Today's date and time:

Sermon for Sidra Toledos
November 2008
by Rabbi Geoffrey Hyman

First may I say that our hearts go out to the people of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), who have suffered from the Islamic terrorists over the last few days, with over 130 dead. Our prayers are with the injured and the bereaved – May the Almighty help them – and may the Almighty eradicate all such evil from this world. (At the time of this sermon the news of the brutal killing of the Rabbi and Rebbetzin of Chabad and others was not yet known.)

Let me share with you a brief message from the Sidra.

Everyone is familiar with the story of Yaakov and Esav – Jacob and Esau, with the sale of the birthright and Jacob deceiving his father Isaac at the behest of his mother in order to receive his “Blessings”. But just look at how the whole story began.

Esau comes home exhausted from a day’s hunting and sees Jacob stewing lentils, he wants some, Jacob bargains with him and says to Esau: “Sell me your birthright”. Esau replies: “Well I’m going to die anyway so what do I need it for!” Jacob secures the agreement with an oath, the sale is done and Esau “fills his face” with his lentil stew.

I’m not going to enter into a fine analysis of this episode - that’s for a shiur - but let’s learn a crucial lesson from this.

The reason that Esau sold his rights of first born, which would have granted him long term benefits was for one single reason: for a plate of stewed red lentils, that’s all! He wanted a plate of lentils and for that he was prepared to negotiate away a future that would have given him not just a double share inheritance after Yitzchak’s death but also senior family rights. Does it make sense that he sold his long term investments for a mere bowl of lentils? No! The answer lies in the final verse in this parsha. The Torah states: “Vayivez Esav es Habechorah - “And Esau spurned the birthright”. It was because the birthright was so worthless in his eyes that he was prepared to sell it for a bowl of lentils. It was because the birthright was so cheap in his eyes that he was prepared to throw it away for a quick fix! So he ignores the future and feeds his momentarily greed. This so sounds like the contemporary credit crunch problem, caused by the desire for the “here” and let’s ignore the “after”.

Of course in life that is often the case, the temptation for instant gratification as opposed to long-term implications. Hence our Rabbis said: “Who is wise? He who sees the future”. We are in this world for the long-term and for the “Hereafter”.

From here we can learn a crucial message. Whatever we truly value we don’t throw away, what we truly care for, we will treasure and fight for it, and even die for it.

If Shabbos isn’t truly valued – then we discard it for the quick fix, if Kashrus isn’t truly valued, then we compromise and eat treif and so it is over the entire gamut of Torah and Mitzvos, ethics and morality; the only reason we discard it, is because we don’t treasure it.

So R. Yisroel Salanter, the founder of the Mussar Movement, once taught if you want to keep away from a specific sin or one finds a weakness of observance in a certain area of Jewish practice, then go and study the laws on that subject in greater depth and one will gain a true appreciation of its worth and find the strength to fight off the Yetzer Hora (the evil inclination).

May the Almighty inspire us to learn, comprehend and appreciate the depth and beauty of our Torah and Mitzvos. Amen.