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“And he (Eisav) cried out with a great and exceedingly bitter cry. (27:34)

The Torah depicts two brothers who go their separate ways. Eisav was the quintessential hunter, blood thirsty, shrewd and cunning. With his eloquent pious fraud, he was able to cultivate the love of his father. Yaakov, on the other hand, was the son who inherited his fathers characteristics. He was the simple student, the home loving son who served his parents obediently and piously. Moreshes Moshe points out that these two sons grew up with divergent lifestyles. Yaakov requested that Eisav transfer the spiritual birthright to him because it had no meaning to Eisav. Eisav readily agreed to the arrangement,…

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“And the boys grew up, and it came to pass that Eisav was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, and Yaakov a single minded man dwelling in tents. (25:27)

Eisav was not a simple person who wantonly lusted after his heart’s passions. He was an intelligent human being who had developed his own philosophy of life. Eisav’s ability to “fool” Yitzchak, a feat which even the Satan could not successfully accomplish, provides evidence of this. In distinguishing Yaakov from Eisav, the Torah characterizes their chosen vocations as the manifestation of their divergence. The Torah describes Eisav as “one who understood hunting, a man of the fields,” while, in contrast, it characterizes Yaakov as “a single minded man dwelling in tents.” Yaakov is not presented as the tzaddik, while Eisav…

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