Weekly Shabbat Parsha Thoughts - Toldot - 11.20.2009

This week we have the story of Jacob and Esau. Of course the younger brother in me has always liked part of the story!

But one of the points that seems to resonate as a theme this week is that of long term value. You have this week Jacob receiving the blessings that literally put him in the beginning steps of birthing the nation of Israel. I have always found it interesting that the Torah has Isaac not see this value. (of course the husband in me sees a lesson about always trusting your wife’s instincts!)

So what does this tell us? Well there are some obvious points that bear a quick mention. The risks of favoritism and the costs of deception certainly come to mind. Not being superficial in your judgments or relationships also stands out. But again I see this as a lesson in looking for long term value.

Each of us has a long term value – that something that we can bring to the world that impacts it. We often do not feel this way but the reality is our world that we currently live in is the outcome of billions of lives before each of which has shaped that world that we stand in today. And in our Jewish community we recognize that there are actions of those who came before us that impact our communal world. In day to day grind we almost always find a way to forget that this is part of our life.

And I think that is one of the lessons this parsha tries to impart. If you forget that anyone you interact with has this long term value we will often create mistakes and damaged relationships. And the closer we are to the people the more potential risk. This is what we see with Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Esau. It is in this vein that I see one of the major planks of Hillel’s logic when he said “"Do not unto your neighbor what you would not have him do until you; this is the whole Law; the rest is commentary."

But this week let us try to remember that everyone we interact has this long term value and impact. We have a choice to embrace that value and work with it – or we can forget it and risk so much more.

And there is one scenario where I implore all of us to remember this lesson of long term value which is the easiest to forget – and that is to ourselves. We should remember that we too have this same impact, potential and risks of long term value and should remind ourselves everyday that one of the best ways to recognize it and develop it in others is to first do that to ourselves. The Torah never misses a moment to remind us that to love our neighbor as we love ourselves that we should first love ourselves.

So let us be reminded of the spark of long term value and potential that each of us has within ourselves and remember it in each other. The world is always a better place with greater potential when we remember this in our interactions with each other and with ourselves.

Shabbat Shalom