Toldot
Rarely would you ever imagine hearing these words from Rashi. "I do not know what it means"? If the great Rav Shlomo Yitzchaki known to us as Rashi, the greatest commentator on the Torah, doesn't know what it means what chance do we have?
This is referring to Genesis 28:5, "he went... to Laban, son of Bethuel, Rebecca's brother, mother of Jacob and Esua." Why does the Torah say, "mother of Jacob and Esau," since this fact is clearly stated earlier. The answer is that Rashi knew many explanations but was unsure as to which one was the true answer. Brothers they were, but different they also were. Until Jacob and Esau reached young adulthood, today we would say, bar mitzvah age, they were actually quite similar in personality. When Esau was mischievous it was thought to be because he was a child. However, when they reached bar mitzvah each child went his own way.
Esau became a man of the fields, enjoying hunting and trapping. He hunted for sport according to Midrash. And the Midrash continues by saying that he didn't always eat what he killed. While Jacob, on the other hand, was a pious person who spent his time learning Torah. The Midrash says he spent most of his time learning with Sages Shem and Aver.
The Torah records an encounter between Jacob and Esau, "Jacob simmered a stew and Esau came in from the field". What is the connection between these two statements? On that very day, Abraham passed away, so Jacob was preparing a meal customary for people who are in mourning, a lentil stew. Instead of mourning, Esau was hunting in the fields. It became common knowledge that Esau was not a worshipper of God. Since God had promised Abraham that only one of Isaac's children would follow in God's path, Jacob realized he needed to buy Esau's birthright. Jacob said "sell, as this day, your birthright to me. The use of "as this day" declared that the sale was to be as clear as the day itself. This was to be a fully binding transaction. Esau had no morals and saw no use for his birthright, and it meant nothing to him at that moment. Jacob purchased the birthright with a sum of gold but sealed the deal with the lentil stew. Esau sold his birthright for a pot of red beans, this according to Sforno. I guess often if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
Shabbat Shalom,
Marshall Loomer