Dvar Torah for Parshat Toldot

Based on Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom #103

"These are the chronicles of Yitzchak son of Avraham. Avraham begot Yitzchak." (Genesis 25:19)

Rashi has a problem with this verse. It's obvious that since "Yitzchak [is the] son of Avraham" that "Avraham begot Yitzchak." So why the repetition?

Rashi answers that the repetition is necessary because the cynics of the time said, "All those years Sarah never had a baby from Avraham and now after she was with Avimelekh she has a baby. You tell me who's the father?!" Therefore God made Yitzchak look identical to Avraham, so that it was quite evident that Avraham Avinu (our patriarch Avraham) was Yitzchak Avinu's father.

There is a difficulty with this Rashi, or rather, with the cynics. Fourteen years before Yitzchak Avinu was born, Avraham Avinu had a son Yishmael (Ishmael). How could the cynics have had any doubt about Avraham Avinu's ability to father a child?

One answer comes from this section of Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom:

It's better to be "a fool who believes everything" (Proverbs 14:15)"even nonsense and lies"because then you will end up believing in the truth as well. Someone who is a wise guy and skeptical, even though he won't believe any nonsense or lies, ends up being a cynic and denying everything, even the truth, God forbid. "Better that I should be called a fool my entire life than be wicked in God's eyes even for a moment" (Eiduyot 5:6).
Rabbi Nachman's Wisdom #103

The cynics, because they were cynics, ended up denying the truth that Avraham Avinu was able to father a child.

What is a cynic? "A faultfinding captious critic...distrustful of human nature" says the Merriam-Webster dictionary. (The definition of "captious" is "1: marked by an often ill-natured inclination to stress faults and raise objections 2: calculated to confuse, entrap or entangle in argument".)

Esav, Yaakov Avinu's twin brother, was a first-class cynic. He distrusted people so that when he questioned them, he ignored their protestations of innocence and entrapped them so that they would "confess" their crimes. The Midrash gives the following example: "I didn't kill anybody." "Who was your accomplice? What weapon did you use" (Bereishis Rabbah 63:10, Devarim Rabbah 1:17)?

Esav found fault with the way God treated His servants. When Esav came home from a hunt he found Yaakov Avinu (our patriarch Yaakov) simmering a stew. Esav asked him, "What's this for?" "Grandfather died." "After all the kindness and good he did, he died?! Then there is neither reward nor resurrection" (Genesis 25:29; Bereishis Rabbah 63:10)!

Esav was cynical about the birthright. When Yaakov Avinu asked Esav to sell him the birthright, Esav answered, "I'm about to die! What do I need a birthright for" (Genesis 25:32)?! (See Rashi, Ramban and Or HaChaim for what sort death Esav anticipated.) Esav brought a group of his friends with him to eat. They said, "Let's go eat Yaakov's food and have a good laugh at him" (Bereishis Rabbah 63:14). After he finished eating, "he got up and left. Esav despised the birthright" (Genesis 25:34).

Even when Esav went hunting to bring Yitzchak Avinu food (in order to receive the blessing) he remained cynical. Despite his father's request to bring him honestly earned food (Rashi on Genesis 27:4) Esav set out to bring something back "by hook or by crook" (Rashi ibid. v.5). When he failed to trap anything, Esav brought a delicacy as his fathered had requested"dog meat (vv. 4 and 31; Targum Yonatan 27:31). (The word cynic is derived from the Greek kyon, which means dog.)

Be careful. Be cautious. Don't be cynical.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!