Eisav saw no value whatsoever in the birthright. Thus, when he was hungry, he quickly sold the birthright for a bowl of red soup. Apparently, selling the birthright is held against Eisav. The fact that he committed five grave sins that day does not seem to carry as much weight as his selling the birthright. Why? The Brisker Rav, zl, explains that concerning the other sins which Eisav committed, he always had the excuse that he was provoked by the yetzer hora, evil inclination. The other sins may have brought him some sort of perverse satisfaction. Selling the birthright was purely malicious. Nothing was to be gained from selling the birthright. Thus, it was an inexcusable act of denigrating the avodah, service, in the Bais Hamikdash. This is what Eisav was doing when he said, “I gain nothing from the bechorah. You can have it.” He knowingly, with malicious aforethought, spurned the opportunity to come close to Hashem.
Some sins are the product of the influence of the yetzer hora. People commit other sins as a result of a disdain for religion. This applies throughout our life’s endeavor. It is not only about sin. When someone has something to gain, we understand his weakness. He was not pernicious – just weak. Many weak people exist. A noxious person acts out of uncaring selfishness. He demonstrates that rules mean nothing to him. He laughs at convention and denigrates establishment. He is not compelled to act. He wants to act because it means nothing to him. Someone might fall prey to opioids due to an addiction; weakness which he is unable to control. Another person might set a fire simply because he does not care about people’s property. One is upset with himself; one laughs at the world. Eisav laughs.
