Tafsiran yang Mengutip untuk Yehezkiel 35:6

ויצא הראשון אדמוני, “the first baby emerged, reddish looking;” according to a Midrash, when his father saw that, he concluded that the blood of the infant had not yet matured to the stage when he could be circumcised without that operation endangering his life, and that is why he delayed the date for the circumcision. Something similar is related in the Talmud, tractate Shabbat, folio 134, where Rabbi Nathan relates that he once met a lady who had lost two of her children as a result of circumcision. She asked him if she had to circumcise her third son also and risk losing him too. When Rabbi Nathan looked at the infant, he noted that his skin looked extremely red. He therefore told his mother to wait with circumcising him until this red skin would become normal looking. She did so, and circumcised him in due course and he survived without further problem. When Yitzchok waited a year or two for the skin colour of Esau to change and it did not happen, he assumed that this son was going to remain in that condition, but he still did not circumcise him. When he turned 13, he still restrained himself from circumcising him. He had waited all this time thinking that seeing he had not been circumcised at the age of eight days he would circumcise him at the age Yishmael had been circumcised. This is what was meant in the Book of Ezekiel chapter 35,6: אם לא דם שנאת ודם ירדפך, “surely though you have hated blood, blood shall pursue you.”

Our sages in Tanchuma Toldot 8 have said that Esau used to ask his father such questions as “does salt have to be tithed?” This would impress Yitzchak favourably and he would wonder how careful Esau was with the performance of all the commandments. When he used to ask Esau: “my son where have you been today?” Esau would reply that he had been in the house of study. He would proceed to tell his father what he had learned on that day. The Holy Spirit, when hearing such lies, would proclaim: “When he speaks graciously, do not believe him; for there are seven abominations in his heart.“ (Proverbs 26,25) Furthermore, the sages in the same Midrash derived from this wording that the reason Esau went hunting and was feeding the venison he hunted to his father was only in order to secure the blessing for himself. This is the mystical dimension of the Torah writing in Deut. 16,19 “for the bribe blinds the eyes of the wise.” In connection with Yitzchak, the Torah had written “his eyes had become weak from seeing” (Genesis 27,1). Just as Esau was a man paying bribes, so his descendants were willing to receive bribes. The Torah (25,30) reports Esau as saying to Yaakov הלעיטני נא, “please feed me, etc.” Concerning this David said in Psalms 68,31 מתרפס ברצי כסף , “till they come cringing with pieces of silver.” They (Esau’s descendants) derive their power from their celestial counterpart (the scapegoat mentioned in Leviticus 16 offered to Azzazel) who accepts this offering as a bribe by the Jewish people on the Day of Atonement. (compare commentary on Leviticus 16,7). In a similar manner every single nation derives whatever power sustains it from its celestial representative at the court of the angels. It is the same source from which the original serpent had derived its power and ability to seduce Eve. Once it was able to seduce, it was capable of spilling the blood of its victims. Such seducers became the cause of all those who choose to eat blood. Such forces are diametrically opposed to the Israelites who are circumcised (i.e. had given up their blood for G’d instead of consuming it), and who therefore abstain from eating any kind of blood. When an accuser of the Jewish people wants to seduce us, one of the first laws he wants us to break is that of circumcising our male children. Once this law has been broken the consumption of blood is only a small step. [It appears that the author refers to philosophical attempts at converting Jews to Christianity seeing that the Moslems abide by circumcision. Ed.] Adhering to these two laws (circumcision and the prohibition to eat blood), is therefore cardinal in our effort to stave off conversion and this is why the prophet said of the descendants of Esau (Ezekiel 15,6) אם לא דם שנאת, ודם ירדפך, “surely you have hated blood (the prohibition of it) and blood will pursue you.” The prophet predicted Esau’s (Edom) eventual destruction because as descendants of Avraham they rejected the commandment of circumcision as they hated to lose blood (instead of consuming it) This is also the mystical dimension of Jeremiah 48,10 וארור מונע חרבו מדם,”cursed be he who withholds his sword from blood.” (The prophet speaks of the blood of circumcision).

ויבז עשו את הבכורה, “at that point Esau had shown that he despised the birthright;” until Aaron was appointed priest, the Temple service used to be performed by the firstborns of each family, regardless of which tribe they belonged to. In practice what Esau had done was as if he had said: “why should I dirty my hands with the blood of sacrificial animals,” as per Ezekiel 35,6: as I live, declares G-d: “I will doom you with blood, blood shall pursue you;” the reference is to the blood of circumcision as well as to that of sacrificial animals. [Esau is presumed to have poked fun at the need of circumcision also.] An alternate explanation of the line: “Esau despised the birthright;” seeing that Esau did not want people to point at him as the fool who had sold his birthright, he made it plain that he despised the birthright and what it stood for. In the end, we know that he came to regret this as he accused Yaakov of having tricked him out of it. (27,36).