I would like to “zoom in” on one of the elemental stories found in the book of Genesis
And to understand the depth of the never-ending argument between Jacob and Esau,
The twins, sons of Isaac. The verses recount that Isaac, their father, loved Esau “for he did eat of his venison.”
Or in other words, because Esau knew how to serve his father a good meal.
That’s an interesting criterion.
I naively thought that Jacob was the important one, because he sat all day and studied…
Furthermore, when Isaac wants to bless Esau, he asks him to go out to the field
“To hunt for meat to bring.”
In other words, Isaac identifies in Esau an ability
That every person with positive character traits must possess,
That every person who wants to be a leader in the world must possess –
The ability to sustain the people, to feed them!
This is a righteous person’s main concern.
And what happens?
We find that Isaac was not fully aware that this capability also existed within Jacob.
The Bible tells us a bit earlier that Jacob possessed this ability too.
“And Jacob cooked a stew” – Jacob knew how to cook food
That could return the real “taste of life” to those who had lost it…
After all, it doesn’t say in that verse that Esau was hungry. It says he was tired.
According to the Hebrew nation’s tradition,
The exchange between them took place on the day that their grandfather Abraham died.
This caused a deep crisis of faith for Esau, who felt exhausted by life.
“What good is this life if every person is destined to die, even someone as righteous as Abraham?!”
Esau wondered in his heart.
We must realize that as long as Abraham was alive, everyone who lived in his presence,
Including his grandchildren, Jacob and Esau,
Knew and felt in an immediate, existential, ongoing way,
That the moral values that Abraham represented in his ways and actions
Where the key to the historical success of the world.
But now that Abraham was gone, Esau felt “tired” – not hungry!
He was exhausted from trying to understand the meaning of the world.
Everything collapsed before his eyes,
And no pleasure, no occupation in this world was valuable to him anymore.
Values of truth also need to be brought into the world –
And this is the deeper meaning of the food that is brought to the mouth of Esau.
Esau asks Jacob to give him some “moral content,” to place “in his mouth” values of truth,
The values of their grandfather Abraham –
So that they may become a part of him, like the food.
Joseph too, later on in Genesis,
Who became famous and important in Egypt,
Viewed himself as the “sustainer” of the land, who provided the country with food,
Opening the grain storehouses and selling both food…and moral values to the Egyptians.
According to the Hebrew tradition, Joseph insisted on teaching them values in addition to providing food.
If we delve a bit further, we discover that Abraham was very involved in providing food to all of the travelers who passed by his tent.
Via the food, he would teach them about the existence of the Creator of the world and the need to thank Him.
This is the deeper understanding of what it means to be a righteous person.
Why specifically food?
That’s a different question; I’ll mention three simple facts that have to do with food.
The first,
Food is part of my first experience in understanding that I cannot exist on my own,
But rather I am dependent on something that is external to me.
From this point, it is easy to understand that there is a Creator of the world
Who sustains me in His kindness,
And that I am also obligated to give existence to someone else,
Firstly by bringing a future generation into this world.
The second understanding that is related to food is the dimension of time.
Food is not ready instantly.
Most of the time, it must be baked, cooked, prepared…we must wait for it.
This is an important lesson for man.
We are part of a process. Life isn’t an instant experience.
Not everything is done in one day, all at once.
World history is also undergoing a process of improvement.
Once, killing your firstborn son was an accepted practice as part of worshipping the gods…
Today, everyone knows that this is murder and not acceptable at all!
The third point that is related to food is the deeper meaning of the verse from Deuteronomy (8:3):
“For man does not live by bread alone, but rather by that which comes forth from the mouth of God does man live.”
There is bread in the literal sense, the kind that we put in our mouths and sustains us,
Food that contains amino acids, carbohydrates, and elements that are important for our health.
But there is also “spiritual bread,”
These are the thoughts that sustain us,
The emotions that control us,
The truths that lead us –
And when these are incorrect values, people may find themselves believing and living in a crooked way,
Just like ISIS.
To the extent that they are prepared to take the lives of others,
And in the name of the Giver of life, no less…
I have no doubt that God in heaven is crying over these deeds…
Now it is understandable why food is such a popular subject…
To conclude, check yourself –
Who feeds you?
What are the sources from which you draw your values?
How can you strengthen your positive connection to a life of truth?
Best of luck,
Chaim
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