Dear Friends,

Towards the end of our Torah portion this week, Toldot, Esau is distraught when he realizes that his father was tricked and unintentionally gave a blessing to his brother Jacob. This blessing was a very specific and important one, transferring the birthright and inheritance to the next generation. Upon realization that this blessing was no longer available, Esau cried out, don't you have one for me as well? At first, Isaac seemed uncertain. With his hands trembling, Isaac dug down deep, and spontaneously offered a very different blessing. It was not the blessing Esau was hoping for, but it was meaningful and beautiful nonetheless.

 

Like Esau, we don't always get the blessings that we want in life, which can be incredibly disappointing. But as our Torah portions remind us, there are always other blessings; we just have to be open to receiving them.

 

Abraham Joshua Heschel once wrote that "Words [of blessing] must not fall off our lips like dead leaves in autumn. They must rise like birds out of the heart into the vast expanse of eternity." I think that like Isaac and Esau, we must recognize that there are not only many different ways to give blessings, but that the blessings in our lives come in all different shapes and sizes. May we all not only have the opportunity to recognize and appreciate the many different blessings in our lives, but be blessings in the lives of those we love and the world around us.

Wishing you Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Josh