Judaism: How do We Bless Ishmael and Esau's

Descendants today?
Do Esau and Ishmael deserve the blessings they received?
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Published: Friday, November 21, 2014 1:28 AM

Professor Gerald Aranoff

The writer is Professor of Accounting, Ariel University Center of Samaria,...
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King Solomon with heavenly inspiration tells us The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere
God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind: that God will call every creature to
account for everything unknown, be it good or bad (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14).
Shabbat 30b: The end thereof is religious teaching, as it is written, The sum of the matter, when all is said
and done: Revere God and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind (Ecc. 12:13) What
is meant by, For this applies to all mankind?-Said R. Eleazar, The entire world was created only for the
sake of this [type of] man. Simeon b. Azzai--others state, Simeon b. Zoma--said: The entire world was
created only to be a companion to this man.
Chagigah 5a: R. Hanina b. Papa said: Whoever does something [wrong] and repents of it, is forgiven at
once, for It is said: But [first] I will step forward to contend against you, and I will act as a relentless
accuser against those who have no fear of Me: Who practice sorcery, who commit adultery, who swear
falsely, who cheat laborers of their hire, and who subvert [the cause of] the widow, orphan, and stranger,
said the Lord of Hosts (Malachi 3:5). But if they do fear Me, they are forgiven at once.
Surely, Isaac knew this very well in this weeks Torah portion. Surely Isaac knew that God will select
comparable to the selection of the sons of Levi as in:Moses said further to Korah, Hear me, sons of Levi.
Is it not enough for you that the God of Israel has set you apart from the community of Israel and given you
access to Him, to perform the duties of the Lords Tabernacle and to minister to the community and serve
them?(Numbers 16:8-9).
Only God makes that selection as He did to Abraham and only because Abraham obeyed God: I will
bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands
on the seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes. All the nations of the earth shall
bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command. (Gen. 22:17-18).

God made that selection to Isaac stressing that Abraham kept Gods commandments: The Lord had
appeared to him and said, Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land which I point out to you. Reside in
this land, and I will be with you and bless you; I will assign all these lands to you and to your heirs,
fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your heirs as numerous as the stars of
heaven, and assign to your heirs all these lands, so that all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves
by your heirsinasmuch as Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge: My commandments, My laws, and
My teachings. (Gen. 26:2-5).
The Bible records that Isaac sought to bless Esau. Isaac changed his mind and did not want to bless Esau.
Only after Esau pleaded with tears did Isaac blessed him: His father Isaac said to him, Who are you?
And he said, I am your son, Esau, your first-born! Isaac was seized with very violent trembling. Who
was it then, he demanded, that hunted game and brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came,
and I blessed him; now he must remain blessed! When Esau heard his fathers words, he burst into wild
and bitter sobbing, and said to his father, Bless me too, Father! But he answered, Your brother came
with guile and took away your blessing. [Esau] said, Was he, then, named Jacob that he might supplant
mea these two times? First he took away my birthright and now he has taken away my blessing! And he
added, Have you not reserved a blessing for me? Isaac answered, saying to Esau, But I have made him
master over you: I have given him all his brothers for servants, and sustained him with grain and wine.
What, then, can I still do for you, my son? And Esau said to his father, Have you but one blessing,
Father? Bless me too, Father! And Esau wept aloud. (Gen. 27:32-37).
The blessing Isaac gave Esau: And his father Isaac answered, saying to him, See, your abode shall enjoy
the fat of the earth And the dew of heaven above. Yet by your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your
brother; But when you grow restive, You shall break his yoke from your neck. (Gen. 27-39-40).
The last blessing Isaac gave Jacob is very spiritual: So Isaac sent for Jacob and blessed him. He instructed
him, saying, You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women. Up, go to Paddan-aram, to the
house of Bethuel, your mothers father, and take a wife there from among the daughters of Laban, your
mothers brother, May El Shaddai bless you, make you fertile and numerous, so that you become an
assembly of peoples. May He grant the blessing of Abraham to you and your offspring, that you may
possess the land where you are sojourning, which God assigned to Abraham. (Gen. 28:1-4).
The Rabbinical view is that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob obeyed Me and kept My charge: My
commandments, My laws, and My teachings while Esau did not. When the boys grew up, Esau became a
skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in camp. (Gen. 25:27).
On Mount Sinai God promises us: Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall
be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to Me a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the children of
Israel. (Exodus 19:5-6).
How could Isaac give a spiritual blessing to Esau a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors?? Esau, in the
midrash, was a wicked man---a murderer, rapist, etc.
Yet Isaac did want to bless Esau. Why? Surely to encourage Esau to become good.
Surely Abraham, too, felt and prayed that would only Ishmael become good---we would then have the
complete redemption.
How shall we bless descendants of Ishmael and Esau today? We should bless then with peace and physical
prosperity -- your abode shall enjoy the fat of the earth And the dew of heaven above. This should
encourage them to repent of evil and to fear God. If they repent and fear God---well have the complete
redemption. May we see it speedily in our times.

All our prayers in the synagogue end with: And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day there
shall be one Lord with one name (Zechariah 14:9).