Parshas Toldos: The Expensive Bowl of Soup

Rabbi Shmuli Gross

In this week's Parsha, we learn the episode in which Esav sells his Bechora for a pot of lentil soup. It is astounding to consider that Esav would be willing to make this deal. Having grown up in the house of Yitzchak, he was certainly aware of the axiom that, “one moment of Olam Haba is worth more than all the pleasures of Olam Hazeh put together” (Avos 4:16). It is true that Esav was focused on physical pleasures, but did he really consider this a good deal?

I heard the following insight from Rabbi Yonah Sklare. The Possuk says, “Esav said to Yaakov ’pour into me some of that very red stuff for I am exhausted.’ He therefore called his name Red” (Bereishis 25:30). Rabbi Sklare asked, “when you name a person you name them based on their essence. The fact that the soup was red seems to be a side point, so why did he name him Red?” He answered that red is a flashy and attractive color that catches the eye. Esav called it “this red stuff” because his value system was based on externalities; this was what he noticed. This blinded him from seeing things in their proper perspective. That is why he was called “Red,” because his nature was to be pulled in by the lure and brightness of Olam Hazeh. Red (אדם) is the same letters as man (אדם). This is because one of the tendencies of man is to become blinded by the brightness of Olam Hazeh and to therefore not be able to see things in their proper magnitude.

This creates a quandary. How can Hashem expect us to beat our Yetzer Hora when our nature is to become blinded and pulled in by Olam Hazeh? The resolution is we each have a Neshama, a deep intellect that can sense what is Emes and what is Sheker. In addition, we have Torah and Mussar Seforim which are replete with timeless lessons and include the value of Olam Haba and the pettiness of Olam Hazeh. Our job is to take a step back from the world and learn Torah and Mussar and internalize these teachings so that we stay focused on what really truly matters in life and what is just a “plain old bowl of lentil soup.”

Now we can understand why Esav gave everything up for a bowl of lentil soup. The Torah (Bereishis 25:27) describes him as a “man of the field.” This means he chose to make Olam Hazeh his goal and pursuit in life as an end unto itself and not as a way to serve Hashem. Therefore when he saw the red soup, he was not able to make an accurate assessment of its proportionate value.

Olam Hazeh is full of “very red bowls of soup.” The way to keep our value system prioritized is to learn and internalize a lot of Torah and Mussar. May we be Zocheh to make decisions that reflect the truth about what is valuable and what is merely a “bowl of soup.”