{"id":38124,"date":"2018-08-19T08:43:23","date_gmt":"2018-08-19T05:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=38124"},"modified":"2022-03-13T16:54:00","modified_gmt":"2022-03-13T14:54:00","slug":"a-tension-between-the-ideal-and-the-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-tension-between-the-ideal-and-the-real\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tension Between The Ideal – And The Real"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[486,485,490,363],"acf":{"old_id":"38124","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34002,"related_cahpter":"27","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Isaac sees through Esau's outer shell and recognizes Esau's internal qualities from a heavenly point of view...","content":"

“When Isaac was old, and his eyes were too dim to see\u2026” (27:1)<\/span><\/p>\n

The Midrash offers several explanations for Isaac’s blindness. One of them is that while he was lying on the altar, the heavens were exposed to him, and he glimpsed the <\/span>Shekhina<\/span><\/em> \u2013 the divine presence. Rather than kill him, God choses to ‘close his windows’ (Bereishit Rabbah 65).<\/span><\/p>\n

But why, then, is his blindness mentioned only here, so many years later? And what additional reading does this midrash add to the story of the blessings that appears in this chapter?<\/span><\/p>\n

Perhaps his peek into heaven provided Isaac with a different view of things on earth. An added point of view, as things are seen in heaven. God, from his point of view, can see good even in evil. Isaac sees in Esau what others cannot. He may see his wild nature as a powerful, albeit raw and primeval, force, which if properly directed can be a driving force for great creativity and spirituality. This is a force that Jacob, the <\/span>ish<\/span> tam<\/span><\/em>, \u201cthe mild man,\u201d lacks. Isaac acknowledges the potential in Esau’s nature and chooses to bless him with prosperity. Isaac’s seemingly strange choice is explained.<\/span><\/p>\n

But so is Rebecca’s. Isaac sees through Esau’s outer shell and recognizes Esau’s internal qualities is a heavenly view, and belongs to an ideal world. Human conduct on earth, seeking to make it a better place, cannot always ignore the outer shell and the damage it may cause. Rebecca sees this angle. Paradoxically, her view that favors Jacob exclusively, is the more mundane view, however, in this world, where truth and justice must be relative and cannot be absolute and ideal, it is apparently the preferred view, even by the heavens. <\/span><\/p>\n

And so, Isaac’s eyes are dimmed, his ‘windows’ are shut, twofold: practically, which enables Jacob’s receiving of the blessing that was meant for Esau; but, more importantly: symbolically \u2013 Isaac’s heavenly view is pushed aside, blocked from influencing the outcome in this story, in this world. The ideal solution \u2013 the combination of Esau’s raw power with Jacob’s righteousness, will need to wait for a more ideal future.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":102962,"id":102962,"title":"-622e057719a0f--622e057719a10gen27-shell nut heart inner.jpg","filename":"622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/a-tension-between-the-ideal-and-the-real\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner-jpg\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner-jpg","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":38124,"date":"2022-03-13 14:53:43","modified":"2022-03-13 14:53:58","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1276,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg-300x199.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg-768x510.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":510,"large":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg-1024x681.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":681,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1021,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1276,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg-1200x798.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":798,"home_baner":"https:\/\/cetwpuploads.blob.core.windows.net\/wp929\/uploads\/2018\/08\/622e057719a0f-622e057719a10gen27-shell-nut-heart-inner.jpg-632x420.jpg","home_baner-width":632,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"A Tension Between the Ideal - 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