A Taste of Torah - Tol'dot

Picture this scene: A mother dresses her son in goat skin to disguise him as his hairier brother so that he can steal his brother's blessing from their father. This is the scene in this week’s Torah portion, Tol’dot. Rebekah wants the son she favors, Jacob, to get the blessing from her husband, Isaac. But Esau, Jacob’s brother is hairier, so certainly, Isaac will know the difference. Isaac reaches out his hand to identify his son. His eyes have been dimmed by old age; he can no longer see the difference between his sons. Isaac says, “The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau” (Genesis 27:22) It seems as though Isaac is on to Rebekah’s scheme, yet he still gives Jacob the blessing that was deserving of Isaac.

As Reform Jews, we know that we need to look at Biblical text in its own context in order to understand its message for our time. Rebekah’s maneuver was not just a costume change. It was a shepherding trick. Check out the closing scene from the movie “Cold Mountain." Fast-forward to 5 minutes and 45 seconds into the clip:





What Rebekah did would have been recognized by the shepherding audience of the Torah as a technique for getting a parent (a sheep) to accept a child (a lamb) that isn’t its own. Of course, this method doesn’t speak to us today, but we make use of the tricks we know to win the affection of those whose love we desire.