Good evening my fellow classmates,
As we have discussed numerous times in class, Esav did not turn out to be the "bad" son that we were always taught to think. In fact, he could have fulfilled his potential and become someone great. When Esav came in from a long day at work, and was starving for food, he ended up giving up the Bechora to Yaakov. At first glance, Yaakov seemed to almost trick Esav into giving him the Bechora, but after looking into it a little bit deeper, we find that Yaakov was not really at fault here. We see from the pasuk that Esav used the word "haliteni" when asking for soup, which is a word that would typically be used when referring to feeding camels. This shows Esav's animalistic behavior. Because of Esav's aggressive words, Yaakov realized that Esav would not be capable of being a spiritual leader, and maybe this would be an important aspect of the Bechora, aside from actually being the first born. Furthermore, when Yaakov asks for the Bechora, Esav practically hands it over without giving it a second thought. He doesn't seem to care about it at all. He says that he know he will die anyway if he doesn't eat, and the Bechora will cause him to die because of the many responsibilities involved in it. So, even though Yaakov wanted to make a trade, it is important to realize that he had a greater intention that was not entirely selfish. Before Esav left, Yaakov even asked again if it was okay that he take the Bechora, and Esav said it was fine. In this case, Esav still does not seem like a bad guy to me. I do not think he was bad. His animalistic and materialistic outlook on life just proved that maybe he was not worthy of the Bechora. But, in the end, Yaakov does not seem like he is the bad guy either.
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