so willing to invest their hard earned money because the fear of losing their investment doesn’t allow them to be optimistic enough to go through with the proposed speculation. Since the success of the venture is not in our hands therefore the concern of failure does drive certain people away. And we can understand the fear of those who do not wish to invest in such a unpredictable situation.
However, Harav Feinstein distinguishes between our involvement in monetary situations and our involvement in areas of spirituality. Although on the economic spectrum we can never be certain of success and therefore our choices may be limited, however when we discuss our obligation to serve Hashem there can be no limitations. The reason is because when it comes to performing mitzvos and learning Torah everyone is a winner. We strive to accomplish as much as possible with the realization that Hashem accepts all that we do with tremendous pride and endorsement of His people. Sometimes it is indeed difficult to achieve what we need to but that only serves to increase the amount of reward that we will receive for attaining a challenging objective. Therefore, Eisav was indeed to be blamed for his lack of interest to serve in the Mishkan and later the Beis Hamikdash. As the Chofetz Chaim writes nobody doesn’t work hard to earn a living despite the fact that it might be trying and arduous. We know that if we don’t make the effort to secure a livelihood that we will starve and there is no choice. That is exactly what our attitude must be when it concerns our pursuit of Torah.
Although Eisav believed in Hashem as demonstrated that when Yitzchok received the blessings from his father Yaakov, Eisav was devastated that he couldn‘t also receive a blessing as well. But the responsibility placed upon him was too much. However, as Harav Feinstein emphasizes since the entire goal of life is to elevate ourselves through serving Hashem shunning that responsibility is not acceptable. Therefore, it is baseless to utilize any type of excuse to absolve oneself from serving Hashem to the best of his ability. And that’s why Eisav’s refusal to retain the first born rights is viewed as a disavowal of the opportunity to serve Hashem.
A BYTE FOR SHABBOS
Yitzchok said that he doesn’t know the day of his death and therefore wants to give the blessings to his son. Clearly, Yitzchok valued every moment of his life and realized that life can’t be taken for granted. Whatever we want to accomplish we shouldn’t delay because we never know what the next day or minutes will bring. CHOFETZ CHAIM
GOOD SHABBOS
