My Torah portion describes the birth of twins Esau and Jacob. As they
get older, it becomes clear they have opposite talents…Esau is the hunter and
the athlete. Jacob is the student and
the scholar.
The Torah portion goes on to highlight each
brother’s strengths and weaknesses, how their respective qualities help and
hinder each of them in their lives, in their personal relationships, and in
their adventures.
The question that pops out here and the question
I’ve discussed with the Rabbi is whether the Torah is favoring the student or
the athlete.
At first, it would seem like the Torah favors Jacob the student. Esau,
not the brightest, was really hungry one day and sells his “birthright” – that
is, his rights as the first born – to Jacob for a bowl of red lentil soup. For
those of you who know me well, I get hungry and I’m a beast when I’m famished
so I’m sort of a fan of Esau’s….He was really hungry! And besides how important
are birthrights anyway…in my house, it’s really just an excuse for Josh to get
the first choice of steak, stay up later than me, and sit in the front seat.
But when I think about how my life relates to
this Torah portion, I first tried to think about which twin I related to
best. And the answer is easy---it’s
both. I love sports, especially tennis.
And I love school, especially math. But
more importantly, what I love most about learning and athletics is the
challenge and competition of each, where I really have to push myself, dig deep
and sometimes take a loss or frustration and push through it.
When I hear my parents talk about my great
grandmothers for whom I am named, I can’t help but think I get my competitive
edge—almost a survival skill—from all of my great grandmothers. Every single one of them.
You may remember hearing my brother tell the
story at his Bar Mitzvah about my great grandma Frieda, whose Hebrew name is
Tzipora, which is my middle name. She
escaped from a Nazi concentration camp and lived under a floorboard for an
entire year to avoid capture.
My
other namesake, my great grandmother Edith lost her husband when my grandfather
Mickey was in 8th grade and she worked full time, multiple jobs,
supporting 3 kids and making sure they got an education. My other great grandmother Betty “Ma” Baron
was also widowed early and glued my family of 6 great aunts and uncles, and my
dad’s 13 first cousins together. And my other Great grandmother Lee is here
today at 95 years old and is full of life and such an inspiration to me.
These are
strong, resilient women who never took no for an answer and fought hard on
every stage they found themselves on. That,
everyone, is my inspiration in not just sports and school, but in my life.
For my mitzvah project, I wanted to share my love
of sports with kids who may not be lucky to have as many opportunities I’ve had
to play sports. For years I’ve been involved with Grassroots, a Norwalk charity
that brings the sport of tennis to inner city kids who don’t have as much
access to tennis, as well as tutoring. I volunteered and raised money this year
with their annual doubles tournament, which was a big success. The goal of this organization is to ensure
each of their kids is on a path towards success on the court, in the classroom
and in life. That’s certainly the type
of place that both Esau and Jacob would have enjoyed.
So as we reflect on Esau & Jacob in this Torah
portion, here are my takeaways: First,
that I can appreciate and learn from them both, be inspired by their best
qualities to become a successful student-athlete and second, not to let my
brother make any bad deals with me—in fantasy football or in life--like Jacob
got one over on Esau — even for a tempting bowl of lentil soup!
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