Lookalikes
Readers and commentators have long been puzzled about the opening words of the parashah: "This is the history of Isaac the son of Abraham - Abraham begat Isaac." (Genesis 25:19) If Isaac was the son of Abraham, it follows that Abraham begat Isaac. Why do we need to be told what is obvious?


Rashi's explanation, following, as usual, the more ancient interpreters, is that some of that generation suspected that Abraham was not really the father. So, God gave father and son similar facial features to prevent any misunderstanding.


A Chassidic homily quotes the rabbinic view that the history of righteous people is their

The good deeds you do must be counted amongst your progeny.

record of good deeds, which may imply that the good deeds you do must be counted amongst your progeny. Immortality comes not only through your biological descendants, but also through what you do for the world, for God, for other people. In a metaphorical sense, your good deeds look like you.


The Day I Die
Chapter 27, verse 2 sees Isaac telling Esau, "Lo yadati yom moti" - "I know not the day of my death." Since no-one - with such rare exceptions that they do not count - knows the date they will die, the translators often decided not to render these words literally. One version reads, "I know not how soon I may die." Another says, "There is no telling when I may die."


When the day of one's death is addressed by the rabbinic sages in Pirkei Avot, they find a remarkable lesson for life. First comes the saying in the name of Rabbi Eliezer, "Repent one day before your death." (Avot 2:10) Then, in Avot D'Rabbi Natan, we hear that the students of Rabbi Eliezer asked him, "Does anyone know the day he will die, so that he will be able to repent?"


The teacher replied, "All the more should one repent today, in case he dies tomorrow; let him repent tomorrow, in case he dies the next day. Thus, all his days will be spent in repentance."


The Talmud (Shabbat 153a) quotes Kohelet 9:8, "Let your garments always be white." and adds a parable about a king who summoned his servants to a banquet without specifying a time. The wiser servants immediately put on festive garb so as to be ready whenever the time was announced; the others thought there would always be time.


I knew a rabbi who always tidied his papers and books before going to bed at night so as to have things in order in case anything happened to him before the morning. Many others I have known left things in a mess and never had the chance to clear them up. Maybe they thought they would live forever. They would have done better to keep Isaac's statement in mind - "I know not the day of my death."


'I'm Tired and I Need to Eat'
When Esau came home from the field and saw Jacob busy cooking lentils, he asked for some of the dish (Genesis 25:29-34). What had Esau been doing all day? As usual, he had been occupied as "a cunning hunter, a man of the field" (verse 27).


What did he say to Jacob? Not, "I'm famished," but "I'm exhausted. I'm at the point of death." Jacob gets criticised by some Bible scholars for exploiting the situation and demanding the birthright in exchange for the lentils, as well as for subsequently gaining

There is also such a thing as under-eating.

old father Isaac's blessing, which was meant for Esau (note the similar sounding words, b'chorah - "birthright" - and b'rachah - "blessing"). But Esau surely also deserves a rebuke, not simply for being rough, uncultivated and irreligious, but for letting himself go all day without eating.


There is such a thing as over-eating; there is also such a thing as under-eating. The needs of the body ought not to be neglected, for religious as well as other reasons. The body cannot function without food and drink, nor can one do mitzvot if the body is crying out for food (see Rambam's introduction to his commentary on Mishnah,Sanhedrin, chapter 10).