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Orchard of Delights
The Talmud states that women were endowed with an extra portion
of understanding (Niddah 45b); thus, it is no surprise that Leah and
Rachel named the children. The reasons given for the names seem
somewhat paradoxical though: the choices appear to stem more from
the mothers’ overflow of personal emotions than from their prophetic
insight into their children’s future. Yet this paradox reveals a deep
truth – being totally engrossed in the present opens a gateway to the
future. One of the great secrets of time is that every moment of time
contains, in potential, all of time: past, present, and future.
The climatic moments and days surrounding a birth bring with
them flashes of inspiration and insight born of that peak experience.
These moments of inspiration reveal the illusion of linear time,
bridging it, and opening a portal to a much expanded experience of
time, especially as regards the essence of the new child.
This notion of time sheds light on how Judaism perceives astrology
as a field of wisdom capable of providing insight into an individual’s
potential based on the position of the sun, moon, and planets at the
very moment of his or her birth. While the Torah forbids the use of
astrology to predict the future or to relieve someone of the burden of
free choice, it does not forbid the use of astrology to better understand
someone’s potential. The Talmud contains scores of references to
the stars’ power and influence along with the appropriate warnings
regarding the misuse of this information.
On our birthdays’ our potential or mazal (literally, zodiacal sign)
– the preordained “deck of cards” that we enter this world with – is
strengthened and ascendant. Therefore, it is appropriate to spend our
birthdays in deep introspection regarding our missions and purposes
in the world.
As each child was born, Leah and Rachel experienced the
circumstances and feelings surrounding the birth and understood
them to be a gateway into divining the child’s inner essence and
prophetically glimpsing the mission and character of each of the
future tribes of Israel.
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Toldot
Rashi begins his commentary on the level of remez. The verses
preceding this story make absolutely clear how upset Isaac and
Rebecca were over Esau’s Canaanite wives. Linking Isaac’s blindness
to this state of affairs, Rashi quotes a Midrash which suggests
that these verses were juxtaposed to allude to the fact that Isaac’s
blindness was caused by the incense smoke offered by Esau’s wives
to their foreign gods. (Midrash Tanchuma, Parashat Toldot 8).
Next Rashi cites another Midrash to offer a homiletical or more
allegorical derash (Bereishit Rabbah 65:10). The Midrash relates that
when Isaac was bound on the altar and it appeared that his father
was going to consummate the sacrifice, the heavens opened and the
angels began crying. Their tears fell into Isaac’s eyes causing him to
go blind later in life.
Finally, Rashi concludes with a mystical sod interpretation.
Again citing Midrash Tanchuma, Rashi states very simply, but
enigmatically, that Isaac had to go blind so that Jacob would receive
the blessing, not Esau as Isaac had wished.
Now let us return briefly to consider each of Rashi’s explanations.
The notion that the smoke of the incense offered by Esau’s idol
worshipping wives dimmed Isaac’s eye sight can be understood both
literally and on a more subtle mind/body level. Over a prolonged
period of time, the irritation caused by such smoke could certainly
have damaged Isaac’s eyes. Yet Rashi seems to be hinting at more
than just a physical malady. Particularly traumatic one-time events
and, without a doubt, ongoing traumas undermine an individual’s
overall health. (This is a subject we will plumb more deeply in
discussing Tazria, in the book of Leviticus.) Clearly, Esau’s wives
had a deleterious effect on both Isaac and Rebecca. In Isaac’s case,
his blindness becomes an external manifestation of his inability to
see reality clearly and act upon it in a forceful manner.
The claim that angels’ tears led to Isaac’s blindness alludes to deep
spiritual, mystical, and psychological truths that cannot be properly
examined within the constraints of this book. However, one insight
deserves to be mentioned because it has especial pertinence to our
era. According to tradition it took Isaac three years to integrate
the awesome events known as Akeidat Yitzchak; however, this
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