A Thought on Parshas Toldos

"....v'al charb'echa tichyeh v'es achicha ta'avod v'haya kasher tarid u'farakta ulo..." "...you shall live by your sword, serve your brother but then abandon him..." (27:40) As Yitzchak consents to bestow yet a second bracha, this one on his wayward son Esav, he blesses him with a variety of conquests, victories and acquisitions. This seems to be in contrast with his prior disclosures to Esav that the latter would be under the dominion of his brother Yakov. Were these promises of conquests to emerge at some later time and not conflict with Esav's status of subservience to his brother, or are those promises not discordant with that status relative to Yakov? The Gan offers an unexpected resolution of the verses. He suggests that our verse was, in its ideal form, a blessing for Yakov as well as for Esav. There would come times in history when the barriers to Yakov's ascendance necessitated warfare. Yakov was not, ideally, a warrior. Brother Esav was a warrior. Those wars and battles which could serve and benefit the descendants of Yakov would at times be fought by Esav in the service of Yakov. In fact, explains the Gan, those battles were the key through which Esav could earn the fulfillment of his bracha, wherein he could succeed also in conquests for his own territories. Esav's claim to conquer and acquire lands was in essence contingent upon his also being there to shield Yakov and to fight for his sake. In turn, the Gan finds support in the latter part of our verse for another contingency. The condition under which Esav would "serve" Yakov in this way would be contingent on Yakov's own fulfillment of his destiny. As long as Yakov served HaShem, Esav would serve Yakov in this particular fashion. However, when Esav could claim with validity that he was serving Yakov more than Yakov was serving HaShem - when the descendants of Yakov would not live by the Torah - Esav would have the right to desist and to go off in pursuit of his own personal conquests. He would be absolved of his symbiotic bond with brother Yakov. When Yakov functions like Yakov, Esav may fend for him. When Yakov forfeits his intended role and identity, he also relinquishes his portion of the shared bracha which would direct the forces of Esav to fight off those who seek to oppress him. Our nation mourns this week for the kedoshim who were massacred in our Holy City. May the treachery of Yishmael be followed by nikmas HaShem. We have no one else to rely on. I learned this week that the area's largest Catholic high school draws many students who hail from other religions. Its largest non-Catholic faction are Jewish students. When this school was founded in the mid-1800s, one of its three greatest patrons and benefactors was a rabbi, and his wife. Thinking back to Yitzchak's bracha to Esav in concert with Yakov, I wonder - who was serving whom at that time in LA history? Good Shabbos. D Fox