TOLDOT 5784 Our BBC Rabbi Andrew Shaw Chief Executive, Mizrachi UK The BBC did it again. The Reuters report quoted an IDF spokesperson saying, “Our medical teams and Arabic speaking soldiers are on the ground to ensure that these supplies reach those in need.” The BBC said that the Israeli military was “targeting people including medical teams as well as Arab speakers” in Gaza’s Al Shifa hospital, a horrific misquote of the Reuters report! They apologised, but as always, the damage was done – Israel and the Jewish people were maligned again. I can just imagine the headlines if BBC were covering the Parsha this week. FATHER OF JEWISH NATION STEALS BLESSINGS FROM DESERVING ELDER BROTHER. It is one of the most well-known stories in the Torah. How Yaacov, urged by Rivka dressed up as Eisav to receive the blessings seemingly destined for the elder brother. As children we think that yes, they were stolen, but the ends justify the means! The problem is if we keep that attitude throughout life and not look deeper. The initial thought process is that Rivka KNEW that Yaacov was the chosen one, and that Eisav was the undeserving one for the bechora. Yitzchak on the other hand was about to make a terrible mistake and give Eisav THE bracha instead of to the righteous Yaacov, so Rivka had to act. However, as Rabbi Sacks explains:
Yitzchak fully understood the nature of his two sons. He loved Eisav but this did not blind him to the fact that Yaacov would be the heir of the covenant. Therefore, Yitzchak prepared two sets of blessings, one for Eisav, the other for Yaacov. He blessed ‘Eisav’ (Gen. 27:28-29) with the gifts he felt he would appreciate: “May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness – an abundance of grain and new wine” – that is, wealth. “May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you” – that is, power.