A Work in Progress

This week’s Torah portion is Toldot, which means offspring or generations. It tells of Isaac and Rebecca’s family and the birth of Rebecca’s twins, Jacob and Esau; there is Esau’s selling his birthright to Jacob, Isaac digging wells of water, God renewing the promises of many descendants and the land to Isaac, and Jacob’s stealing the blessing of his father, meant for Esau. Esau was born first, covered in red hair. The name Esau comes from the verb ASA, to do or to make, and Esau was also a do-er: a man of action. Rashi said everyone called him Esau because he was fully made, completed. He was done.

Jacob was born second, grasping Esau’s heel, and he was named Yaakov, heel, or that which follows. The Torah gives a brief description of the two boys: Esau became one who knows trapping, a man of the field; and Jacob was a quiet man, abiding in tents. Not all translations say quiet. Rashi says wholesome. Another translation is mild. But the Hebrew says, Tam. Tam literally means finished, perfect, complete whole, innocent, or simple. It is the same word used for the Simple Son in the section of the Passover Hagaddah that tells of the four children, or historically, the four sons. We can see that Jacob and Esau were very different, but that each was complete in his own way. In a sense, they make up complete person when their attributes are combined: the outer qualities of Esau and the inner qualities of Jacob.

This is what makes Jacob so much more interesting than Esau. Jacob is far from perfect: he schemes, he cheats, he lies, he tricks, he steals. There are depths to Jacob. Esau may be finished, but Jacob, like us, is perfectable. Jacob had all the inner resources he needed to become a holy person. And that he actually gets there should give us great hope for ourselves. What sets Jacob so far above Esau is that he is willing to grow. The S’fat Emet comments on a later verse in this portion: “And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found living waters (Gen. 26:19).” He says that “the Torah is called water because it’s found everywhere; and as is true with seeking water, it depends on how deep one wishes to dig, and how sincerely one wants to have Torah.”

Jacob was always trying to catch up with his slightly older brother. He shows his desire to overcome his younger brother status, but also his deep desire to be a leader, when he impersonates Esau to receive the blessing of the firstborn; his desire to be a person of goodness when he dreams of the ladder reaching to heaven and vows to give to charity and establish a house of God, and finally a desire to be a blessing when he wrestles with the angel and leaves behind the deceptive nature he no longer needs. Jacob’s striving to best Esau never stopped. His inner growth allows Jacob finally to surpass his brother.

We are all meant to be a work in progress. We are never finished. Our desire to grow and to rise toward holiness and our willing-ness to do the inner work we need to do will determine how far we can travel along the road that leads to the Divine. As Jacob found out, we are not alone on this journey. We receive help and support along God’s path. May we know that we have been given great spiritual potential for goodness and for Godliness, and may we strive like Jacob, to use these gifts, by being willing to learn and willing to grow.