מדרש אויף בראשית 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].’”

(Deut. 25:17:) “Remember what Amalek (Esau's grandson) did to you.” This verse is related (to Ps.109:14), “May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord […].” Were the fathers of Esau wicked?¹¹PRK 3:1; cf. 12:4; PR 12:4. In note 16 on PR 12:4, W. G. Braude, Pesikta Rabbati (“Yale Judaica Series”; New Haven; Yale, 1968) p. 221, n. 16, suggests that the verse was understood as referring to Esau, because vs. 17 in the psalm identifies him as one who DID NOT FIND PLEASURE IN A BLESSING. And were they not righteous? His grandfather was Abraham. His father was Isaac. Yet are you saying (in Ps. 109:14), “May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered”? [The verse is] simply [referring to] a sin that he sinned against his fathers.¹²The Hebrew of Ps. 109:14 can also be understood in this sense. And how?¹³Above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 6:3; Gen. R. 63:12. You find that Isaac got his vitality from Abraham; yet he lived a hundred and eighty years, while Abraham only lived a hundred and seventy-five years. Why so? So he would not see Esau’s shame. Abraham had [Isaac] when he was a hundred years [old]. (Gen. 25:26-27:) “And Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. And the lads grew.” Both of them went to the elementary school, and both of them were equal until the age of fifteen. R. Levi said, “To what were they comparable? To a myrtle and a thorny plant. As long as they are small, no one [can] distinguish one from the other. After they have grown up, the one gives off its pleasant smell, but the other brings forth its thorns. Thus, so long as Esau and Jacob were small, no one distinguished between them. After they were grown up (in Gen. 25:26, cont.), ’Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in camp.’” And Esau would go out and rob and extort, and people would maledict him. And during the five years [that were withheld from Abraham's life], Esau committed two serious transgressions: He violated a betrothed maiden, and he took a life. The one is what is written about (in Gen. 25:29), “then Esau came from the field, and he was exhausted.” Now field can only be a reference to a betrothed maiden [of whom it is stated (in Deut. 22:25), “If in the field the man finds [a maiden who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her…].” Moreover, exhausted can only be a reference to a murderer, of whom it is stated (in Jer. 4:31), “woe to me, now; for my life is exhausted before those who kill.” Rabbi Zakkay said, “He also stole, as stated (in Obad. 1:5), ‘If thieves have come to you.’”¹⁴The Midrash, of course, is identifying the Edom of Obadiah with Esau. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “I had already promised my beloved Abraham (in Gen. 15:15), ‘And you shall go unto your ancestors in peace; [you shall be buried at a good old age].’ But now he would see his grandson go to bad culture and hear what people say about his grandson; [that he was] transgressing sexual prohibitions and shedding blood. He would [then] wonder and say, ‘Are these the stipulations that the Holy One, blessed be He, being fulfilled with me?’ And he would voice a complaint, ‘And this is not “a good old age.”’ What should I do for him?” [So] He gathered him from the world. It is better for the righteous man to be gathered (to his ancestors) in peace, as stated in Ps. 63:4), “For Your steadfast love is better than life.” Behold, he [thus] sinned against his grandfather. He sinned against his father, as he caused his eyes to become dim during his lifetime. Hence they have said, “Whoever produces a wicked son or a wicked disciple causes his [own] eyes to grow dim during his lifetime.” From where [in Scripture] do you learn [this]? A wicked son, from Isaac, as stated (in (Gen. 27:1), “And it came to pass that when Isaac was old [and his eyes were too dim to see].” [In regard to] a wicked disciple, [we learn] from Ahijah, as it is written (in I Kings 14:4), “now Ahijah could not see, because his eyes were dim from old age.” Why? Because he produced a wicked disciple in Jeroboam. [(Ps. 109:14:) “And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.”] But how had he sinned against his mother? R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, and [our] masters [differ]. R. Judah says, “When he left his mother's belly, he severed her uterus,¹⁵Metrin: Gk.: metra; cf. Lat.: matrix. with the result that she would not bear [any more children]. This is what is written (in Amos 1:11), ‘because he (i.e., Edom, which is Esau) pursued his brother with the sword and repressed his pity (rachamiv),’ as it is written, ‘his uterus (rechemo).’”¹⁶I.e., the womb from which he had been born. The Masoretic text here reads WOMB in the plural. As such, an idiomatic reading of the text would be rendered: BECAUSE HE PURSUED HIS BROTHER WITH THE SWORD AND REPRESSED HIS PITY. Moreover, R. Berekhyah says, “You should not say [this] in reference to when he had left [his mother's uterus].¹⁷Gen. R. 63:6. Rather, as he was leaving his mother's uterus, his zerta'¹⁸The Aramaic word means “fist” or “hand,” as the bracketed explanation correctly translates. The reason for this rather unusual word here is to play on the word zoru from Ps. 58:4, which he is about to cite. [i.e., fist] was stretched out against him (i.e., against his brother Jacob).” What is the reasoning? (Ps. 58:4:) “The wicked go astray (zoru) from the womb.” R. Nehemiah says, “He was the cause of her not producing twelve tribes.” As Rav Huna has said, “Rebekah was worthy of producing twelve tribes, as stated (in Gen. 25:23), ‘And the Lord said to her, “Two nations are [in your womb].”¹⁹See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 12:16. Here are two. (Ibid., cont.:) “and two peoples.” Here are four. (Ibid., cont.:) “And one people shall be stronger than the other.” Here are six. (Ibid., cont.:) “And the elder shall serve the younger.”’ Here are eight. (Vs. 24:) ‘And behold there were twins in her womb.’ Here are ten. (Vs. 25:) ‘The first came out ruddy.’ That is eleven. (Vs. 26:) ‘And afterward his brother came out.’ Here are twelve.” And there are some who bring this [idea] from here (vs. 22); “and she said, ‘If so, why am I here (zh)?’” By gematria²⁰Gk.: geometria. z (=7) + h (=5) [for a total of] twelve. But [our] masters have said, “He caused her bier to not go forth publicly [to her funeral]. You find that when Rebekah died, they were saying, ‘Who will go before her? Abraham is dead. Isaac's eyes are dim, and he is sitting at home. Jacob has gone to Paddan-Aram. Should Esau the wicked go before her? Then people would say [in Aramaic],²¹Much of this paragraph is in Aramaic. “Cursed be her breasts for suckling this man.”’ What did they do? They brought out her bier at night, so that Esau not go out in front of her, and all say, ‘Cursed are the breasts suckled this evil man.’” R. Jose bar R. Hanina said, “Because they brought out her bier at night, the text only explained about her obliquely. Thus it is written (in Gen. 35:8), ‘Then Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died [and she was buried under the oak below Bethel] and its name was called Weeping Oak (Allon-Bacuth)],’ as they wept two weepings (bekhiot).”²²Bacuth, of course, means “weeping,” and allon can be understood as a Greek adjective in the neuter that means “other” or “another.” Thus the name can be read as “another weeping” and imply a second weeping. So PRK 3:1; Gen. R. 81:5; cf. Eccl. R. 7:2:3. While Jacob was seated in observance [of mourning] for her nurse, the news about his mother came to him, as stated (to Gen. 35:9), “Now God appeared unto Jacob again […,] and blessed him.” With what blessing did He bless him? He blessed him with the blessing of [consolation given to] mourners.²³The blessing informed Jacob that his mother was dead. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “Did his father pay him (i.e. Esau) back with evil? Did his mother pay him back with evil? Did his brother pay him back with evil? Did his grandfather pay him back with evil? Did you pay him back with evil? I shall pay him back with evil, as his children destroyed My house. You and I shall rise against him, as stated (Obad. 1:1), “Rise, and we shall rise up against her for war.” Israel said to him, “Master of the world, we cannot [overcome] him.” [So] the Holy One, blessed be He, says to them, “You mention his name below, and I shall blot out his name above, as stated (Ps. 109:15) ‘Let them (the iniquity against his fathers and the sin against his mother) always be before (neged) the Lord.’ Whatever he has done, he has done against (neged) Me.” [Therefore] (ibid., cont.), “and may He have their memory cut off from the earth.” Ergo (in Deut. 25:17), “Remember what Amalek (Esau's grandson) did to you.”

(Deut. 25:17:) REMEMBER WHAT AMALEK (Esau's grandson) DID TO YOU. This verse is related (to Ps. 109:14): MAY THE INIQUITY OF HIS FATHERS BE REMEMBERED BEFORE THE LORD…. Were the fathers of Esau wicked?¹⁵Tanh., Deut. 6:4; PRK 3:1; cf. 12:4; PR 12:4. In note 16 on PR 12:4, W. G. Braude, Pesikta Rabbati (“Yale Judaica Series”; New Haven; Yale, 1968) p. 221, n. 16, suggests that the verse was understood as referring to Esau, because vs. 17 in the psalm identifies him as one who DID NOT FIND PLEASURE IN A BLESSING. And were they not righteous? His grandfather was Abraham. His father was Isaac. Yet are you saying (in Ps. 109:14): MAY THE INIQUITY OF HIS FATHERS BE REMEMBERED! <The verse is> simply <referring to> a sin that he sinned against his fathers.¹⁶The Hebrew of Ps. 109:14 can also be understood in this sense. And how did he sin against his fathers?¹⁷Above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 6:3; Gen. R. 63:12. You find that Isaac got his vitality from Abraham; yet he lived a hundred and eighty years, while Abraham <only>¹⁸The “only” is found in the parallel account of Tanh., Deut. 6:4. lived a hundred and seventy-five years.¹⁹The Tanh. parallel adds here: “Why so? Because he did not foresee Esau’s shame.” Rabbi Levi said: During the five years that were withheld from Abraham's life, Esau committed two serious transgressions. He violated a betrothed maiden, and he took a life. The one is what is written about (in Gen. 25:29): THEN ESAU CAME FROM THE FIELD, AND HE WAS EXHAUSTED. Now FIELD can only be a reference to a BETROTHED MAIDEN [of whom it is stated (in Deut. 22:25): IF IN THE FIELD THE MAN FINDS A MAIDEN WHO IS BETROTHED, <AND THE MAN SEIZES HER AND LIES WITH HER….>] Moreover, EXHAUSTED can only be a reference to a murderer, of whom it is stated (in Jer. 4:31): WOE TO ME, NOW! FOR MY LIFE IS EXHAUSTED BEFORE THOSE WHO KILL. Rabbi Zakkay [the Elder] said: He also stole, as stated (in Obad. 5): IF THIEVES HAVE COME TO YOU.²⁰The Midrash, of course, is identifying the Edom of Obadiah with Esau. The Holy One said: I had already promised my beloved Abraham (in Gen. 15:15): YOU SHALL GO UNTO YOUR ANCESTORS IN PEACE; YOU SHALL BE BURIED <AT A GOOD OLD AGE>. But now he would see his grandson, when he was robbing with violence, practicing seduction, and shedding blood. At that time he was a good grandfather; <so> it was better for him as a righteous man to be gathered (to his ancestors) in peace, as stated in Ps. 63:4 [3]): FOR STEADFAST LOVE IS BETTER THAN LIFE. And what sin did he commit against his father? He caused his eyes to become dim during his lifetime. Hence they have said: Whoever produces a wicked son or a wicked disciple causes his eyes to grow dim during his lifetime. A wicked son came from Isaac, as written (in (Gen. 27:1): <AND IT CAME TO PASS THAT WHEN ISAAC WAS OLD> AND HIS EYES WERE TOO DIM TO SEE. [Why? Because he produced Esau the Wicked.] In regard to a wicked disciple, <there was a disciple> from Ahijah the Shilonite, as stated (in I Kings 14:4): NOW AHIJAH {THE SHILONITE} COULD NOT SEE, BECAUSE HIS EYES WERE DIM FROM OLD AGE. Why? Because he produced a wicked disciple in Jeroboam. [(Ps. 109:14:) AND LET NOT THE SIN OF HIS MOTHER BE BLOTTED OUT.] But how had he sinned against his mother? R. Judah, R. Nehemiah, and <our> masters <differ>. R. Judah says: When he left his mother's belly, he severed her uterus²¹Metrin: Gk.: metra; cf. Lat.: matrix. {i.e., placenta}, with the result that she would not bear <any more children>. This is what is written (in Amos 1:11): BECAUSE HE (i.e., Edom, which is Esau) PURSUED HIS BROTHER WITH THE SWORD AND DESTROYED HIS WOMB.²²I.e., the womb from which he had been born. The Masoretic text here reads WOMB in the plural. As such, an idiomatic reading of the text would be rendered: BECAUSE HE PURSUED HIS BROTHER WITH THE SWORD AND REPRESSED ALL PITY. Moreover, R. Berekhyah says: You should not say <this> in reference to when he had left <his mother's uterus>.²³Gen. R. 63:6. Rather, as he was leaving his mother's uterus, his zerta'²⁴The Aramaic word means “fist” or “hand,” as the bracketed explanation correctly translates. The reason for this rather unusual word here is to play on the word zoru from Ps. 58:4, which he is about to cite. {i.e., fist} was stretched out against him (i.e., against his brother Jacob). What is the reasoning? (Ps. 58:4 [3]:) THE WICKED GO ASTRAY (zoru) FROM THE WOMB. R. Nehemiah says: He was the cause of her not producing twelve tribes, since Rav Huna has said: Rebekah was worthy of producing twelve tribes, as stated (in Gen. 25:23): AND THE LORD SAID TO HER: TWO NATIONS ARE [IN YOUR WOMB.²⁵See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 12:16. Here] are two. (Ibid., cont.:) AND TWO PEOPLES. Here are four. (Ibid., cont.:) AND ONE PEOPLE SHALL BE STRONGER THAN THE OTHER. Here are six. (Ibid., cont.:) AND THE ELDER SHALL SERVE THE YOUNGER. Here are eight. (vs. 24:) AND BEHOLD THERE WERE TWINS IN HER WOMB. Here are ten. (vs. 25:) THE FIRST CAME OUT RUDDY. [Here are eleven.] (vs. 26:) AND AFTERWARD HIS BROTHER CAME OUT. Here are twelve. There are also some who apply a passage to her (from vs. 22): AND SHE SAID: IF SO, WHY AM I HERE (ZH)? By gematria²⁶Gk.: geometria. Z (=7) + H (=5) <for a total of> twelve. But <our> masters have said: He was the cause of her bier not going forth publicly <to her funeral>. You find that when Rebekah died, they were saying: Who will go before her? Abraham is dead. Isaac's eyes are dim, and he is sitting at home. Jacob has gone to Paddan-aram. Should Esau the Wicked go before her? Then people would say <in Aramaic>:²⁷Much of this paragraph is in Aramaic. Cursed be her breasts for suckling this man {i.e., <in Hebrew>: cursed be the breasts that have suckled one like this man}. What did they do? They brought out her bier at night. R. Jose bar Hanina said: Because they brought out her bier at night, the text only explained about her obliquely. Thus it is written (in Gen. 35:8): THEN REBEKAH'S NURSE, DEBORAH, DIED <AND WAS BURIED UNDER THE OAK BELOW BETHEL> [AND ITS NAME WAS CALLED WEEPING OAK (Allon-bacuth)]. What is the meaning of Allon-bacuth? Two weepings.²⁸Bacuth, of course, means “weeping,” and allon can be understood as a Greek adjective in the neuter that means “other” or “another.” Thus the name can be read as “another weeping” and imply a second weeping. So PRK 3:1; Gen. R. 81:5; cf. Eccl. R. 7:2:3. While Jacob was seated in observance of mourning for {his} [her] nurse, the news about his mother came to him. This is related (to Gen. 35:9): NOW GOD APPEARED UNTO JACOB AGAIN […,] AND BLESSED HIM. With what blessing did he bless him? He blessed him with the blessing <of consolation given to> mourners.²⁹The blessing informed Jacob that his mother was dead. The Holy One said: Did his father pay him (i.e. Esau) back with evil? Did his mother pay him back with evil? Did his brother pay him back with evil? Did his grand[father] pay him back with evil? Did you pay him back with evil? So should I pay him back with evil? When you mention his name below, I shall blot out his name above. (Ps. 109:15:) LET THEM (the iniquity against his fathers and the sin against his mother) ALWAYS BE BEFORE THE LORD. Whatever he has done, he has done against me. Thus it is stated (ibid., cont.): AND MAY HE HAVE THEIR MEMORY CUT OFF FROM THE EARTH. [Ergo] (in Deut. 25:17): REMEMBER WHAT AMALEK (Esau's grandson) DID TO YOU.