Rivkah, the “Mother of Truth” Yaakov
is considered in Jewish Tradition to be the “Ish HaEmet,” that one of
our forefathers who best exemplified the “midah,” or characteristic, of
“Emet,” or Truth. Three
events depicted in the Bible seem, at first glance, to contradict the above
characterization: 1.
Yaakov’s behavior at the beginning of Parshat Toldot, when he
“bought” the birthright from his older brother, for a pot of soup 2.
His apparent deception of his father, Yitzchak, into thinking that he
was Esav, allowing him to receive the blessing that was meant for Esav 3.
His deception of Lavan, by performing some sort of meta-biological
trick, to cause the sheep Lavan had given him to give birth only to the type
that was to be Yaakov’s salary The
above apparent paradox requires us to look more carefully at the Torah’s
requirement for adherence to the truth.
When the Torah wishes to impose a total ban on an activity, it makes
no bones about it. “Lo
Tirtzach,” “You shall not murder;” where “murder,” of course,
means unjustified killing. Perhaps
a better example: “Lo Tinaf,” “You shall not commit adultery,”
declares the Author of the Torah. There
are no situations in which a man is permitted to live with another
man’s wife. What
the Torah says with regard to truth-telling is a little more flexible:
“Mi-D’var Sheker Tirchak,” “Stay far away from a lie.”
Meaning that surely it is best in most cases, to refrain from lying.
However, there are exceptions. One
obvious exception is in time of war. One
does not tell one’s enemy, “I’m going to bomb your troops tomorrow at
twelve noon at the Kyber Pass.” The
Gemara in Bava Metzia 23b says that there are three types of situations in
which a Talmid Chacham is not required to tell the truth, and in fact, in
those situations, it may even be more appropriate not to tell the truth: 1.
“B’Mesechta” – regarding a tractate of the Talmud, meaning if
the Torah scholar is asked, “Do you know a certain tractate ‘inside and
out?’ ” he may say “No,” because of the requirement of modesty. 2.
“B’Puria” – regarding intimate relations with his wife,
meaning if he is asked by some foolish and nosy person, “Did you live with
your wife last night?” he may
say “No,” because of the requirement of “Tzniut,” personal modesty. 3.
“B’Ushpiza” – regarding being a guest, meaning if he is
asked, “Were you treated well at Mr. A’s house?” he may say “No,”
even if he was, to prevent his host from being deluged by visitors. Yaakov
recognized Esav even before birth for what he was, an enemy with a ruthless,
murderous streak, that it would take all of history for him to shed.
Meanwhile, the two were at war.
As mentioned above, one aspect of “War is hell!” is that a
soldier must shed his fidelity to the truth. Lavan,
described in the Haggadah as even more wicked that Pharaoh, in his desire to
uproot the Jews altogether, was another enemy with whom Yaakov was forced to
deal “Measure for Measure.” Only in the second situation listed above, when Yaakov deceived his father, Yitzchak, was Yaakov dealing with an individual who, far from being a “Rasha,” a wicked person, was a “Tzaddik,” a righteous person. When his mother, Rivkah, told him to don Esav’s clothing and pretend to be Esav, Yaakov initially refused. His nature required allegiance to the truth. And he loved and respected his father. He said (Bereshit 27:12), “My father may feel me, and I will be in his eyes a mocker, and I will bring upon myself a curse, and not a blessing.” Here
Rivkah rises to the occasion, with her great insight and holy spirit.
She says to Yaakov, as only a mother could (Bereshit 27:13), “I
would take upon myself your curse, my son.” Not
only did Rivkah take upon herself any possible immediate curses, but she
took upon herself all the curses that might befall Yaakov’s descendants,
as the Holy People Chosen by G-d, and bound to observe the Torah.
She would pray always that Yaakov’s descendants would never be
destroyed. The
Parshah mentions explicitly the death of Devorah, the nursemaid of Rivkah,
but the Midrash hears in this a hidden reference to the death as well of
Rivkah, an event that the Torah did not wish to mention explicitly.
Perhaps it was Devorah who taught Rivkah her deep understanding of
truth. Shortly thereafter, the
Torah mentions that Yaakov erected a “matzeva,” a monument to the honor
of G-d, explicitly, but perhaps a monument, as well, to the memory of Rivkah,
implicitly, at Beit E-l. Afterwards, he will erect another “matzeva”
in Beit Lechem, when Rachel dies. (On
a personal note, the unveiling of the “matzeva” for my mother, Devorah,
like Rivkah another woman of truth, was held last Sunday). The secret weapons of the Jewish people are now in place, their great Imahot, who will plead for the protection of their children until the Final Redemption. Rabbi Pinchas Frankel |
