Midrasch zu Bereschit 25:22

(Deut. 7:12:) “And it shall come to pass if you heed [these statutes].” What is written above the matter (in Deut. 7:7)? “It is not because you are the most numerous of all the peoples [that the Lord desired you and chose you. Rather you are the least of all the peoples].” It is not because you are the most numerous of all the nations,” and it was not because you fulfilled more commandments than they; for the nations do more commandments that they were not commanded than you, and they magnify My name more than you. Thus it is stated (in Mal. 1:11-12), “For from the rising of the sun until its setting My name is great among the nations, [and in every place incense is offered to My name, even a pure oblation; for My name is great among the nations]…. But you desecrate it when you say the table of the Lord is defiled, and its special food is treated with scorn [like ordinary] food.” (Deut. 7:7:) “Rather you were the least of all the peoples.” Rather, because you diminish yourselves for Me, therefore I love you.’ And so it says (in Mal. 1:2-3), “’I have loved you,’ says the Lord …. ‘But I have hated Esau….’” It also says (in Hos. 14:5), “I will heal their veering and love them voluntarily….” My soul has volunteered to love them, even though they were not worthy; and so it says (in Deut. 7:8), “Because the Lord loves you […].” It is written (in Is. 2:2), “And it shall come to pass that in the latter days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains….” This text is related (to Job 8:7), “Though your beginning was trifling (rt.: ts'r), [your end shall greatly flourish].” [This verse is here] to teach you that everyone who is troubled (rt.: ts'r) from his beginning will have it well at his end. You have no one who was more troubled (rt.: ts'r) than Abraham, who was cast into a fiery furnace and went into exile from his ancestral home. Moreover, sixteen kings pursued him. He also stood the test of ten trials and buried Sarah. Yet in the end he had rest, as stated (Gen. 24:1), “Now Abraham was old, advanced in years, and the Lord blessed [Abraham in all things].” So too was Isaac troubled (rt.: ts'r) in his youth, for the Philistines were jealous of him, [as stated] (in Gen. 26:16), “And Abimelech said unto Isaac, ‘Go away from us, [for you have become have become too powerful for us].’” But in the end they begged him [for mercy], as stated (in vs. 27-28), “And Isaac said unto them, ‘Why have you come unto me…?’ And they said, ‘We have clearly seen….’” Jacob also was troubled (rt.: ts'r) in his youth, as stated (in Ps. 129:1), “’They have harassed me greatly from my youth,’ let Israel now say.” While he was in his mother’s belly, Esau sought to kill him, as stated (in Gen. 25:22), “But the children struggled [within her].” [Moreover,] when he received the blessings (according to Gen. 27:41), “Then Esau hated Jacob …, and Esau said in his heart, ‘Let the days of mourning for my father come, [and I will kill my brother Jacob]’.” So he fled to Laban and was troubled (rt.: ts'r) over his daughters, and after that Laban sought to kill him, as stated (in Deut. 26:5), “An Aramean would have destroyed my ancestor.”⁹This is required sense by the midrash. A more usual translation would read: A WANDERING ARAMEAN WAS MY ANCESTOR. He went away from him and encountered Esau, as stated (in Gen. 33:1), “Now Jacob raised his eyes and saw Esau coming….” There came upon him the trouble over Dinah, the trouble over Rachel and the trouble over Joseph. But in the end he had rest, [as stated] (in Gen. 47:12), “And Joseph sustained his father [and his brothers]….” Ergo (in Job 8:7), “Though your beginning was trifling (rt.: ts'r), your end shall greatly flourish.” Another interpretation (of Is. 2:2), “the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains… and Mount Tabor shall become very tall.” A parable: To what is the matter comparable? To the palace¹⁰Palterin. Gk.: praitorion; Lat. praetorium. children of a king. They went down from the city and killed lions, tigers, and bears in the forest. Then they brought them and hung them opposite the city gate, so that all the people in the city were amazed from those lions. The Holy One, blessed be he, did so with Sisera. [When] Sisera came against Israel on Mount Tabor; (according to Jud. 5:20), “The stars fought from the heavens; from their courses they fought with Sisera.”¹¹Cf. Pes. 118b, according to which the stars descended and heated the iron implements in Sisera’s army. All began to be amazed, for there had never been an event like this, when the stars came down from the heavens to make war with flesh and blood. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “In this world the stars have fought on your behalf, but in the world to come (according to Zech. 14:3-4), ‘Then the Lord will come forth and fight with those nations [as when He fights in the day of battle]. And His feet shall stand in that day [upon the Mount of Olives]….’ And [so on through] all that section (of Zechariah).” Then everyone will see and point Him out with the finger, as stated (in Is. 25:9), “In that day they shall say, ‘See, this is our God; [we waited for Him, and He delivered us. This is the Lord; we waited for Him. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation].’”

It is written (in Is. 2:2): AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS THAT IN THE LATTER DAYS THE MOUNTAIN OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD SHALL BE ESTABLISHED <AS THE HIGHEST OF THE MOUNTAINS>…. This text is related (to Job 8:7): THOUGH YOUR BEGINNING WAS TRIFLING (rt.: Ts'R), <YOUR END SHALL GREATLY FLOURISH>. <This verse is here> to teach you that everyone who is troubled (rt.: Ts'R) from his beginning has rest at his end. You have no one who was more troubled (rt.: Ts'R) than Abraham, who was cast into a fiery furnace and went into exile from his ancestral home. Moreover, sixteen kings oppressed him. He also stood the test of ten trials and buried Sarah. Yet in the end he had rest. (Gen. 24:1) NOW ABRAHAM WAS OLD, ADVANCED IN YEARS, AND THE LORD BLESSED ABRAHAM <IN ALL THINGS>. Isaac was troubled (rt.: Ts'R) in his youth, for the Philistines were jealous of him, [as stated] (in Gen. 26:16): AND ABIMELECH SAID UNTO ISAAC: GO AWAY FROM US, FOR YOU HAVE BECOME HAVE BECOME TOO POWERFUL FOR US. In the end they begged him for mercy, [as stated] (in vs. 27): AND ISAAC SAID UNTO THEM: WHY HAVE YOU COME UNTO ME…. Jacob also was troubled (rt.: Ts'R) in his youth, as stated (in Ps. 129:1): THEY HAVE HARASSED ME GREATLY FROM MY YOUTH, LET ISRAEL NOW SAY. While he was in his mothers belly, Esau wanted to kill him, as stated (in Gen. 25:22): BUT THE CHILDREN STRUGGLED WITHIN HER…. [Moreover, when he received the blessings, (according to Gen. 27:41:) THEN ESAU HATED JACOB …, AND ESAU SAID IN HIS HEART: <LET THE DAYS OF MOURNING FOR MY FATHER COME, AND I WILL KILL MY BROTHER JACOB>. So he fled to Laban and was troubled (rt.: Ts'R) over his daughter, and after that Laban wanted to kill him, as stated (in Deut. 26:5): AN ARAMEAN WOULD HAVE DESTROYED MY ANCESTOR.¹³This is required sense by the midrash. A more usual translation would read: A WANDERING ARAMEAN WAS MY ANCESTOR. He went away from him and encountered Esau, as stated (in Gen. 33:1): NOW JACOB RAISED HIS EYES AND SAW ESAU COMING…. There came upon him the trouble over Dinah and the trouble over Joseph. Yet in the end he had rest, [as stated] (in Gen. 47:12): AND JOSEPH SUSTAINED HIS FATHER <AND HIS BROTHERS>…. Ergo (in Job 8:7): THOUGH YOUR BEGINNING WAS TRIFLING (rt.: Ts'R), <YOUR END SHALL GREATLY FLOURISH>.

And God Almighty. What did Jacob foresee that he blessed him with the words God Almighty? These words indicate that numerous trials had befallen Jacob. While he was in his mother’s womb, Esau quarreled with him, as it is said: And the children struggled together within her (Gen. 25:22). And it says elsewhere: Because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever (Amos 1:11). Furthermore, he was forced to flee from Esau and live with Laban for twenty years, under the most trying conditions, as is said: Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me (Gen. 31:40). Later Laban pursued him in order to kill him, as it is stated: And he pursued after him seven days’ journey (ibid., v. 23). When he escaped from Laban, Esau approached him to kill him. Because of him, he was compelled to lose two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats.

[(Gen. 43:14:) AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY (ShDY) GRANT YOU MERCY.] What was the reason for Jacob to bless them with < the formula > GOD ShDY?⁴⁶Tanh., Gen. 10:10; below, 10:16. To teach you that a lot of afflictions had come upon him. While he was in his mother's womb, Esau had contended with him, as stated (in Gen. 25:22): BUT THE CHILDREN STRUGGLED TOGETHER WITHIN HER.⁴⁷Cf. PRK 3:1. And so it says (in Amos 1:11): BECAUSE HE PURSUED HIS BROTHER WITH THE SWORD AND DESTROYED HIS WOMB. "His womb" is < what is > written.⁴⁸DESTROYED HIS WOMB would normally be read as a metaphor and translated by an expression such as “cast off all pity.” Because of Esau he fled to Laban. See how many troubles there were! (Gen. 31:40:) THUS I WAS: BY DAY SCORCHING HEAT CONSUMED ME…. < Look at > how, when he left, < Laban > pursued after him to kill him, [as stated (in Gen. 31:23)]: AND PURSUED AFTER HIM FOR A JOURNEY OF {THREE} [SEVEN] DAYS. He escaped from him; Esau came with the intention of killing him. On account of him he lost all that gift⁴⁹Gk.: doron. (according to Gen. 32:15 [14]): TWO HUNDRED SHE-GOATS…. He went away from Esau; the trouble about Dinah came (in Gen. 34). Then after that, the trouble with Rachel < dying > (in Gen. 35:19). Then, after these troubles, he was intending to rest a bit, until there came the trouble about Joseph (in Gen. 37); and after that, the trouble with his father, Isaac, who died (in Gen. 35:29) ten years after the sale of Joseph. So the Scripture has cried out (in Job 3:26): I WAS NOT TRANQUIL, NOT QUIET, HAD NO REST; AND TROUBLE CAME. After that there came upon him the trouble with Simeon (in Gen. 42:24); and after that, the trouble with Benjamin (in Gen. 42:36; 43:3-15). He therefore prayed (in Genesis 43:14) AND MAY GOD ShDY. Now he says: The one who said: Enough (DY), to the heavens and to the earth should say: Enough (DY), to my afflictions. For, when the Holy One created the heavens and the earth, they continued expanding until the Holy One said to them: Enough (DY).⁵⁰See above, 1:11; 3:25. below, 10:16. It is therefore written (in Gen. 43:14): GOD WHO IS ENOUGH (ShDY).

Another interpretation (of Is. 41:4): WHO HAS WROUGHT AND PRODUCED. The Holy One also told Rebekah what he was going to do, as stated (in Gen. 25:22f.): SO SHE WENT TO INQUIRE OF THE LORD; AND THE LORD SAID TO HER: TWO NATIONS ARE IN YOUR WOMB. Then he said to her: Esau I hate, and Jacob I love,⁹¹See Mal. 1:2f.; Romans 9:13; Gen. R. 63:7. as stated (at the end of vs. 23): AND THE ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER. The Holy One made known to her everything < about them > before they were born. He said to her: You are like a field that is sown and thrives, so that the storehouses are full of grain and the stables⁹²Lat.: stabula. < full of > straw. He said: {She shall be the} [You shall be blessed like that] field which fills the barns with grain, and the stables⁹³Ibid. with straw. The Holy One said to Rebekah: Let there be prosperity in this belly, since it is going to fill up the Garden of Eden with righteous < offspring > and Gehinnom with wicked < offspring >, as stated (in Gen. 25:22): TWO NATIONS ARE IN YOUR WOMB. It is therefore stated (in Is. 41:4): WHO HAS WROUGHT AND PRODUCED.⁹⁴The two verbs are understood as referring to Jacob and Esau respectively.

THE DEATH OF SARAH AND THE STORY OF ISAAC AND REBECCA
SIX (people) were called by their names before they were created, and they are: Isaac, Ishmael, Moses, Solomon, Josiah, and King Messiah.

Rabbi Jehudah said: Rebecca was barren for twenty years. After twenty years (Isaac) took Rebecca and went (with her) to Mount Moriah, to the place where he had been bound, and he prayed on her behalf concerning the conception of the womb; and the Holy One, blessed be He, was entreated of him, as it is said, "And Isaac intreated the Lord" (ibid. xxv. 21). The children were contending with one another within her womb like mighty warriors, as it is said, "And the children struggled together within her" (ibid. 22). The time of her confinement came round, and her soul was nigh unto death owing to her pains. And she went to pray in the place whither she and Isaac had gone, as it is said, "And she went to inquire of the Lord" (ibid.). What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? Jacob took hold of the heels of Esau to make him fall, as it is said, "And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel" (ibid. 26). Hence thou mayest learn that the descendants of Esau will not fall until a remnant || from Jacob will come and cut off the feet of the children of Esau from the mountain of Seir, as it is said, "Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands" (Dan. 2:45). Another Scripture text says, "Vengeance is mine, and a recompence, at the time when their foot shall slide" (Deut. 32:35).

(Devarim 32:18) "The Rock of your birth you have weakened": The Holy One Blessed be He said to them: You rendered Me (comparable to) a male who sought to give birth (viz.): If a woman were sitting on the mashber (the birth-stone, and she could not deliver), would she not be in great pain? viz. (I Kings 19:3) "For the sons have come to the mashber (i.e., they are at the point of being born), and she has no strength to bear them" (i.e., to eject them from the womb). And if she were sick and having her first child, would she not be in great pain? viz. (Jeremiah 4:31) "For I have heard an outcry like that of a woman sick (in labor), in pain as with her first child." And if there were two in her womb, would she not be in great pain? viz. (Bereshith 25:22) "And the sons wrangled within her" — And if it were a male, who cannot give birth, that sought to bear, would his agony not be compounded? viz. (Jeremiah 30:6) "Ask now and see if a male has ever given birth!" (Thus: "The Rock of your birth you have weakened.")