Parshas Toldos
1. At the end of our parsha it is said, "And Esav saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Yitzchak… And Esav went to Yishmael and took Machalas the daughter of Yishmael… in addition to his wives, as a wife." The Midrash Rabbah brings two opinions on this verse: "Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: He set his mind to convert (to do teshuvah): Machalas, for the Holy One, blessed be He, forgave (machal) him all his sins… Rabbi Elazar said: Had he sent away the earlier ones, it would have been good; but 'in addition to his wives' — pain upon pain (the earlier ones were evil and the later likewise; Rashi on Bereishis Rabbah). Another version: a thorn upon a thorn (thorns upon thorns), an addition to a full house (the house was full of foreign women (cursed; Matnos Kehunah) and he added to take more on top of them; Rashi)."
According to this, one must examine Rashi's view in his commentary on the Torah. He explains "in addition to his wives" as "he added wickedness to his wickedness, for he did not divorce the earlier ones," like the opinion of Rabbi Elazar in the Midrash. Yet later, in Parshas Vayishlach, on the verse "Basmas the daughter of Yishmael," Rashi explains: "And further on she is called Machalas… Three have their sins forgiven… and one who marries a wife… That is why she was called Machalas, for his sins were forgiven" — so he holds like the opinion of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi (that his sins were forgiven)?
Regarding Esav's conduct this can be reconciled: even in his commentary on Vayishlach, Rashi does not mean (like the words of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi in the Midrash) "that his sins were forgiven" because "he set his mind to convert." Rather, the very matter of "one who marries a wife" has a special property that brings forgiveness of sins (like "one who rises to greatness," brought in Rashi there), and therefore Esav's sins were forgiven although he did not set his mind to convert (and on the contrary, "he added wickedness to his wickedness").
But an explanation is needed regarding "Machalas" herself. From the plain sense of the Midrash it is understood that the two opinions on Esav's intent (whether "he set his mind to convert" or the opposite) differ also on the nature and character of "Machalas the daughter of Yishmael," whether she was a fit woman. According to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi she was a fit woman (and that is why she was called "Machalas," a name that hints at the forgiveness of sins), and according to Rabbi Elazar she was wicked, like Esav's earlier wives (and this is the meaning of "in addition to his wives," that she resembled his earlier wives). If so, Rashi's words contradict one another: here (at the end of our parsha) he holds that she was wicked, while further on he explains the name "Machalas" as coming from the forgiveness of sins, which implies that she was a fit woman.
[For even if one were to say that the very matter of "one who marries a wife" brings forgiveness of sins (even without a change of deeds for the better), nevertheless, from the very fact that only she was called by the name "Machalas" (hinting at the forgiveness of sins), and not his earlier wives, it is implied that she was worthy of this (also) because of her deeds and so on. Especially according to the version in Rashi in several manuscripts, "that her sins were forgiven" (and not "his sins"), which implies that only her sins were forgiven and not Esav's, since she was fit, whereas Esav remained wicked.]
2. But on looking closely, it appears that there is no question at all, for Rashi's intent in his commentary here is not like the interpretation of Rabbi Elazar in the Midrash. Rather, it is a new interpretation of the words of the verses. The wording of the Midrash is "Had he sent away the earlier ones, it would have been good; but 'in addition to his wives' — pain upon pain…" But Rashi changed it and wrote, "He added wickedness to his wickedness, for he did not divorce the earlier ones."
There are two (main) changes here: a) "Pain upon pain" (thorn upon thorn) means that he added a wicked wife to the wicked wives he had before. But Rashi's wording, "he added wickedness to his wickedness," means that the very act of marrying Machalas is an act of wickedness on Esav's part.
[In the common printings of Rashi there is an added gloss in parentheses, "That is, a wicked woman in addition to the wicked women he already had." However, one must say that the glossator does not mean that "rish'ah upon his rish'aso" means "a wicked woman on top of his wicked women" ("r'sha'ah" pointed with a sheva, that his wife is wicked, as in "the wicked kingdom of Greece"). For if so, Rashi should have written "r'sha'ah upon his wicked women." From Rashi's writing "upon his wickedness" it is implied that the reish in the word "rish'ah" is pointed with a chirik (as in "and all wickedness shall go up in smoke"), and it refers to Esav's wickedness. It is more reasonable to say that the glossator's intent is only to explain that Esav's wickedness (which added to his earlier wickedness) is that he married a wicked woman on top of the wicked women he already had. But even so, it is very puzzling how this could be the interpretation of Rashi, for Rashi did not mention at all that Machalas was wicked, and had this been Rashi's intent he would have written so clearly: "he added a wicked woman" (and the like).]
b) The expression "Had he sent away the earlier ones, it would have been good" in the Midrash comes at the beginning of the matter, whereas Rashi reverses the order and writes this expression ("for he did not divorce the earlier ones") at the end of the matter.
3. It may be said that the two changes depend on one another. According to the Midrash, Esav's wickedness was in marrying another wicked woman, "pain upon pain," and "Had he sent away the earlier ones, it would have been good" is only an introduction to exclude the view of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi (just before it), that "he set his mind to convert." This cannot be said, for if so he should have divorced the earlier ones. But in Rashi's view Machalas was not wicked. That is why Rashi wrote, "He added wickedness to his wickedness, for he did not divorce the earlier ones": this itself is the wickedness Esav now added, that he did not divorce the earlier ones, as will be explained below in section 4.
It is compelled by the content of the parsha that Machalas was not wicked. The whole reason Esav married the daughter of Yishmael was that he saw "that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Yitzchak his father," and he wanted to give pleasure to his father and to marry a woman who would be upright in his eyes. Therefore he went to Yishmael to marry a woman of good lineage specifically [this is the precision in the wording of the verse, "(And Esav went to Yishmael) and took Machalas the daughter of Yishmael the son of Avraham" — for seemingly "the son of Avraham" is superfluous, and what does it teach us? Rather, by this the verse emphasizes that Esav married a woman of distinguished lineage, the daughter of "the son of Avraham"]. If so, it is reasonable to say that he took a fit woman, and not a woman like his earlier wives, who were "a bitterness of spirit to Yitzchak and to Rivkah."
4. But the matter still requires explanation: how can it be said that his wickedness lay in "that he did not divorce the earlier ones"? What does this have to do with "and he took Machalas…"? The wickedness of "not divorcing the earlier ones" had been with him for quite some time (since he married them). What is the point that at that time "he added wickedness to his wickedness (in that) he did not divorce the earlier ones"?
The explanation of this may be stated simply: Esav's wickedness in taking his first wives was not only that he married women who were "a bitterness of spirit to Yitzchak and to Rivkah," but also because of the hypocrisy and deception in those marriages. As Rashi explains on the verse "And Esav was forty years old": "Esav is likened to a pig… This pig, when it lies down, stretches out its hooves as if to say, 'See that I am pure.' So these rob and plunder and make themselves appear upright. For all forty years Esav was hunting women… When he was forty he said, 'My father married a wife at forty; so too shall I.'"
This is also what (the verse and) Rashi say at the end of our parsha — "And he took Machalas… in addition to his wives," "he added wickedness to his wickedness, for he did not divorce the earlier ones." Just as his first marriages were an act of hypocrisy (so that they should say he conducted himself like Yitzchak his father), so too in marrying Machalas he added wickedness of the same kind as his earlier wickedness. He took a fit woman only so that Yitzchak would say he was returning in teshuvah, when it was only hypocrisy, for "he did not divorce the earlier ones." That is: marrying a fit woman while his other wives are not fit shows that this marriage is hypocrisy and wickedness.
[According to this, the words "in addition to his wives" in the verse do not come to teach what Esav's wives have in common (as above in the Midrash, "pain upon pain"), but to describe Esav's wickedness: although he now took a fit woman, it was nevertheless "in addition to his wives" — "for he did not divorce the earlier ones."]
5. From the "wine of Torah" in Rashi's commentary:
The accounts in the Torah in general are not a mere story, G‑d forbid, but exist because of the directives for the service of G‑d hidden in them (Torah from the word horaah, directive). All the more so the accounts of the offspring of Esav, which "were not important and valued enough to be explained" in the Torah: every detail of them that appears in the Torah has a directive for the service of the Jewish people.
From this it is understood in our case as well that the account at the end of our parsha about Esav's marriage to Machalas the daughter of Yishmael is relevant to the service of the Jewish people. Within this there is a special lesson according to Rashi's interpretation, that Esav's "wickedness" is his "hypocrisy." That is: the deficiency in hypocrisy is not only that it misleads and deceives; "hypocrisy" itself is (the essence of) Esav's "wickedness."
This will be understood by first noting the general difference between the accounts of Esav in Parshas Toldos and those in Parshas Vayishlach. Our parsha relates (mainly) the matters of Esav connected with Yitzchak ("And these are the generations of Yitzchak"), whereas in Parshas Vayishlach the events of Esav come in connection with Yaakov. The main difference between them: with Yitzchak, Esav tried to deceive him so that he should think him righteous, as Rashi explains on the verse "for there was game in his mouth"; whereas with Yaakov his brother he went in open war.
These two aspects of Esav are a directive for the service of each Jew. There are two kinds of evil — open evil, and hidden evil, covered and concealed in good. Just as one must stand with full force against open evil (in which one cannot be mistaken), so, and even more, one must beware of the mixture of good and evil, hidden evil. On the contrary, the war against this evil is harder.
This is like what we find with Yaakov himself, who stayed in the house of Lavan twenty years, whereas his being with Esav lasted only one day (as it is said, "And Esav returned that day on his way to Seir"). It is explained on this that "Lavan the Aramean" represents deceit and trickery, and to overcome and nullify deception requires a long time; whereas Esav, who went in open war against Yaakov, hints at open evil, which Yaakov overcame quickly.
It may be said that Esav's deception and hypocrisy toward Yitzchak is even lower and worse than Lavan's "deception" toward Yaakov. For in concealing evil within good there are two modes: a) by concealing the evil as much as possible; b) by emphasizing and publicizing the good. This is the difference between Lavan and Esav. Lavan only deceived Yaakov so that he should not recognize his evil thought. But Esav conducted himself like this pig, which "stretches out its hooves as if to say, 'See that I am pure'": not only does it hide its impure sign, but it acts to publicize its "fitness." And the work of refining this deception is much harder than nullifying ordinary deception.
It may be said that this is also why the Torah relates Esav's marriage to Machalas the daughter of Yishmael. By this the verse reveals to us how far Esav's hypocrisy went, that he acted in this in the manner of "he added wickedness to his wickedness." The "stretching out of his hooves" went so far that for its sake he took a truly fit woman, while he remained Esav the wicked, with all his earlier wickedness not removed from him at all: "he did not divorce the earlier ones."
From this comes a directive to every single Jew, how careful one must be regarding hypocrisy: for the evil inclination may agree that a person should do good deeds, while his wickedness has not left him at all!
6. According to this explanation of the matter of Esav the wicked, one can better understand the words of the Alter Rebbe on the reason for the length of this final exile. These are his words: "The matter of the length of this exile compared with the earlier exiles: one must understand the wars of Yaakov with Esav, which were in a short time, for he fought with him and defeated him, while with Lavan he stayed twenty-two years… until it is said, 'And Yaakov came whole.' [The explanation is] that Esav… whatever his heart desires he hastens to do, for he went in the stubbornness of his heart, only evil all day, and everything is in the open; he says what he wants and is not deceitful. And it is easy to fight him, not to do according to his will in all the things he craves and desires… And so in the early generations, they were in the open: whoever was wicked was not ashamed to do evil… Therefore our Sages said: The early generations, whose sin was revealed, their end was revealed; but the later generations, whose sin was not revealed… 'not revealed' means that they cover their sin, and the deceiving of people is not discernible, that he is able to commit a sin… but in secret, and he is ashamed to transgress in the open… The evil is hidden and concealed and covers itself with the service of G‑d… And this was the war of Yaakov with Lavan, who was most deceitful, and it was most difficult, for he also had to act toward him with deception, since it was impossible otherwise. Therefore their war lasted a long time, and this is the length of this exile, which is the level of Lavan." End of quote.
Seemingly this is not understood: it is known that this last exile is the exile of Edom, for "Esav is Edom," and according to the above, it is explained that this exile is connected specifically with Lavan, and not with Esav, who went in the open, "and is not deceitful"?
According to the above this is resolved, for in Esav himself there are two modes. Toward Yaakov his brother Esav went in open war, and therefore Yaakov overcame him without staying a long time (and Yaakov's war against the trait of "deception" was while he was with Lavan the Aramean, and therefore he had to stay there twenty years). But toward Yitzchak his father, Esav conducted himself with deception, and even more than the deception of Lavan, as above, and this "refinement" of Esav is even harder than the refinement of Lavan.
This is the reason why this final exile (whose service is to nullify this deception, as above) is specifically the exile of Edom, which is compared to a pig (as stated in the Midrash, "And the pig — this is Edom"), which "stretches out its hooves as if to say, 'See that I am pure.'" This is the reason for the length of this exile: its main refinement is to nullify such a hidden evil, which, in addition to being mixed with good (as with Lavan), further "stretches out" (emphasizes) the good outwardly and in the open, saying, "See that I am pure."
7. It may be said that the reason this hypocrisy of Esav was only toward Yitzchak is according to what is known regarding the blessings of Yitzchak. Yitzchak wanted to bless Esav specifically because Yitzchak "looked" at Esav and saw him as he is from the standpoint of his root, and he saw the good hidden in him (such as the souls of the converts who came from him, "such as Rabbi Meir, Onkelos, Shemayah and Avtalyon, and Ovadiah"). And he said that through the blessings this good would come out from concealment to revelation (even in Esav himself), in such a way that it would entirely nullify the evil in him.
So too in our case: the "good" in Esav — which is what gives room for his deception, to mix good with evil and even to stretch out his hooves and say, "I am pure…" — derives from the good hidden in his root. Therefore the refinement of this evil in Esav belongs specifically to Yitzchak.
This is also the content of the service of the Jewish people in this final exile, the exile of Edom: to refine even this evil of Esav (the father of Edom), until the time of the end, when the good hidden in him will be revealed (as it appeared to Yitzchak). Through this "Edom" too is transformed to good — as our Sages said, "The pig is destined to become pure" (which also hints at Edom, "the pig — this is Edom") — in the fulfillment of the promise, "And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esav, and the kingdom shall be the L‑rd's," speedily, truly in our days.
(From talks of Shabbos Parshas Toldos and Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach, 5727; Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei, 5740)
Key Lesson
Open evil can be beaten in a day. The hard fight is against evil that wears good and flaunts it, like the pig stretching out its hooves: "See that I am pure." The evil inclination may even agree to good deeds, so long as the wickedness itself stays. That is the refinement of this long exile, and its reward is that even Edom's hidden good will come to light.