Trust, Trickery, and Fore-people

Trust, Trickery, and Fore-people

We were always raised to think that all of our fore parents were the most marvelous people ever who could need do anything wrong. Unfortunately, when reading the Torah in the text, we see that this is not the case, that there are so many faults in even the best of our fore figures. I think this comes to show us that everyone is human. We shouldn't look up to somebody that isn't human, who doesn't have any faults- that's not practical. The best role model for us is a good person who is religious and moral and (and this is the kicker)- relatable. Now, with that in mind, is there any possible way we can justify these people's actions? Because lately, in class, we have all been hating on all of these people, which is pretty sad, I think. I mean, sure, they did some bad things, but they are still some of the most important figures in our history and are very holy people.


Is there anyone who can offer up some comments about Yitzchak, Rivkah, or Yaakov that are positive? When doing chavrutah work earlier this week, after reviewing the incident of the bracha, my partner Carmit and I came up with these descriptions:
Yitzchak- He's out of it, easily deceived/swayed, suspicious, bad parent, bad husband
Rivkah- tricker, deceitful, bad role model to Yaakov, bad wife
Yaakov- trickster, Rivkah's pawn, liar, cares more that dad would think he's a trickster than if what he is doing is good. 


These descriptions are obviously judgmental. But this is all we know. This is basically what the peshat tells us. Is the peshat going to tell us something good about them later on? Take Esav, for instance. Previously, when things were being done for Esav, we were all like 'poor Esav..' And it's true, it was sad. However, at the end of this perek, we see that Esav gets very violent and vengeful. Although he surely has reason to be mad at his younger brother, that's never an excuse to deal with violence. It can be understood where people get the idea that Esav was a bad person. I hope soon we'll get up to the part that makes everyone seem like heroes!