Еврейская мысль к Берешит 25:27

There follows the portion "sanctify for me every firstborn," the third portion dealing with the Passover legislation. It stipulates "remember the day you came out of Egypt, in the month of spring; when you come to the land of Israel this will become an annual celebration, seven days of eating matzot, prohibition of chametz etc." The Torah addresses itself to the simplest intellect among the Jewish people, who is satisfied to know "my life was saved," with the proviso that I perform this service annually. You teach such a person simply that exceptional historic events deserve to be commemorated in exceptional ways. Such commemoration consists of the use of materials such as the Passover lamb, matzah, and bitter herbs. This is a ceremony that even such an intellect can understand. The Torah advises, in effect, do not complicate the issue, stick to the material facts. Then comes the fourth passage, addressed to the sincere questioner. That this is so is proven by the fact that this questioner does get to the land of Israel, since the Torah states "it will be after the Lord will bring you to the land...which He has promised to your forefathers.." (13,5) You teach such a son that redemption of the firstborn is the result of the Egyptian firstborn having been slain by G-d, whereas the Jewish firstborn had been saved. This demonstrates the fruits of belief in G-d. On the other hand, it teaches the eventual result of maintaining an obstinate posture vis a vis G-d, such as was maintained by the Egyptians. The tam, is to be viewed as the opposite number of the rasha, wicked son, not as the opposite number of the chacham the wise son. When the tam is told that the Jewish people were redeemed in a miraculous fashion, he is reassured in his belief, since he learned who it is that looks after the Jewish people.

The cause of this, however, is perplexing; for, beyond a doubt, these fetuses were not created so greatly at odds with each other as to begin battling in the stomach! There is no escape, then, from positing a natural cause for this phenomenon, that cause being, in my view, the diametric opposition of the nature of the one to the nature of the other. For Esau was (Genesis 25:25): "reddish, all over like a hairy cloak," indicating boiling humors and an excess of vapors, whereas Jacob was a smooth-skinned man, of quiescent humor and dormant vapors. And this was paralleled in their ways and deeds, Esau being a man of the field, seeking movement, his feet not planted in his home, and Jacob, a dweller of tents, "glorying in dwelling at home." Now these fetuses, being thus disparate in nature, would undoubtedly be naturally oppressive to each other. For those things which are mutually antagonistic attack and forcefully repel each other. For this reason the fetuses wrangled in the womb.

However, although we do not know the natural cause of the grasping of the heel, we do know that their wrangling with each other was dictated by their mutually antagonistic natures. This diametric opposition of their natures, however, was a function of miraculous intervention, the Blessed One desiring that they not be compatible with each other for the reasons mentioned above. And so it was, indeed, the ways and acts of the one being entirely unlike those of the other. For Esau "knew hunting." He was a man of stratagems, hunting requiring much cunning, as explained by R. Abraham [ibn Ezra]. And he was a man of the field, loving movement. And Jacob was the complete opposite in both respects. He was a simple man, not learned in stratagem and subtlety (as explained by Rashi, of blessed memory), and he was a dweller of tents, disdaining movement.