Bs”d
Parshas Toldos (5761)
by Mordechai Dolinsky
In our Parsha we have the birth of Yaakov Avinu, the great light and pillar of truth. We also have making a dramatic entrance into the world his brother Esav who symbolized and represented the exact opposite, darkness and falsehood. It is important to understand what the significance of the account of the amount of hair Esav had when he entered this world was. It was so relevant that it had to be mentioned in our holy Torah. Even more puzzling is that the phenomenon was of such magnitude that it warranted to be commemorated by the name he was crowned with by the general populace. A name has intrinsic significance since it defines the essence. Esav’s name was a reflection of his hair, which sheds even more light on its significance and reinforces the puzzle.
There is a very interesting phenomenon that can be observed in the creation concerning hair. Amongst its many functions we find that hair actually plays a role of deception. The epitome of this can be seen from the aura of grandeur radiated by the majestic look of the “king” of the animal world, the male lion. This fierce, awesome, image is created by his mane which is really false and misleading. The truth can be seen from his female counterpart who, missing the misleading fur, looks like a simple, big cat. Another example is the growth of hair in mankind on the face of the mature male, obviously giving an aura of fierceness.
The Medrash (63:8) relates that after the name Esav was given Hashem Himself revealed the real and true significance of the name—“HOI SHAV’—empty and false. The deception is so misleading that we need Hashem Himself to enlighten us.
This all has special significance to us living through this last period of Galus under the auspices of Esav. How wary we must be not to be deceived.
Their religion, the millions of devout looking Gentiles, the impressive temples of worship—how we suffered from their wickedness and false righteousness. Their medical profession and related Institutions, supposedly imbued with a high level of an idealism of kindness to humanity…. Their educational institutions of higher learning representing supposedly the ideal of high intellect and the pursuit of wisdom….
Esav’s hairy birth appearance is truly significant; a mere newborn infant giving the false impression of a mature adult—beware!
HaShem open our eyes to see the truth always.