B"H

Parshas Toldos
By Yitzhak Kolakowski
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In this week's parsha, we read the story of Jacob and Esau.  These brothers represent
two different ways of looking at the world.  Esau represents the idea of living for the
moment.  Esau cares about "NOW".  On the other hand, Jacob is the world of eternity.
Jacob cares about "Forever".

Jacob's way is filled with and leads to simchah: pure, everlasting joy.  Esau's way is caused by
and leads to more atzvuth: depression.  In order to ignore his depression, the Esau-type must 
go after empty physical pleasures, but never really enjoys them because he gets tired of them
and must look for something new.  Moreover, Esau's end is not pleasant.

This is why Esau was willing to trade his birthright for a mess of pottage.  He didn't
see the value in some future blessing.  All he cared about was the here and now.

Years later, Isaac was going to bless his son Esau.  Isaac loved Esau.  This doesn't seem right.
How could Isaac mistakenly love his wicked son?  Isaac was the master of Gevurah (Holy
Strength).  He was also a lover of nature ("and Isaac went out to meditate in the field").
He assumed that both of his sons were holy people.  He thought that Jacob was the heir to
Abraham's Hesed (loving-kindness) and that Esau was the heir to his own Gevurah.  This
assumption was based on the fact that Esau too was connected to the fields, and was a
man of strength.  Thus, Isaac thought that he and Esau were kindred spirits.  In fact, Esau
was not a man of true Gevurah, which comes from holiness and joy, but rather a wicked man
who was steeped in depression and cynicism.  Jacob, on the other hand, was a mixture of
Abraham's hesed and Isaac's gevurah, and was a man of emeth (truth), a righteous man
filled with the true simchah of being a servant of HaShem.

We see that Isaac's mistake was thinking that Esau's strength was similar to his own holy-might.
He thought that just because Esau was so violent, that he was a man of gevurah.  This is not
was true gevurah is.  True gevurah is only from Hashem.

Today, we see some Jews who take one of the two sides of Esau's views.  They either are
those people who want "peace NOW", as Esau wanted the pottage "NOW", not caring
about the consequences  (i.e. Barak).  Others believe in strength for strength's sake, and
that this will solve the problems faced (i.e. Sharon).  Neither of those views care about what
HaShem wants.

Some sincere servants of HaShem think that the second way is a good way.  The truth,
however, is that without HaShem there is no true gevurah and there won't be any peace.
What we really need is to listen to HaShem and be people of Emeth, who mix hesed and
gevurah only to serve HaShem, and never use them for any other reasons.  Only when
all heed to the word of HaShem will their be peace.  Our salvation will not come from men of
flesh and blood (from no one in the Knesset).  Our salvation will only come from Hashem.  It 
says in Tehillim: 
"For not by their own sword did they get the land in possession, neither did their own arm save
them; but Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance, because Thou wast
favourable unto them.  Thou art my King, O G-d; command the salvation of Jacob."  
(Ps. 44:4-5)

We certainly need strength, but it must be Holy Strength (which is also physical strength), not
secular strength, which is empty.

"Some trust in chariots, others in horses, but we in the name of the L-rd." (Ps. 20)

May HaShem soon "Tzavei yeshuoth Yaakov" command the saving of Jacob, and make true, 
everlasting, holy peace.