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Newsletter          November 4, 2010 - 27 Cheshvon 5771
   

revolving door


The Revolving Door
Dedicated in honor of Jonathan,Shuni & Shyli 

Just as the director makes the movie, the Midrash creates the biblical stories by adding the important details absent from the text. The Sages map out the scene immediately after Jacob successfully stole Eisav's blessing. As the directors, they understand that this single second of the scene can add layers of powerful meaning to the story. They considered having Eisav entering just a moment after Jacob left his father's tent, but they wanted more drama. Perhaps they could have Eisav and Jacob bump into each other as one is leaving and the other, about to enter. They considered numerous possibilities and decided on a revolving door.

As Jacob is pushing his way out, Eisav is pushing his way in. There is a moment in which the two brothers are oh! so close; two sides of one door. They are twins. They both are inside the same revolving door, the same space, just as when they shared a placenta. The two probably sense each other's presence. There is a tiny jump in Jacob's heart-rate as his first thought of "how will Eisav react" appears in his consciousness. When he placed his hand against the door to push it out he was filled with relief over his success; Isaac did not catch him in his lie. He rejoices in his blessing. He listened to his mother, wanted the blessing, feared discovery and his father's reaction, but he had not thought about his brother's understandable rage.

At that very moment, standing inside the same space, Eisav, flush with a successful hunt and a master-chef meal for his father, excited about his blessing, for him not his bothersome younger brother, pushes himself forward against the door to enter and receive his legacy. He too, has a pinprick sensation of Jacob's presence, and a hint of concern over what was Jacob doing inside the tent at my moment. The scene fades into Isaac's room. "Let my father rise and eat of his son's game, so that your soul will bless me."  "Who are you?"

Eisav remembered that single second inside the door and realized what happened: "He cried out an exceedingly great and bitter cry." Who can blame him? We don't need any stage instructions to hear his cry deep inside our hearts. It resonates over the ages. We may not like Eisav, but we can empathize with his frustration, his rage, his resentment.

The Sages did not imagine a revolving door for its dramatic effect. They added that one detail of the two brothers standing so close and connected without seeing each other so that we can understand that we cannot rejoice with Jacob if we do not pay heed to Eisav's tortured scream.

Jacob obeyed his mother. We honor his theft of the blessing. He did what was right. Except, it came at a steep price; Eisav's agonized scream. The two brothers are placed inside the same space so that we remember that even when we do what is "right" someone can be terribly hurt, and we are as connected to the pain as we are to the blessing. They share the same space. They are both essential elements of the story. Jacob may not have seen his brother, but we must. We can do what we must, what is right, but not while ignoring the effect on others. We live inside the same revolving door. We share space with others we may not care to see, but they are there. Our actions, words and decisions, affect those on the other side of the door.

I could offer examples of living in crowded cities, of Israel, of Jews in a diverse world, or as members of a society. However, this week's Torah portion emphasizes "Toledot," family relationships: Parents, children, siblings, the people who stand closest to us inside the revolving door. The same portion that celebrates Jacob's first great accomplishments warns us of the price we demand that others pay as we do "what we must." I chose to focus most of this week's essays on "Honoring Parents," and how much of our lives is shaped by that primary relationship. Two people, parent and child, pushing against the door in opposite directions. The revolving door reminds us to pause inside the doorway to pay attention to those who stand on the other side.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Simcha L. Weinberg
President          
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