Комментарий к Берешит 25:25

THE FIRST ONE EMERGED RED [...]; THEN HIS BROTHER EMERGED. The Midrash states that the reason that Esau emerged first is so that his afterbirth (refuse) would emerge with him. R’ Abahu said, like the bathing master who first scours the bath and then afterwards the king’s son bathes. One can understand the intent of this statement and the allegory that R’ Abahu gave and what additional information he conveyed with the allegory. In all circumstances, the first is the most important and the foundation of what comes after, The first is also greater in stature than the second. This is the significance of the firstborn. However, when one considers BT Pesachim (5a) where a distinction is made in the gemara between where “first” is written by itself and where “first” is written with a “heh ha’yedi’a” (the first.) “First” without the “heh” means literally first and what comes after is subordinate to it. (The gemara is talking about a case) where the first day of the holiday is the most important day and the days that follow are subordinate to it, but where “first” is written with the “heh” (“the first”) it means earlier (but not necessarily most important.) See the verse (Exodus 12:15) which states “on the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses” that the gemara establishes is referring to the day before Passover and not the first day of Passover, because “the first” implies ordering (and not importance) as in Job (15:7) – “Were you the first man born?” It makes no sense to says that the day before Passover is the most important and the first day of Passover is secondary to it; what is meant is merely that it is before Passover and after it comes the first day of Passover. For example, when a king travels, he is the first in the procession and his minister comes behind him; the king is called “first”. It is known, however, that the king’s servants travel before the king’s procession to clear the way and to announce his arrival; it makes no sense to say that they go first and the king goes after them and is subordinate to them; they are not called “first,” they merely travel earlier and are called “the first” with a “heh.” Afterwards, the king travels in the front of the procession. It makes no sense to say the king is in procession after them; he is only traveling behind them so that they can do their job to clear the way or to give honor to the king (by announcing his arrival.) This is why the verse is exact with regard to Esau since the word “first” is not written, just “the first emerged” (with a “heh”, implying order and not importance.) Esau is not called “first” to imply that Jacob was subordinate to him, he is just called “the first” to imply birth order. Similarly, the verse does not say “after him his brother emerged” because this would imply that he was subordinate to Esau. The verse instead say “afterwards his bother emerged”, that is, after Esau emerged and performed his function by emerging first (to remove the afterbirth and refuse) Jacob emerged. This is the question being answered by the Midrash as to what purpose was served by Esau emerging first; the Midrash answers to clean the way so that Jacob would be clean when he emerged because Esau had emerged and brought the afterbirth and refuse with him. R’ Abahu then gives the allegory “like the bathing master who first scours the bath and then afterwards the king’s son bathes” to say that after to work that the bathing master did to clean the bath, (it is fit for the king’s son to bathe.) I saw some a similar idea in the book “Beit David”, see there. At the outset of their birth, the prophecy of Shem and Ever was fulfilled; they had said to Rivka that the older (“rav”) would perform serve the younger (“tzair”). At the outset of their emerging, Esau did a service for Jacob. This is why they did not say “the firstborn” (bekhor) will serve the younger. Similar to the language of scripture in a number of other places where firstborn (“bekhor”) is used in comparison to younger “tzair”, (for example Exodus 43:33.) In truth, Esau was not the firstborn, Jacob was, since he was conceived first. A similar allegory is brought in the midrash:; two pearls are placed in a vial – the pearl that was placed in the vial second comes out first. Esau is called older “rav” since he was born first, and he will serve the younger brother who is the firstborn (“bekhor”).

אדמוני RED — a sign that he would always be shedding blood (Genesis Rabbah 63:8).

(1) ADMONI. Roux in O.F.

ויצא הראשון אדמוני, even though most newborn babies are reddish in colour, this was one was exceptionally so.

ויצא הראשון אדמוני, “the first one emerged all reddish looking.” According to Bereshit Rabbah 63,8 the performance of the commandment to take the Lulav and Etrog on the first day of Sukkot (Leviticus 23,40) and to give thanks to G’d for His bounty is the reason that G’d appeared to the Jewish people first, demands payment (for their sins) “from the first one,” “builds for them first,” “brings them (to the Holy Land) first”. The fact that G’d appeared to the Jewish people first is derived from Isaiah 44,6 אני ראשון ואני אחרון; the fact that G’d enacts payment from the first one, i.e. Esau first, is derived from our verse i.e. ויצא .הראשון אדמוני“He builds for them first,” is a reference to the Holy Temple as we know from Jeremiah 17,12 כסא כבוד מרום מראשון, “O Throne of Glory exalted from the first.” The fact that G’d brings the redeemer to the Jewish people first, is attested to by Isaiah 41,27 ,ראשון לציון הנה הנם ולירושלים מבשר אתן, “the things predicted to Zion originally, behold they are here! And again I send a herald to Jerusalem.” [I am not sure why our author brings this Midrash unless it is to demonstrate that the word ראשון, “first,” does not necessarily imply an advantage, such as when G’d demands an accounting for his sins from Esau first because he emerged first from Rivkah’s womb. Ed.]

A sign that he will be a murderer. [Rashi knows that] this was written here to be a sign, because otherwise, why would Scripture tell us he was reddish? Whereas it is understandable that it says he was hairy — this explains why his name is “Eisov.” Although it is written also about Dovid that “He was reddish” (Shmuel I 16:12), the earlier sages have explained in Bereishis Rabbah 63:8 that concerning Dovid it is written (ibid), “With beautiful eyes” — teaching that David shed blood according to the directives of the Sanhedrin, who are called “Eyes of the congregation” (Bamidbar 15:24).

אדמוני, auch von David Sam. I. 16, 12, rotwangig, Zeichen von Lebens- frische. Er war auch haaricht. Haar bei neugeborenen Kindern ist ein Zeichen, dass so viel Überfluß an Kräften und Säften borhanden, dass davon sogar bereits auf die Bildung des Haares — dieses sonst viel später sich bildenden Körperteils — verwendet werden konnte. Und nun hier gar noch ein solcher Überfluss, dass der ganze Körper bereits Flaum hatte. Deshalb nannten sie, d. h. alle, die bei seiner Geburt gegenwärtig waren, ihn עשו (von עשה), einen schon fertigen, gemachten Mann. Der hat das "Leben" und die "abwehrende Kraft" schon in Fülle mitgebracht.

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.”

ויצא הראשון “the first one emerged;” why was he born first? In order that he together with any afterbirth, i.e. something dispensable and at the same time despicable content of the womb, would be discarded with the emergence of Esau. Rabbi Abahu illustrated this by means of a parable in Pessikta Zutrata: when entering a bathtub or public bath, the servant always precedes his master in order to clear away any offensive residue left behind by the previous user. An alternate exegesis: the reason why Esau was born first is that he would inherit the material physical parts of the earth, which had been created before the world to come. Another version: he was born first as he was the product of the last drop of Yitzchok’s seminal ejaculation. We owe this insight to Rabbi Yossi, recorded from a conversation he had with a well educated lady, quoted in the above mentioned midrash. He explained to her that if someone puts two pearls inside a tube sealed at one end, and he wants to access the first one he inserted, he first has to remove the ones he inserted at a later stage. In our story also, in order for the world to be able to enjoy the benefits Yaakov contributed to Judaism and thereby to mankind, Esau had to be born first, as he had blocked Yaakov’s way. Yaakov was conceived from Yitzchok’s first drop of semen so that he was innermost in Rivkah’s womb.

כלו כאדרת שער means full of hair like a woolen garment that is full of hair old French floche; English flock).

אדמוני כאדרת שער, like the garments worn by the clergy.

כלו כאדרת שער, as hairy as a fur coat. He had tufts of hair all over him. In both of these regards he was different from other newly born babies.

כלו כאדרת שער, “all of him looking like a fur coat.” The meaning is as if the Torah had written כלו שער, כאדרת, “his entire body covered with hair, just like a mantle.” Seeing he was born with this much hair, people called him איש שעיר, “a hairy man” (27,11). The word שעיר is an all encompassing expression which includes the demonic qualities which are attributed to the deities called שעירים, which the Torah enjoins us from offering sacrifices to (Leviticus 17,7.) The author quotes an unidentifiable Midrash according to which the strength of that demonic power is concentrated in the hair which covers its heart. At the time of the redemption, (arrival of the Messiah), G’d will make the demonic power collapse when He blows the Shofar heralding the redemption, as we know from וה' אלוקים בשופר יתקע והלך בסערת תימן, “and My Lord G’d will sound the ram’s horn, and advance in a stormy tempest” (Zechariah 9,14). [The author appears to substitute the letter ש for the letter ס in the word סערת, something quite common. Ed.]

Full of hair like a woolen garment. Rashi is answering the question: How can it say כאדרת שער, implying that a robe has hair? A robe is made of wool! Thus Rashi explains: “Full of hair like a woolen garment.” Rashi is saying that שער does not refer to אדרת. Rather, it conveys that Eisov was full of hair like a robe is full of wool. (Re’m) But Nachalas Yaakov writes: Re’m forgot about the verse in Zechariah 13:4 which clearly states, “They will not wear a hairy robe (אדרת שער).” Thus, שער indeed refers to אדרת! Rather, our verse means that Eisov was completely full of hair like a robe that is full of hair. The verse should have said כולו שער כאדרת שער, but [did not because in the word כאדרת,] the כ conveys this point, since כ means “like.” And so explains Radak in his entry on the word שער: “A robe has hair.” See there.

אדמוני, from the word אדם, a complete human being. He is also described as hairy like a fur coat. Some commentators view the verse as reflecting abbreviations, the word אדרת not being understood as in a construct mode to the word שער, hair. The meaning that results would be: “he was covered with hair as if wearing a mantle.” (Ibn Ezra)

ויקרא שמו עשו AND THEY CALLED HIS NAME ESAU — every one called him thus because he was made (עשה means to make) and fully developed with hair as a lad several years old.

ויקראו, they all called him

ויקראו שמו עשו, those who saw him spontaneously called him עשו, giving expression to something that was strange, unusual about this baby. [the name would somehow reflect the word מעשה זר. Ed.] It is also possible that Yitzchok and Rivkah are the ones naming this baby as Esau.

עשו, fully matured, complete due to the fact that he was covered with hair.