For this I was chosen?: Spiritual Legacy and its Ill Effects
Ronit Langer
There are many lenses through which one can approach the bible. Each
approach provides a deeper understanding of the stories and the messages contained
within the text. In this paper, we will be examining the patriarchs through a
psychological lense.1 This method of interpretation allows the patriarchs to become
accessible to the modern reader, and does not deny their flaws.2 This paper will
explore the concept of a divine patrilineal blessing that is found in Genesis, and how
the blessing is coupled with sacrifice. It will analyze the questions of how each
patriarch must acclimate to his role in the legacy, and how each patriarch must
sacrifice. It will examine the effect of each of the sacrifices on the patriarchal
families, and how each individual is changed by their struggle. Mainly, it will answer
the questions of how does sacrifice make Genesis a “creation of a nation” story? What
flaws are resolved that allow a nation to emerge? By answering these questions, this
paper will explore another level of the patriarch story.
Sacrifice is evident from the very beginning of the patriarchal stories. The first
time God introduces the blessing to Abraham, he begins by informing Abraham of the
sacrifice that is required of him. God commands Abraham to exile himself from his
father’s household, and to abandon his family and way of life. Once Abraham is
willing to sacrifice, then God makes him the promise. This idea is evident from the
structure of the text.” And God said to Abram, go from your land, from your
1
Throughout this paper I will be reading the text through a psychological lens and drawing conclusions
about the patriarchs based on modern psychological analysis techniques. I acknowledge that there are
many ways to read each verse, but have selected the reading that best supports my thesis.
2
There is another approach to reading the patriarchal stories that transform the patriarchs from humans
to demigods that are seemingly flawless. This method also has benefits for the reader, but will not be
discussed in this essay.
1
birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will
make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great,
and a blessing. And those whom you bless shall be blessed and those whom you curse
and shall be cursed, and all the nations of the land will be blessed in your merit.”3
First “go from your father’s house” and then “I will make you into a great nation.”
Abraham devotes the rest of his life to sacrifice for God, which culminates in
Abraham’s ultimate sacrifice, the Akedah.
The Akedah is Abraham’s final sacrifice and test.4 It is on this mission that
Abraham is required to suppress all of his parental and moral reasoning, to fulfill the
will of God. The extent of the difficulty of the mission is twofold. Logically, God’s
command of the Akedah is counterintuitive to God’s previous commands to Abraham.
God is adamant concerning Isaac and his status as the heir to the blessing. 5 Abraham
has to trust that God will fulfill His promise, even if Abraham kills Isaac. God’s
command is extremely difficult. Isaac is the symbol of Abraham’s life ambitions, and
killing Isaac would be destroying what he has been working towards his entire life. In
addition, emotionally Abraham has to overcome his paternal instinct to protect his
child. God is requiring of Abraham to place his relationship with God above all other
relationships, including the relationship with his son.
Abraham is willing to place his relationship with God above all other
relationships. When Abraham and Isaac begin to ascend the mountain, “the two of
3
Genesis, 12:1-3
There is an idea in Ethics of Our Fathers that Abraham was given 10 tests and the Akedah was the
tenth test. (Ethics of Our Father, 5:3)
5
Beforehand, Sarah asks Abraham to send away his son through the maidservant Ishmael, because he
was not a good influence on Isaac. God commands Abraham to listen to Sarah, because Isaac would be
the one to inherit the blessing. “Listen to her voice, because it will be Isaac that will be called your
seed.” (Genesis 21:12) Even in his initial command to Abraham about the Akedah, God refers to Isaac
as “your son, your only son, that you love, Isaac” (Genesis 22:2)
4
2
them go together.”6They were united in their task. Rashi comments that Abraham
went in happiness to fulfill the word of God, and Isaac was unaware of the situation.7
However, Isaac is aware that the situation is peculiar due to the lack of sheep. After
three days, “Isaac asked Abraham ‘my father?’ and Abraham answered, ‘Here I am
my son’ And Isaac asked ‘here is the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the
offering?”8 Isaac is unaware of Abraham’s internal struggle. Ironically, Isaac
addresses Abraham as “my father,” unaware that Abraham cannot act as a father at
the present moment. However, Abraham continues to keep Isaac uninformed of the
situation. Therefore he responds, “Here I am, my son.” Abraham responds to Isaac’s
question, “‘God will provide the sheep my son’ and the two of them went together.”9
Abraham has alleviated Isaac’s fear, and then the “two of them went together” again.
Ibn Ezra comments that Isaac could not have possibly known what his father was
going to do, because if he did and he still went willingly, then his reward should have
been twice that of his fathers, and it is never mentioned in the text.10 Therefore the
Ibn Ezra concludes that Isaac must not have known, and that is why Abraham does
not inform him of the task before him, and does not reveal the true intent of the
mission on their way up the mountain.11
Abraham binds Isaac, “And Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the
knife to slaughter his son.” In that moment Abraham and Isaac are transformed.
Abraham has completed his mission, an angel calls to Abraham and commands him,
“Do not stretch forth your hand to the lad, nor do the slightest thing to him, for now I
know that you are a God fearing man, and you did not withhold your son, your only
6
Genesis 22: 6
Rashi 22:6 on the words “They went together”
8
Genesis 22:7
9
Genesis 22:8
10
Ibn Ezra 22:4
11
Isaac Chavel, “Isaac the Middle Father”, (unpublished work), 5-6.
7
3
one, from Me."12 Abraham has demonstrated complete faith in God and a willingness
to fulfill God’s commands. By completing this task, Abraham ceases to be just a man,
rather he becomes an eternal symbol for the future nation. Therefore a second angel
calls to Abraham to reiterate the blessing. “...Because you have done this thing and
you did not withhold your son, your only one. That I will surely bless you, and I will
greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand that is on the
seashore, and your descendants will inherit the cities of their enemies.”13 Abraham
has completed his life’s mission, but not without repercussions.14 In fulfilling his
task, he has irrevocably destroyed his relationship with Isaac. In the beginning “they
went together,” afterward “Abraham returned to his men.” Abraham returned without
Isaac, they were no longer united. Furthermore, not only did Abraham destroy his
bond with Isaac, he also destroyed a part of Isaac. Isaac has endured an extremely
traumatic near death experience. His father, whom Isaac had such a close connection
to, was ready to slaughter him. While Abraham's life was full of sacrifice, Isaac’s
life is now defined by the fact that he was a sacrifice.
It seems that Isaac after the Akedah is frozen, he never truly deals with the
trauma of the Akedah.15 He was not able to grow into his own person, he followed
blindly the acts of his father,16 and repressed all of his emotions. However emotions
as strong as the ones connected to the Akedah, can never truly be repressed. The
12
Genesis 22:12
Genesis 22:16-17
14
Rashi (Genesis 23:2 on the words “Abraham came to weep for Sarah’) suggest another repercussion
of the Akedah: “ The telling of Sarah's death directly follows the binding of Isaac, because when Sarah
is told about the binding of Isaac where her son has been prepared for slaughter and then was nearly not
slaughtered, her soul flew from her and she died.“
15
There is a reading of the Isaac story in which Isaac grows into a very unique persona, but that will
not be the approach this paper will be taking.
16
Isaac goes down to Gerar in the same way his father did. He told the king that his wife was his sister,
just as his father did. He dug the same wells his father did.
13
4
emotions express themselves in different manners and are spread to those around
Isaac.
Isaac expresses these emotions in a very physical way. Since he was unable to
cope with his emotions psychologically, they manifested themselves physically as
blindness. “And it was when Isaac got old, and his eyes ceases to see...”17 This
blindness is not an uncommon physical response, Aviva Zornberg writes: 18
In recent times, we have become painfully familiar with the notion of a response to
trauma that is delayed, repressed, and that emerges in psychosomatic dysfunction. One
example is the phenomenon of blindness afflicting women survivors of the
Cambodian massacres. A considerable time after the Khmer Rouge horrors, and after
they had found refuge in the United States, women began to complain of eyesight
problems. No organic disorder was diagnosed, and existing diagnostic categories- such
as Freud's hysterical blindness, or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder- did not entirely fit.
What the women had seen, years earlier, had made it necessary to repress emotional
response.
Isaac had to repress trauma of the Akedah in a similar fashion to that of the women of
the Khmer Rouge horrors. In both cases the emotional trauma was expressed years
later as blindness. However, the emotions were still present, and repressed inside
him.19 Due to Isaac’s repression, he subconsciously transferred the trauma to his wife
and children.20
Isaac’s Akedah trauma is comparable to that of the trauma of a holocaust
survivor. Although their experiences differ greatly, both Isaac and a holocaust
survivor endured an experience they believed to be impossible. Isaac would have
never thought that his own father, with whom he had such a close connection, would
be willing to slaughter him. A holocaust survivor would never have imagined that in
17
Genesis 27:1
Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. Genesis: the beginning of desire, (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication
Society, 1995), 159.
19
The Midrash does not take a psychological approach, they search for a physical reason for Isaac’s
blindness. Rashi quotes a Midrash (Rashi 27:1) that the reason Isaac was unable to see was due to the
fact that the angels cried into his eyes when he was upon the altar.
20
Ibid. 158-162
18
5
such a short period of time the Germans, whom they were assimilated amongst, would
allow their families and communities to be brutally slaughtered by the Nazis. These
shocking experiences led to Isaac and a holocaust survivor transmitting their trauma
in a similar manner. Natan Kellerman describes the effect of the survivors on the
second generation:21
Thus, in the same way as heat, light, sound and electricity can be invisibly carried from a
transmitter to a receiver; it is possible that unconscious experiences can also be transmitted
from parents to their children through some complex process of extra-sensory
communication Transgenerational transmission is when an older person unconsciously
externalizes his traumatized self onto a developing child’s personality. A child then becomes
a reservoir for the unwanted, troublesome parts of an older generation. Because the elders
have influence on a child, the child absorbs their wishes and expectations and is driven to act
on them. It becomes the child’s task to mourn, to reverse the humiliation and feelings of
helplessness pertaining to the trauma of his forebears (Volkan, 1997,p. 43).
This transmission of experiences that occurs in the children of survivors, occurs
in Isaac’s family.
The effect Isaac had on Rebekah can be seen by examining Rebekah before
and after she meets Isaac. Rebekah first enters the biblical narrative when Eliezer is
sent by Abraham to find a wife for Isaac. Eliezer pleads with God to send him “the
maiden to whom I will say, 'Lower your pitcher and I will drink,' and she will say,
'Drink, and I will also water your camels,' her have You designated for Your servant,
for Isaac, and through her may I know that You have performed loving kindness with
my master.”22 Eliezer is looking for a woman who is so full of patience and love, that
she will exceed that which is asked of her, even for a stranger. Rashi comments “She
is worthy of him, for she will perform acts of kindness, and she is fit to enter the
21
Natan P.F Kellerman. "Transmission Of Holocaust Trauma - An Integrative View.” ("Psychiatry:
Interpersonal Biological Processes 64, no. 3, 2001) 256-267.
22
Genesis 24:14
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house of Abraham.”23 In order to become part of Abraham’s household Rebekah has
to be full of kindness.
These qualities of kindness and patience, will not only deem her worthy of
becoming Isaac’s wife, but are necessary if she will be an effective wife. The kindness
that Isaac had in his life was gone, his relationship with his father was broken and his
mother had died, and he needed a wife that would bring the kindness back into his
life. Rebekah filled this role.24 “Now [Eliezer] had not yet finished speaking, and
behold, Rebekah came out, who had been born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife
of Nahor, Abraham's brother, and her pitcher was on her shoulder.”25 God responded
to Eliezer’s pleas by sending him Rebekah. Rebekah fulfills all of Eliezer’s
requirements by giving water to him and his camels.
Rebekah returns with Eliezer to her father’s house. Her family consents to the
marriage, but her mother and her brother ask "Let the maiden stay with us a year or
ten [months]; afterwards she will go."26 They try to delay the process, but Eliezer
objects. They call in Rebekah and she informs her family that she intends to go, “And
they summoned Rebekah, and they said to her, ‘Will you go with this man?’ And she
said, ‘I will go.’"27 Rashi comments, “of my own accord, even if you do not desire
it.” 28 Rebekah is a strong woman, she is persistent in her desire to leave, regardless
of her family's wishes.29 Rebekah is kind, patient and strong, however this all changes
when she meets Isaac.
23
Rashi 24:14 on the words “her You designated”
Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. 139-142
25
Genesis 24:15
26
Genesis 24:55
27
Genesis 24:58
28
Rashi 24:58 on the words “and she said ‘I will go’”
29
Leon Kass, The beginning of wisdom: reading Genesis, (New York: Free Press, 2003), 373.
24
7
Rebekah’s change happens the moment she encounters Isaac in the field.
Isaac is in the field meditating when Rebekah approaches him. This meditation
is powerful, Isaac is contemplating and praying.30 Rabbi Sacks provides a
deeper understanding of Isaac’s meditation:
Isaac is withdrawn, inward, introspective. In their marriage it is more often Rebekah who is
the active partner. Meditating in a field – that is Isaac’s characteristic gesture. He is a man of
complex psychology. How could he not be? Bound and almost killed as a child, one can only
guess at the mark that moment left on his soul. The result (since the Torah usually gives us
only oblique hints about people’s inner feelings) is that he a curiously opaque. We know less
about him than almost any other personality in Bereishith. 31
The meditation is Isaac’s coping mechanism. The meditation provides him a
space in which he can be “withdrawn, inward, introspective.” Meditation is a
common way to ease the burden of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.32
Isaac’s emotions are so powerful while meditating that when Rebekah
lifts her eyes and sees Isaac, she is overwhelmed and falls off her camel. She
feels the pain emanating from him.33 She turns bewildered to Eliezer and asks
“‘Who is this man, that is coming in the field to greet us?’ and the servant said
‘this is my master’ and she took a scarf and covered her face.”34 Once Eliezer
informs Rebekah that this man, who is full of so much pain, is to be her
husband, she covers her face from him. Isaac escorts Rebekah back to Sarah’s
30
The Talmud attributes this meditation as Isaac creating the prayer of Mincha.
31
Jonathan Sacks, "Covenant & Conversation 5768: Chayei Sarah – Isaac and Prayer." The Website of
Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks. Published November 3, 2007, accessed April 15, 2013,
31
http://www.chiefrabbi.org/2007/11/03/covenant-conversation-5768-chayei-sarah-isaac-andprayer/#.UbndnPaY4xI.
32
In a study done by Dr. Norman Rosenthal (Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown
University) they showed that after 8 weeks of meditation, veterans from the Iraq war showed a 50%
reduction in their PTSD symptoms. "Veterans show a 50 percent reduction in PTSD symptoms after 8
weeks of Transcendental Meditation." EurekAlert! - Science News. Published June, 2011, accessed
May 10, 2013,
33
Another approach is that she felt his holiness emanating from him. These approaches are similar
because the source of Isaac’s holiness, the Akedah, is also the source of his pain.
34
Genesis 24:64
8
tent and “she was a comfort to him after his mother’s death.”35 Rebekah is
giving Isaac her kindness, patience and love, which were lost when his mother
died. Yet, while Isaac is gaining comfort from her warmth, Rebekah now has to
cope in her own way with his pain.
Isaac’s impact on Rebekah is clear when, after years of bareness, Rebekah
finally becomes pregnant. The pregnancy is a difficult one, “And the children
struggled within her, and she said, ‘If so, why is this happening to me?’ And she went
to inquire of the Lord.”36 Here is Rebekah’s transformation. She has gone from being
a vibrant woman of kindness, to someone who is sad and questioning. Rebekah
inquires of God why she is experiencing more pain. First it was the emotional pain of
Isaac that she had to bear, and now it is the physical pain of pregnancy that she has to
bear. God responds by telling her that her suffering is not over. In order to be a part of
the legacy of the blessing, she has to sacrifice.37 “And God said to her, ‘There are two
nations in your womb, and two kingdoms will separate from within you, and one
kingdom will become mightier than the other kingdom, and the elder will serve the
younger.’”38 Rebekah has to suffer the knowledge that her powerful maternal desire
for her children to be at peace with each other will never occur. She is burdened by
the knowledge that her younger son will usurp the older, and that they will not be able
to both succeed.
This knowledge has ramifications later when the narrative informs the readers
that “And Isaac loved Esau because of the game in his mouth, but Rebekah loved
Jacob.”39 Rebekah has the knowledge that Jacob will be the one to succeed, so it is
35
Genesis 24:67
Genesis 25:22
37
Leon Kass, 377-378
38
Genesis 25:23
39
Genesis 25:28
36
9
only logical that she loved Jacob more. However, we are also told that Isaac loved
Esau, which indicates that it is likely that Rebekah did not inform Isaac of her
prophecy. There is a lack of communication between Isaac and Rebekah. This point is
furthered during the narrative of Jacob stealing the blessing. Rebekah instructs Jacob
to trick his father into blessing him.
Understanding Isaac and Rebekah’s character as individuals and as a couple
allows the story of Jacob and Esau to be cast in a different light. Jacob and Esau were
born in a house full of pain, and a house where there was a lack of communication
between their parents. Jacob and Esau’s environment has a clear impact on their
personality. “And the lads grew up and Esau was a man who know how to hunt a man
of the fields, and Jacob was a simple man who sat in the tents.”40 Their personality
traits and the personality issues they face, are similar to the personality traits and
issues of the children of holocaust survivors. Kellerman describes four main
problems that are faced by second-generation survivors; problems with self,
cognition, affectivity and interpersonal functioning. 41 Jacob and Esau each struggle in
their own way with the same problems.
“(1) Self. Impaired self-esteem with persistent identity problems, overidentification with parents’ ‘victim/survivor’ status, a need to be superachievers to compensate for parents’ losses, carrying the burden of being
‘replacements’ for lost relatives.”42 Similarly, Jacob also has identity problems.
Jacob is merely a simple man that sits in the tents. He was born on the heels of
his brother, “And afterwards his brother exited the womb, and his hand was
40
Genesis 25:27
Kellerman, 256-267.
42
Ibid. 256
41
10
grasping the heel of Esau, and they called his name Jacob.”43 Jacob has no
identity that is exclusively his, even his name is based off of his brother.
Furthermore, in order for Jacob to receive his blessing he has to lose his
identity as Jacob and disguised himself as Esau. Jacob struggles with his
identity his whole life.
“(2) Cognition. Catastrophic expectancy, fear of another Holocaust,
preoccupation with death, stress upon exposure to stimuli which symbolizes
the Holocaust, vicarious sharing of traumatic Holocaust experiences which
dominates the inner world.”44 Esau is a hunter. His way to cope with his
emotions is to go out into the field, to be alone and to kill. When Esau kills he
is in control of his surrounding, he decides whether the animal lives or dies.
This control helps him deal with the emotions that are out of his control, that he
was given by his parents. Due to the fact that Esau is a hunter and he is aware
of his father’s near encounter with death, he develops a preoccupation for
death. When Esau sells the birthright he says to Jacob, “behold I am going to
die, so why do I need this birthright.”45 On a simple level, he is on the verge of
death due to his fatigue and will therefore trade the birthright for his life.
However, on a deeper level Esau is expressing his discontent with the world.
He does not comprehend the value of the world if the end result is inevitably
death.
“(3) Affectivity. Annihilation anxiety, nightmares of persecution,
frequent
dysphoric moods connected to a feeling of loss and mourning. Unresolved
43
Genesis 25:26
Kellerman, 257
45
Genesis 25:32
44
11
conflicts around anger complicated by guilt. Increased vulnerability to stressful
events.”46 When Esau discovers that Jacob has stolen his blessing, Esau
immediately responds by desiring to kill Jacob. “And Esau hated Jacob because
of the blessing that his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, ‘Let
the days of mourning for my father draw near, then I will kill my brother
Jacob.’" This response is expected from Esau. Esau was a hunter in order to
gain control. Jacob, by taking the blessing, has seized Esau’s control over the
situation. Esau wants to regain control by the only method he knows, and that
is to kill.
“(4) Interpersonal functioning. Exaggerated family attachments and
dependency or exaggerated independence and difficulties in entering into
intimate relationships and in handling interpersonal conflicts.”47 Esau wishes
to be independent from his family. Esau has seen the sacrifice that is required,
and he does not wish to take part in it. Therefore, he takes wives from outside
of the family, which is uncommon in Genesis. “And Esau was forty years old,
and he married Judith, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, the
daughter of Elon the Hittite. And they were a vexation of the spirit to Isaac
and to Rebecca.”48 These wives demonstrate his independence from his
family, despite the pain it causes his parents.
In order for a new nation to emerge the cycle of passing on the trauma must
end. A nation cannot endure when the trauma builds in every generation. It is Jacob’s
task to reverse his trauma. Jacob’s expression of his trauma is his lack of identity, so
to reverse the trauma he has to find his identity.
46
Kellerman, 257
Ibid. 257
48
Genesis 26:34-35
47
12
Jacob cannot discover his identity in his father’s house. Jacob’s lack of
identity in his childhood home is evident from the story of the stealing of the
birthright. Jacob submits to the will of his mother and seizes the blessing on her
command. In addition, in order to receive the blessing Jacob has to transform to
become Esau. “And [Isaac] said ‘are you my son Esau?’ and [Jacob] says ‘I am.’” It is
this episode, in which Jacob loses his identity, that he is exiled from home, and
thereby is unable to discover his identity.49 The exile of Jacob from his father’s home
is reminiscent of Abraham’s exile from his father’s home. Jacob has begun the
process of sacrifice and blessing, and through this process he will find his identity.
Therefore, the night Jacob flees his father’s house, God appears to him to transmit the
blessing:
And behold God was standing before him and He said “I am God, the God of Abraham your
father, and Isaac, the land that you are resting upon I will give to you and your children. And
your children will be numerous like the dust of the earth and you shall gain strength
westward and eastward and northward and southward; and through you shall all the families
of the earth be blessed and through your children. And behold I am with you and I will
protect you in all that you go in and I will return you to this land, I will not leave you until I
have done what I spoke to you. And Jacob awoke from his sleep, and he said, "Indeed, God
is in this place, and I did not know.” 50
God introduces himself as the “God of Abraham and Isaac.” Jacob is inheriting their
blessing, and assuming his role in the chain. After God delivers the blessing, Jacob
wakes and says “God is in this place and I did not know.” On a simple level Jacob has
realized that God’s presence is in the place. However, on a deeper level, now that
Jacob has received the blessing, it awoke his sense of purpose. God appeared to Jacob
in this place, and Jacob was unaware of God’s presence, but also of his own identity.
Jacob employs the word “anoki”, which Jeffrey Cohen explains connotes soul
searching:
49
50
Shmuel Klitsner, Wrestling Jacob. (S.l.: Ben Yehuda Press, 2009), 70-72.
Genesis 28:13-15
13
Even when the pronouns anokhi and ani are employed with reference to humans, the former
is frequently (though, obviously, not always) invested with a particular existential intensity.
Anokhi denotes far more, in those instances, than merely the first person. It serves to convey
the notion of an individual focusing intensely upon the issue of his being, his identity, his
rank and his situation…
A. J. Heschel speaks of man's realization that the self is so much more than the self, and of
the necessity for him to understand what he means, not just what he does. Anokhi is
suggestive of the self reflecting on the self, of man acutely aware of his creation in the
Divine image, with a mission to accomplish in the Divine scheme of things, yet tragically
unaware of what that mission might be and to what extent he has played his, or any, part in
its accomplishment.51ּ
Here Jacob’s use of the word Anochi portrays his desire to develop a deeper
understanding of himself. While typically a person is “tragically unaware of what the
mission might be,” Jacob has been informed by God of his role. God has made the
route for Jacob easier, Jacob does not have to search for his identity, God has already
informed him. However, Jacob still has to develop into the role that he is given.
Jacob is transformed during his time in his uncle Laban’s house. For Jacob to
understand himself, he must first understand the mistakes he has made in the past
and repent for them. The first step to repentance is regretting and understanding your
sin. Jacob is able to understand his sin due to the fact that Laban sins against Jacob
in the same way that Jacob sinned. Laban deceived Jacob by switching Leah for
Rachel, just as Jacob deceived his father by switching himself for Esau. When Jacob
realizes that Laban has tricked him, Jacob approaches Laban and Laban says, "It is
not done so in our place to give the younger one before the firstborn.”52 Laban, in a
sense, is mocking Jacob, by giving Jacob the impression that Laban is more
righteous, because he follows the custom of the firstborn before the younger, the
custom Jacob did not follow.53 In the beginning Jacob worked for Laban for seven
51
Cohen, Jeffery . "WHICH ANOKHI DID JACOB NOT KNOW?" Jewish Bible Quarterly 37, no.
No. 4 (2009): 226-227.
52
Genesis 29:26
53
Shmuel Klitsner, 91-92.
14
years out of love for Rachel,54 but after the deception Jacob has to work an additional
seven years for Laban. These seven years are different, they are not for love, but
rather are a time for Jacob’s self-reflection.55
Jacob’s transformation is evident when, after twenty years of service, Jacob
is prepared to return home. In order to ensure that his transformation is complete, he
must undergo similar experiences with a different outcome. Jacob had to flee from
Laban’s house because he no longer found favor in Laban’s eyes, just as he had to
flee from the wrath of Esau.56 Jacob again has an encounter with angels, just as he
did on the way to Laban’s house.57 However, we can see that Jacob has changed
when he sends messengers ahead of him who inform him that Esau is approaching
with four hundred men. Jacob is terrified of his brother due to the fact that the last
time they spoke Esau was prepared to kill Jacob, so Jacob divides his family into two
camps. The dividing of the camps symbolizes Jacob’s change. When he left for
Laban, Jacob was fleeing with nothing, but now he is returning with enough wives,
children and wealth to divide into camps.58 When Jacob left, God came to him to
inform him of his role, now Jacob begins the conversation with God:59
And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord, Who
said to me, 'Return to your land and to your birthplace, and I will do good to you. I have
become small from all the kindnesses and from all the truth that You have rendered Your
servant, for with my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Now
deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, lest
he come and strike me, [and strike] a mother with children. And You said, 'I will surely do
good with you, and I will make your seed [as numerous] as the sand of the sea, which cannot
be counted because of multitude.'
54
“So Jacob worked for Rachel seven years, but they appeared to him like a few days because of his
love for her.” Genesis 29:20
55
“and he worked with him yet another seven years.” Genesis 29:30. The pasuk uses the word
“Acherot” which means different. The use of the word different connotes that these seven years served
a different purpose.
56
“And Jacob saw Laban's countenance, that he was not disposed toward him as [he had been]
yesterday and the day before.” Genesis 31:2
57
“And Jacob went on his way, and angels of God met him”. Genesis 32:2
58
Shumel Klistner, 110-114.
59
Genesis 32:10-
15
In his conversation with God, Jacob displays that his time in Laban’s house
has allowed him to accept his role. His years of self-reflection have enabled
him to recognize that all of the wealth he amassed came from God, and that he
is part of the legacy of Abraham. Now Jacob has an identity and a role to play
in the lineage and the creation of a nation.
The climax of Jacob’s change is shown that night when Jacob crosses the river
by himself. There he encounters a “man.” The pasuk says, “And Jacob was left
alone, and a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn.” Shmuel Klitsner
suggests that since it says that Jacob remained alone and a man wrestled with him,
that it must be Jacob wrestling with himself. 60 This event is the culmination of the
years of self-reflection. Jacob must face his subconscious the night before he meets
with Esau. He must fight with himself and wrestle with the ideas of his sins and his
identity. When the morning came, neither side of Jacob had won thus far. Jacob’s
subconscious is ready to retreat, but Jacob does not let him. Jacob demands that his
subconscious bless him. Jacob consciously and subconsciously desires to be worthy
of a blessing, because Jacob has repented for stealing the blessing. His subconscious
asks Jacob, “what is your name.” To which Jacob responds “I am Jacob.” Jacob
admits to who he is, the name Jacob encapsulates his lack of identity and his sin of
stealing from his brother, “on the heels of his brother.” At this moment of admission,
when Jacob confesses to his subconscious, Jacob’s transformation is complete. “And
[the man] said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, because you
have confronted God and men, and you have been able."61 Jacob no longer bears the
weak name of Jacob, but rather Israel, a name that connotes a strong personality.
60
61
Klitsner, 122
Gen 35:10
16
Jacob is no longer a simple tent dweller, but he is Israel the fighter. Jacob has
accepted his role in the divine plan and has repented for his sins against man, and he
has succeeded. When Jacob does finally meet with Esau, their meeting is peaceful
and brotherly.62
Now Jacob has reversed the trauma of the Akedah. Jacob has found his
identity, and understands his role in the divine plan. Jacob has improved vastly on a
personal level, but is still greatly lacking on an interpersonal level. In both Jacob’s
father’s house and in Laban’s house, Jacob relinquishes his autonomy to those around
him. In his father’s house, Jacob allows his mother to dictate his actions to steal the
blessing, and in Laban’s house Jacob allows himself to become indebted to work for
Laban for fourteen years. When it comes time for Jacob not only to become
autonomous, but to also become responsible for his wives and children, he fails.
Jacob’s failure is understandable for two reasons: 1) due to the fact that at the same
time that Jacob had to learn to take responsibility for his family, he was still under the
authority of Laban, and 2) Jacob never has a good model for love. Jacob’s parents
relationship was strained,63 his father selectively loved his brother and not him, and
his mother’s selective love for him stemmed from a prophecy she received before he
was born. Therefore, it is not surprising that when Jacob has to love, he lacks
authority and responsibility, and that his love can be misplaced and selective. His lack
of authority and responsibility are evident from the constant strife between the
members of his family. Jacob does not involve himself in the rivalries between his
wives and his children. In fact, it is his selective and misplaced love that causes the
strife. Leon Kass explains Jacob’s fault:
62
Ibid. 123-127
As mentioned previously, there was a lack of communication between Isaac and Rebekah. In
addition Rebekah’s spirit was harmed during her marriage to Isaac.
63
17
The double marriage does not change Jacob’s love for Rachel. On the contrary, “he loved
Rachel more than Leah” (29:30) Such preference, probably unavoidable in any bigamous
marriage, promises trouble in the house. In the present case, it also raises questions about the
basis of preference and whether, from the point of view of both marriage itself and God’s
new way begun with Abraham, Jacob’s preference is to be applauded. Jacob loved Rachel
more, but is Rachel more loveable? What, besides her beauty, recommends her?... the sort
that Jacob felt for Rachel may not be the best foundations for marriage and family- especially
if they are to be informed by God’s covenant with Abraham and his seed, with its emphasis
on righteousness and holiness. 64
Kass is suggesting that Jacob’s love for Rachel was misplaced. Jacob immediately
falls in love with Rachel after meeting her. Her description, “Rachel had beautiful
features and a beautiful complexion”65 directly precedes the phrase, “And Jacob
loved Rachel, and he said, ‘I will work for you seven years for Rachel, your younger
daughter.’”66 He is willing to do whatever it takes for Rachel, because she is
beautiful. The juxtaposition of these phrases implies that Jacob’s love for Rachel was
superficial. However, while Jacob’s love for Rachel was so much greater than his
love for Leah, the text supports his marriage with Leah. God reassures Leah that
even though Jacob does not recognize her worth, God believes she is more fit to be a
mother. Therefore, He speedily blessed her with seven children before Rachel even
had one. Rachel is deeply envious of Leah’s abundance of children, and Leah is
deeply envious of Rachel’s abundance of love from Jacob. The jealousy between the
sisters and Jacob’s inability to love correctly, makes a tremendous imprint on the
children, and cause the family to unravel.
There are two instances where the text mentions Jacob being actively involved
in parenting his children, and both cases have negative outcomes. The first instance
is when Jacob gives Joseph the multicolored coat. Jacob is demonstrating his
selective love, which in turn causes the brothers to despise Joseph. Jacob is unable to
see the hatred and the effects of his selectivity. Due to the fact that Jacob is blind to
64
Leon Kass. 245-249
Genesis 29:17
66
Genesis 29:18
65
18
the hatred, in the second instance Jacob sends Joseph to go fetch his brothers. It is on
this mission from Jacob that Joseph is sold.
The story of Joseph being sold is the strongest case of fraternal hatred in
Genesis.67 The brothers devise many different schemes of how to dispose of Joseph.
When they cast Joseph down into the pit, the brothers sit down to eat a meal. It
seems as though they show no remorse at all for their actions towards Joseph. When
a caravan of Ishmaelites passes, Judah suggests that they sell Joseph to the
Ishmaelites. The brothers agree and sell Joseph for twenty silver coins. When the
brothers inform Jacob that Joseph has been killed, Jacob goes into a state of intense
morning. After this episode of such intense hatred, there seems to be no hope for the
future. Jacob continues to be in a perpetual state of mourning, Judah leaves the tribe
completely, and additionally a famine plagues the land.68 The family is in ruins due
to Jacob’s selective and misplaced love.
Yet, it is out of their moment of deep dysfunction, that they are able to learn
the final lesson for becoming a nation. While Jacob’s family is in Israel suffering
from their sins, Joseph is in Egypt establishing a way for their redemption. When the
famine in Israel becomes too heavy, the brothers are forced to go to Egypt, where
there was food under Joseph’s control. When the brothers arrive and Joseph accuses
them of being spies, the brothers begin to comprehend their tremendous sin. “And
they said to one another, ‘Indeed, we are guilty for our brother, that we witnessed the
distress of his soul when he begged us, and we did not listen. That is why this trouble
67
In the case of Ishmael and Isaac, it is not Isaac that hates Ishmael. Rather it is Sarah who believes
that Ishmael was a bad influence. In the case of Jacob and Esau, when Esau discovered that Jacob had
stolen the blessing, he threatens to kill him in a fit of rage, nevertheless when they reunite Esau greats
Jacob with hugs and kisses. Here the brothers are not impulsive, they carefully plan how to dispose of
Joseph, and carry out the plan.
68
Devora Steinmetz, From father to son: kinship, conflict, and continuity in Genesis.( Louisville, Ky.:
Westminster/John Knox Press, 1991), 42-45.
19
has come upon us.’"69 While this situation was a punishment for selling Joseph, it
was also an opportunity for repentance. Joseph tells the brothers that they must leave
Simeon in Egypt until they bring Benjamin to prove that they are not spies.
The brothers appear before their father to tell them of Joseph’s condition.
Jacob is very hesitant to allow Benjamin to go, since Jacob had already lost two sons.
Reuben tries to persuade Jacob to allow Benjamin to go by offering his own sons to
be killed if Benjamin is not returned home safely. Reuben’s logic is nonsensical, if
Jacob is concerned that he lost two sons, then he would not want to also lose two
grandsons. However, after Judah persuades Jacob to allow Benjamin to go, Judah
tells Jacob, “Send the lad with me, and we will get up and go, and we will live and
not die, both we and you and also our young children. I will guarantee him; from my
hand you can demand him. If I do not bring him to you and stand him up before you,
I will have sinned against you forever.”70 Judah previously suggested the idea to sell
Joseph, the idea that demonstrated such extreme fraternal hatred; And now he is
suggesting that he be responsible for Benjamin, an idea that demonstrates extreme
fraternal responsibility.71 Devora Steinmetz explains how by Judah volunteering, he
has taught the brothers the final lesson they needed to become a nation:72
Judah finally, understands. Offering himself for his brother, Judah demonstrates fraternal
responsibility. As brothers, he explains to Jacob, they share a destiny; Judah will redeem
Benjamin, but Jacob must be willing to send Benjamin to redeem Simeon and, indeed, the
entire family.... It is the father’s role to take responsibility for his family and to pass on a
sense of destiny to his sons... It is not enough for Judah and Jacob to understand their
destiny; if the entire family is to be included in the mission, every member of the family must
perceive his role in it.
69
Genesis 42:21
Gen. 43:9
71
Devora Steinmetz, 47-49
72
Ibid. 48
70
20
The final lesson is that they must share the destiny. While previously in
Genesis the legacy was passed onto one person, now the legacy is being passed on to
twelve people. The legacy is still the same, they must sacrifice in order to gain their
reward. However, the brothers must learn to share the sacrifice, and by sharing in the
burden, they will also share in the reward.73 Once they have learned this, they go
down to Egypt to start the process of becoming a nation.
73
An evidence of the brother’s sharing is when Jacob blesses all of his sons. Each son has a different
mission attached to a different blessing. Therefore the weight is not exclusively upon one person’s
shoulders and together together they create one cohesive unit.
21