Shabbat shalom. Thank
you all for coming here to celebrate my Bar Mitzvah – my whole family is here,
all of my friends are here – everyone I love. This week’s parsha is significant
because of the story of the twins Jacob and Esav. I love to go camping, hiking,
boating, and especially mountain biking. So, given all of this, you would think
that I am a big fan of Esav, one of the two twins discussed in today’s torah
portion. He was a big outdoorsman, and Isaac loved him the most because of his
great hunting skills.
Ya’acov, on the
other hand, was known for spending most of his time indoors, in a tent,
studying. (I enjoy that too, by the way).
So you can
understand why I feel compelled to ask, why do the Torah and the commentators,
for the past three thousand years, all seem to favor Ya’acov? Why does Rebecca favor him? Why does God seem to favor him?
I think it all
comes down to how Judaism defines a hero.
The Talmud asks, “Who is a hero?”
“Ayze-hu Gibor?” The answer is “Hakovesh et yitzro” – the
one who controls his impulses.
I know all about
heroes. I’m a big fan of Marvel and
especially the Iron Man series.
While
some families in Stamford sit around the dinner table discussing their day, the
Prices dive into deep conversations about what defines a superhero.
Is Batman a real
super hero? Not in my mind. The argument can be made that Batman just
uses a bunch of gadgets and has no real super powers. Couldn’t anyone can get into shape and buy a
Bat mobile?
So by that
standard, if Batman isn’t a super hero, Esav isn’t either. He isn’t even good. He may have been a great
hunter but that doesn’t make someone a hero.
If anything, he is the exact opposite of the Talmud’s definition. If you are defining a hero as someone who can
control his impulses, well, Esav did not do too well on that count.
You might recall
that at the beginning of the portion, Esav sold his birthright for a bowl of
soup. He could not control his hunger. I
hope it was good soup!
While Esav was
not a hero, by the Jewish definition, there are lots of heroes who have never
been in comic books or movies, selfless people who made great sacrifices at
great risk without looking for recognition.
One such hero
was my great great uncle Hy. He was an amazing person who passed away in 2009. Whenever things seemed hopeless, he always
found a reason to smile. He never gave
in to the fear or despair during World War II and was able to overcome the most
impossible odds by helping hundreds of refugees in post war Europe immigrate to
Israel.
The Zionist movement needed money, arms and a way to smuggle the Jews out
of Eastern Europe. The L’Brecha organization was being funded by American
Jews. They had brought large sums of American money to Bratislava.
With the money, Uncle Hy and his friend purchased a hotel. This hotel fronted
the comings and goings of Eastern European survivors who were looking to return
to their homeland, Israel. Uncle Hy would travel by smuggling himself
from boarder to boarder. He risked his life to bring money and a way to escape
for hundreds of Eastern European Jews. He went fearlessly, faking
different dialects and bribing border patrols to let him in and out of
countries in the dead of night. In 1946 Golda Meir personally thanked and
acknowledged my Uncle for his bravery on behalf of the people of Israel.
It’s in his
memory that, as part of my Mitzvah project, I will be donating money to Yad
Vashem, the holocaust museum in Israel.
I earned the money by making rainbow loom bracelets and selling snacks
at school.
So, although I
love outdoor activities as well as reading, I understand that neither by itself
makes you a hero. Yes, self-control,
matters – but you need to care for others too. To quote the Disney film
“Hercules,” “A hero is not measured by
the size of his strength, but the strength of his heart.”
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