Unconditional love

“Isaac loved Esav because he ate his game; but Rebecca loved Jacob.” (Genesis 25:28)

The actual Hebrew of this verse reads that Rebecca “loves” Jacob, in the present tense.

According to Rabbi Isaiah HaLevi Horowitz, we can understand this verse according to a teaching of our sages in Chapters of the Fathers (5:16). “Any love that is dependent on something will vanish when that thing vanishes. But a love that is not dependent on something will never cease.”

Isaac’s love for Esav is described as contingent on the food that Esav provided – that’s why the love is spoken of in the past tense. But Rebecca’s love for Jacob was not tied to anything, it was unconditional and therefore described in the present, ongoing sense.

Sharing is caring!

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

2 Responses

Leave a Reply

Don’t Stop Here

More To Explore

Wanting God

“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob…” (Exodus 6:3). This seems to be a very straightforward and unambiguous statement by God to Moses.

Question, Challenge, Pray

“You don’t learn by having faith. You learn by questioning, by challenging, by re-examining everything you’ve ever believed. And yet, all this is a matter

Flaunt not

“You have enough. Circle the mountain and turn to the north” (Deuteronomy 2:3). Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz, in his commentary Kli Yakar, spins this verse

contact

%d bloggers like this: