TheSong of the Dove

 

Rebecca the Matriarch Is To Give Birth to Twins

In this portion of the Song of the Dove Web Site, we look at Esau, the twin brother of Jacob who is an integral part of the story of the succession of Abraham. In other portions of the web site we have shown that the process of finding a successor for Abraham is a long and convoluted one - not just for Abraham, but for the generations that come after him. Here we see that just as Abraham and Sarah were childless for many years, so too are their son Isaac and his wife, Rebecca. In fact, Isaac and Rebecca are forced to wait twenty years before they can finally have children:

Isaac prayed to the Lord in the presence of his wife, because she was childless. And the Lord answered him, and Rebecca his wife became pregnant. The sons raced around inside her, and she said, "If so, then why do I exist?" And she went to ask for an explanation from the Lord.

And the Lord said to her, "two nations are in your stomach, and two peoples will be separated from your innards. One people will exert itself because of the other, and the greater one will serve the lesser one." (Genesis 25:21-23)

When Rebecca goes to receive prophetic information about the future of the children inside her, it is revealed to her why she was suffering so intensely. The seeds of a whole new phase in the struggle for the successor of Isaac's inheritance from Abraham have been launched inside her. Twins, already struggling with each other within the womb! Who will be the first to be born? Who will be the leader? And, birth order having been established, is that the end of the inheritance question?

The Twins' Personal Qualities

Since both of the twins are the grandsons of Abraham through Abraham's successor son Isaac, there can be no doubt that Isaac brought them into the Pact of the Lord by circumcising both of them on their eighth day of life, as the Lord had commanded Abraham and his descendants. In fact, throughout their childhood they have had generous contact with Abraham, who clearly is involved with the affairs of his grandchildren. Both receive first-hand instruction from Abraham in mercy, loving-kindness, a love for all human beings and the fear of the Lord which we have seen was Abraham's legacy.

Tradition teaches that both children, though they look different, are very much the same until they reach the age of thirteen, when their paths clearly diverge:²²

The youths grew up. Esau became a hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a simple man, an indoor, scholarly type. Isaac loved Esau, because he always had prey in his mouth; and Rebecca loved Jacob. (Genesis 25:27-28)

Note that here, the Biblical narrative describes a difference of opinion between Isaac and Rebecca about which qualities are important for the successor of Isaac. Rebecca favors Jacob, because Jacob's studiousness and inner peacefulness are traits that she sees as necessary for a successor to the Legacy of Abraham. Isaac, on the other hand, is convinced that the proper qualities for his successor are bravery, strength, and active assertiveness. These he sees exemplified in the older twin, Esau.

Esau Marries Canaanite Women

Tradition teaches that Esau, though shunning formal schooling and more comfortable with the weapons of war and hunting than with study, loves his father and strives to honor him.²³

And just as Isaac waited until the age of 40 to marry, so too does Esau. But we see that Esau's criteria for wives are quite different from those of his father:

When Esau was 40 years old, he took for a wife Yehudit the daughter of B'eiri the Hittite and Bosmat the daughter of Eilon the Hittite. They were a spirit of rebellion to Isaac and to Rebecca. (Genesis 26:34-35)

Isaac was betrothed to Rebecca through an arranged marriage, without ever setting eyes on her. Rebecca is Isaac's own cousin, who was obtained as Isaac's soul-mate through the efforts of Abraham and his servant Eliezer.

Esau, on the other hand, is a man of passion and political cunning. At the time of Esau and Jacob, the Hittites were among the Canaanite tribes that ruled the Land of Canaan where Abraham and his family lived. The narrative relates that each of Esau's first two wives are from the tribe of the Hittites. One source mentions that Esau's two wives, Yehudit and Bosmat, are the daughters of Canaanite nobles. Certainly, in his eyes, it is socially advantageous for Esau to be related by marriage to the region's Canaanite elite.

Isaac Blesses Jacob, Thinking He is Esau

Isaac's favoring of the elder of his twin sons, Esau, is to take a decisive turn. As Isaac grows old, he decides that the time has come to designate a successor, just as Abraham chose him, Isaac, over his brothers, to carry the privilege and burden of the work of disseminating the knowledge of the One Lord.

Tradition states that Esau is aware of his father's favor, and that Isaac favors him over his brother as the successor of Abraham's legacy. Esau even tries to cultivate the impression that he is studious and devoted to service of the Lord.²⁴

Yet as we see from other episodes in the Bible, Esau spends his energies as a trapper and killer, rather than a hunter of divine wisdom; and when pressed, he is quick to place those interests above Isaac's hopes that Esau will be the leading practitioner of the legacy of Abraham.

As Isaac prepares to bestow his blessing of leadership upon Esau, we see that circumstances, along with the alternate plans of Rebecca and Jacob, are to drastically alter what Isaac expected would be the outcome of his blessings. Here, Jacob comes before his blind father, disguised as his older brother Esau. Isaac, thinking his visitor is Esau, coming to receive the blessing as Isaac had ordered, blesses him as befitting the inheriting leader who is destined to follow in the footsteps of Abraham and Isaac:

And Isaac his father said to him, "Please, come closer and kiss me, my son." And he came closer, and he kissed him, and he smelled the scent of his clothes, and he blessed him, saying, "See, the smell of my son is like the smell of the field that the Lord has blessed.

May the Lord give you from the dew of heaven, and the fat of the land, and lots of grain and new wine.

Peoples will serve you, and nations will bow down to you. You will dominate your brothers, and the sons of your mother will bow to you. Those who curse you will be cursed, and those who bless you will be blessed." (Genesis 27:27-29)

Isaac Blesses Esau As Well

And when Isaac was finished blessing Jacob, just as Jacob was leaving Isaac his father's presence, Esau his brother came from his trapping. He also made tasty food, and he brought it to his father and said to his father, "Stand up, my father, and eat from the game of your son, so that your soul will bless me!"

And Isaac his father said to him, "Who are you?" And he answered, "I am your son, your first born - Esau."

Isaac shuddered a tremendous shudder, and he said, "But - he trapped prey and brought it before me, and I ate from everything before you came here, and I blessed him. And he will be blessed!"

And Esau said to his father, "What, do you have just one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" And Esau lifted up his voice and cried. (Genesis 27:30-34)

One could reach the conclusion, as some students of the Biblical narrative have, that this blessing is given in a case of mistaken identity, and therefore is actually invalid. Yet if we look carefully we see that Isaac himself not only accepts the mistake as irrevocable, he actually confirms and validates its surprising outcome. Isaac knew well from a lifetime lived in the service of the Lord that the Lord's ways are mysterious to men. Therefore he was willing to accept this turn of events as an expression of the true will of the Lord.

After he realizes that his best intentions have been thwarted due to forces beyond his control, Isaac regains his composure. He understands that although only one of his sons will be the true inheritor of leadership in the service of the Lord, both of them are deserving of special blessing. Therefore he is now prepared to acquiesce to Esau's pleadings for a blessing as well:

And Isaac his father responded, and said to him [Esau], "Here - from the fat of the earth will be your home, and from the dew of heaven above. And by your sword you will live, and your brother you will serve; but when you are down, you will throw off his yoke from your neck."

Therefore Esau held a grudge against Jacob, because of the blessing that his father had blessed him. Esau said to himself, "the days of mourning for my father are approaching - I will kill my brother Jacob." (Genesis 27:39-41)

Tradition states that in Isaac's blessing to Esau,

"From the fat of the earth will be your home" (Genesis 27:39)

refers to Italy, and in particular, the famous city-state called Rome. In fact, the founders of the city of Rome are understood to be descendants of Esau. ²⁵

In fact, the connection between Esau and Rome is a topic of considerable interest to Jewish tradition.²⁶

There are other places in the Bible that also hint at Esau's connection to Rome. Towards the end of the Book of Genesis, in a lengthy section discussing the genealogy of Esau, the following passage is found:

And these are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their clans, in their locations, according to their names: The chief of Timna, the chief of Alva, the chief of Yeteit. The chief of Aholivamah, the chief of Eilah, the chief of Pinon; the chief of K'naz, the chief of Teiman, the chief of Mivtsar. The chief of Magdiel, the chief of Iram.

These are the chiefs of Edom according to their settlements, in the land of their holding, which is Esau, the founder of Edom. (Genesis 36:40-43)

According to tradition, the name Magdiel here is another name for Rome.²⁷

In the fourth century of the common era, the Emperor Constantine, the ruler of the mighty Roman empire that at its height, consisted of a large part of the world, converted to Christianity. In one move, the inestimable political and economic resources of the world's greatest empire were put behind a new incarnation, the Roman Catholic Church.

Esau Marries Into the Family

At this point in the narrative, Esau must feel cornered. Surely he is aware that his choice of wives is making his parents miserable. And, as we will see further on, in the story of Jacob, Isaac clearly decides that what was done is done, and what he had thought was a mistaken case of identity is clearly the Lord's way of showing him who the Lord really intends to be Isaac's successor.

Esau senses that his position has changed in his father's eyes. And Isaac, learning from Esau's marital mistakes, becomes resolved that Jacob should not repeat them:

Esau saw that Isaac blessed Jacob, and sent him to Padan Aram to take for him from there a wife. In blessing him, he commanded him, saying, "Don't take a wife from the women of Canaan!"

And Esau saw that his Canaanite wives were bad in the eyes of Isaac his father. So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalat, daughter of Ishmael, son of Abraham and sister of N'vayot, in addition to his wives, as a wife for himself. (Genesis 28:8-9)

Tradition gives us differing ways of understanding Esau's decision to take a third wife, a woman from his own extended family. Esau may have intended to do away with both his brother Jacob and his father Isaac, by bringing his uncle Ishmael into the plot. Ishmael would then be an accomplice in the murder of Isaac over old grudges. According to this view, Esau reasons that he and Ishmael would inherit everything from Isaac, once Jacob is out of the picture. Then, Esau would be able to eliminate his uncle, and upon Ishmael's death, Esau would inherit everything for himself.²⁸

But from another angle, we have noted that tradition praises Esau for the degree that he fulfills the Lord's commandment of honoring his parents. Esau is constantly careful of the honor of Isaac. In this light, we can understand Esau's marriage into the family as an act of reconciliation with his parents. Just as Jacob was being sent to find a wife from Rebecca's own family, so too Esau would gain favor by marrying into the family.²⁹

Esau Leaves Canaan for the Hill Country of Seir

In the following passage, we see that Esau was certainly a power in his own right, but had the common sense to pick up and move away from his brother Jacob:

And Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all the members of his household, and his flocks and all his livestock, and all the property that he had acquired in the Land of Canaan, and he went to another land because of Jacob his brother. Their property was too great for them to live together, and the land of their wanderings was unable to support them because of their livestock.

So Esau settled in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom. (Genesis 36:6-8)

Here we see that Esau finally accepts that he could not in his lifetime wrest the inheritance of Abraham and Isaac from his brother's hands. But we mustn't forget the conditions that Esau was born into:

And the Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your stomach, and two peoples will be separated from your innards. One people will exert itself because of the other, and the greater one will serve the lesser one." (Genesis 25:23-24)

"...And by your sword you will live, and your brother you will serve, but when you are down, you will throw off his yoke from your neck." (Genesis 27:40)

From this we see that historically, Esau is locked into a see-saw relationship with his twin, Jacob. When one is up, the other is down, and vice versa.

Of the four periods that the descendants of Jacob, the Jewish People, are exiled from the Holy Land, the last and longest exile is called "The Exile of Edom." This exile began with the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans, whom we have shown are the descendants of Esau, some 1900 years ago. There are some who say that the exile of Edom is still in effect; but there are others who point to its official demise in May 1948, when the United Nations voted to resurrect an independent Jewish state, the State of Israel, once again in its traditional place: the Land of Israel, also known as the Land of the Jews.

It is important to note the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church, the oldest and most powerful organization of Christianity in the world, to the emergence of the modern State of the Jews in the Land of Israel. The Church is spiritually and physically centered in Rome, a city which tradition traces directly to the descendants of Esau himself. Even the pope, the recognized leader of nearly a billion Christians throughout the world, seems to be aware of the Church's original roots in the Roman Empire.³⁰

Fifty years ago, the Catholic Church greeted the rebirth of the Jewish State with an official, uncomfortable silence: According to fundamental principles of its faith, the Jewish People had been destroyed and flung from their land after the first century of the Common Era, never to return. It remains to be seen how the Catholic Church and other focal points of Christianity can come to terms with the existence of an independent Jewish State in the Holy Land of the Patriarchs.

Esau is the Ancestor of the Amalekites

One of the directions that the spiritual and cultural descendants of Esau can go is typified in the deeds of the nation that stems from one of Esau's grandsons, Amalek. The people, and idea, that descend from this branch of Esau's descendants are called Amalekites in the Bible:

These are the descendants of Esau, the father of Edom, in the mountains of Seir.

These are the names of the sons of Esau: Elifaz the son of Ada, wife of Esau; and Re'uel the son of Bosmat, wife of Esau. The sons of Elifaz were Teiman, Omar, Ts'fo, and Ga'atam and K'naz.

And Timna was the mistress of Elifaz the son of Esau; and she bore to Elifaz Amalek. These are the children of Ada, wife of Esau. (Genesis 36:9-12)

The Bible tells us that a woman named Timna, the daughter of one of the kings of the descendants of Seir, part of the Hittite nation of the Canaanite peoples who lived in the territory in which Esau took up residence, became the mistress of Esau's son Elifaz.

According to tradition, Timna, the Hittite princess, wanted very much to be part of this family, famous for its kindness and good virtues. She therefore preferred to be mistress to Abraham's great-grandson, rather than be married off to Canaanite royalty. The product of this relationship was Amalek.³¹

The Amalekites Attack As Israel Leaves Egypt

The ancient national entity known as Amalek plays a very special role in the Bible:

And the entire congregation of the Children of Israel traveled from the Sin desert, according to their travels by the word of the Lord, and they camped in Refidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.

And Amalek came and waged war with Israel in Refidim. (Exodus 17:1, 8)

Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you left Egypt: How they encountered you on the way, and cut off all your weak ones straggling after you, and you were tired and exhausted, and you did not fear the Lord. (Deuteronomy 25:17)

Amalek is that force whose essential mission is the annihilation of the Jewish People. He is a powerful mutation of his grandfather Esau, and is the first nation to attack the Israelites after they left Egypt. Tradition says that the mercenary forces of Amalek are ready and waiting in the wings throughout every generation to destroy the nation of Israel.³²

It must be pointed out that Israel is partially responsible for giving Amalek the power to wreak such havoc. When Israel is divided, and in doubt of the veracity of their own uniquely close connection with the Lord, Amalek can drive a wedge into the people, splitting them further and breaking down their defenses until, like a wolf attacking a flock of lambs, Amalek attacks from behind, finishing off the stragglers one by one.

Tradition holds that the descendants of Amalek have surfaced a number of times throughout history, fomenting entire nations into attempting to eradicate the seed of the Children of Israel from the face of the globe. One such example occurs in the story of the Book of Esther, where the Haman, minister to the King of Persia, devises a plan for the destruction of all Jews throughout the massive Persian empire. Haman is a direct descendant of Agag, who was king of the Amalekites in the time of King Saul of Israel.

But what is the connection with Esau? Amalek represents the dark, pathological, fratricidal side of world culture. Amalek is the embodiment of Esau's statement:

"... I will kill my brother Jacob." (Genesis 27:41)

It is vital to know that Amalek is an aspect of the anger that rages in Esau. But it should be mentioned that this anger is not directed at Jacob and his descendants alone. Amalek's real goal in eliminating the nation of Israel is to break the connection of the Creator of the Universe to His Creation. Amalek's attacks on Israel are a thinly concealed rebellion against the Lord of the Universe himself.

The story of Amalek lurks behind the rise and fall of the third Reich in Germany, some fifty years ago. The Nazi plan was based upon the subjugation of the Jewish race, whom Nazism blamed for all of the world's evils. The Nazi program spread in Germany because the Germans were uniquely suited to be the implementers of such a plan. In fact, towards the war's conclusion, even as Allied troops were marching into Germany and the German war effort was no longer able to defend the German homeland, the Nazi leadership continued to divert more and more resources from the war effort to their real plan: the total annihilation and eradication of the nation of Israel from the earth.

And how does Christianity fit in here? Why, just as Nazism and many other rebellions against the Lord's dominion in the world are a direct expression of Amalek, Esau is the true progenitor of the theology and the policy of Christianity. And the connection of Esau to Amalek means that Christianity has always had at its disposal, but is nevertheless free to disavow, the 'Amalek option.'

Sadly, Christianity has more than once employed its Amalek connections in the past twenty centuries. A Roman Catholic priest and theologian has conservatively estimated that more than 20 million of the Children of Israel (including the casualties of the Holocaust perpetrated only fifty years ago by the Christian German nation) have lost their lives as victims of Christian or Christian-related fervor in the form of pogroms, riots, blood-libels, auto-da-fes, and other forms of public policy. ³³

Ancient Jewish Rabbinic tradition has much to say about the future of Esau as well. ³⁴

Esau's Spiritual Return

According to the Biblical narrative, Esau's defining personality traits are clear from even before his birth. Esau's greatest weakness is his willingness to resort to violence and even homicide when his interests clash with those of others around him.

The centrality of this trait can be seen in a particular section of Midrash:³⁵

History is witness to how deeply this quality of Esau is stamped into his descendants. The culture of Rome, viewed in the Western world as the bedrock for orderly government and civilization, has always contained a seamier side. The practice of unleashing starved, wild animals upon prisoners and the condemned became widespread as a national spectator sport throughout the Roman Empire. The lust for blood and violence was so strong in this tradition that everywhere in the wake of Roman conquest, public structures were built at great cost to provide place where gladiatorial combat and even mock naval battles (complete with full-scale ships and artificial lakes in the center of the stadium) were fought to the death for the amusement of crowds of enthusiasts.

This characteristic did not end with the fall of Rome. Rather, Rome's spiritual heir, Christianity, while outwardly preaching love and kindness to others, was itself from the very beginning enmeshed in violence and even massacres in the name of the advancement of the religion. The history of Christianity, its relations with fellow believers and with those who held to differing faiths, is marked by violence on a grand scale. Each phase of the development of Christianity, from forced conversions, auto-da-fes, the Crusades, and inquisitions, down to the bloody wars of the Middle Ages and our own times, reveal this inherent proclivity in Esau's descendants.

How then can Esau and his descendants help in the Repair of the world? By addressing the most urgent issue facing them, through the concept of Return.

FOOTNOTES:

22 The Genesis Exegesis (Breishit Rabah), 63, 10:

Rabbi Levi said, "[The twins were] like a myrtle and a thorn bush that grew side by side. And when they had grown and had flowered, one gave off its fragrance, while the other - its thorns. So it was for those thirteen years: both of them would go to school, and come back from school. But after thirteen years, one went to the academies [of Shem and Aiver]; the other went to temples of idolatrous worship."

23 Rabbi Shimon (Simon) the son of Yohai, The Book of Radiance (Zohar), Section Toldot, p. 146, b:

Said Rabbi Issa: "'A son will honor his father, and a slave, his master' (Malachi, 1:6): 'a son' - this is Esau. There was never a person in the world that loved his father like Esau loved his father. In the merit of that love with which he loved his father, the Holy One, May He Be Blessed, waited for him all the time he ruled in this world. And he [Esau] caused Israel to shed tears under his dominion, until Israel returns to the Holy One, May He Be Blessed, with crying and tears, as it is written: 'with tears they will come, and through supplications I will bring them back.'"

24 The Great Exegesis (Midrash HaGadol), Genesis, 27, 8:

"... He always had prey in his mouth" (Genesis 25:28): "He [Esau] would ask about the fine points of the Commandments, and he would appear as if he were proper."

25 The Genesis Exegesis (Breishit Rabah), 67, 6:

"From the fat of the earth will be your home" (Genesis 27:39) - this is Italy.

Explanation of the Maharzu (Rabbi Zev the son of Israel Issar Einhorn of Horodna):

Italy - that is, Rome, as it is written in Josephus [Flavius, an historian who lived at the end of the Second Temple period in Israel], that the son of Elifaz [the son of Esau] sailed to and was made king in Italy, and he stayed there, he and his descendants. Therefore, Rome is considered to be Edom.

26 Esau's Connection to Rome

In a startling meeting between Jewish tradition and Roman pagan mythology, the following passage appears:

The Esther Exegesis (Esther Rabah), 3, 5:

Claimed the Collective Soul of Israel before the Holy One, may He Be Blessed: "Master of the Universe, You saw that the evil Esau would come in the future to destroy the Jerusalem Temple, and exile Israel from their Land ... but [why is it that], 'You helped and orphan' (Psalms 10:14) - two orphans that remained of him [Esau], Romus and Romilus: You permitted the female wolf to nurse them, and in the end they stood and built two great towers in Rome."

NOTE: According to Roman mythology, the founders of Rome were two brothers, Romilus and Remus, who, were orphaned and abandoned, and were raised in the wild in a litter of a female wolf. The image of this wolf, standing as the two human infants suckle milk from her udder, is a well-known symbol of the ancient nation-state of Rome.

It should be noted that Roman tradition itself relates that Rome was first built into a fortified powerful political entity when one of the orphan brothers, Romilus gained control over the city by means of a protracted struggle with his brother, which ended with Romilus murdering and overthrowing Remus. Here, Romulus gives vent to the desire for fratricide, a wish expressed long before his time his ancestor Esau.

27 The Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer (Pirkei d'Rebbe Eliezer), 38:

And Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all the members of his household, and his flocks and all his livestock, and all the property that he had acquired in the Land of Canaan, and he went to another land because of Jacob his brother (Genesis 36:6-8) -

And as a reward for uprooting all that was his to make room for Jacob his brother, he was given 100 cities, from Seir until Magdiel, as it is said, "The Chief of Magdiel, the Chief of Iram" (Genesis 36:43) - this is Rome.

28 The Genesis Exegesis (Breishit Rabah), 67, 8:

Our Teachers explain: "And Esau said to himself" (Genesis, 27:42) - 'If I kill him, there are Shem and Eber who will sit in judgment on me and say, "why did you kill your brother!" Instead, why don't I go and marry Ishmael's daughter? He [Ishmael] will then come and contest with him [Jacob] over the birth right, and will kill him - I will stand up as a rightful avenger, and I will kill him [Ishmael]- and I will inherit both families!'

29 Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai, The Book of Radiance (Zohar), Section Toldot, p. 146, b:

Said Rabbi Issa: "'A son will honor his father, and a slave, his master' (Malachi, 1:6): 'a son' - this is Esau. There was never a person in the world that loved his father like Esau loved his father. In the merit of that love with which he loved his father, the Holy One, may He Be Blessed, waited for him all the time he ruled in this world. And he [Esau] caused Israel to shed tears under his dominion, until Israel returns to the Holy One, may He Be Blessed, with crying and tears, as it is written: 'with tears they will come, and through supplications I will bring them back.'"

30 Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, Solomon the son of Isaac), Commentary on the Pentateuch, Genesis 36:43:

"Magdiel - He is Rome."

Catholicism's Pope Pays a Visit to the Ancient Headquarters of the Roman Empire

The question surely deserves to be asked - where is Esau today, in our modern times? Or, stated another way: if we assume that the Bible is teaching us about Esau so that we may understand that he is the forebear of an entire socio-political force throughout history then who are Esau's successors?

As was stated in the introductory words of this site, tradition clearly indicates that Esau's legacy lives in our day in the form of Christianity, the religion that is the framework of belief for nearly a billion people on the planet. The most powerful and traditional branch of Christianity, Roman Catholicism, connects directly, as its name indicates, with the ancient global power, Rome. In our times, a simple Polish priest by the name of Karol Wojtyla, having risen through the Papal ranks to be appointed pope, the supreme leader of the Catholicism, has taken an unusually activist role in promoting the ancient traditions and ideals of the Catholic Church on a global scale.

Very recently, the Pope has made public proclamations and statements that hint of the original, concealed roots of his faith. For example, in January 1998 the Pope visited the Capitoline Hill, that famous symbol of the power of the Roman Empire at its heyday. (Note that the Capitoline Hill is only a few meters from the Vatican City, the technically independent city-state where the Pope and the Church governing apparatus live.)

Here is what the Pope had to say during his recent visit to this famous spot:

"The Capitoline Hill is the cradle, seat and symbol of Rome's history and mission," John Paul said. "And Rome must set the example for the whole world..." (quoted from the Associated Press news agency report of Thursday, January 15, 1998; 1:17 p.m. EST)

The question begs to be asked: what is the message that the Pope intends to convey by paying homage to the centrally powerful symbols of the ancient Roman Empire?

To grasp the answer, we must understand what the Capitoline Hill was to the Romans:

 

	It was the Capitoline Hill that functioned as the nerve center for the far-flung Imperial Rome.
	Here was the location of Rome's traditional pantheon of pagan gods.
	From this site, the Roman Senate launched its early military campaigns for dominance of the world's trade routes.
	Later on, during the era of the Roman Emperors, it was from the Capitoline Hill that Vespasian and Titus were sent to the Middle East to quell the upstart rebellion against  the might of Rome. This revolt began in the tiny provence of Judaea, known today as the Holy Land. Titus' victorious campaign climaxed with the burning of Jerusalem and the slaughter of the bulk of her inhabitants, with the survivors being exiled to slavery in Rome. Jewish slave labor built Rome's famous Colosseum.
	From the Capitoline Hill, the Emperor Hadrian, a ruler two generations after Titus, directed the completion of the work of his predecessors. Hadrian had the remaining  residents of Jerusalem put to the sword and the city reduced to cinders and rubble. He plowed the destroyed capital and the fields surrounding it with salt, and rebuilt it as a pagan garrison city which he called in his name: Aelia Capitolina. And on the city mountaintop where the Great House of the Lord had stood for so long, Hadrian built a temple to glorify the pagan gods of the pantheon of Rome.

 

Even more puzzling about the Pope's comments: they fly in the face of the accepted story of the condemning and execution of Jesus of Nazareth. For according to official Church pronouncements, it was these very same Romans who ultimately executed Jesus by crucifixion. What exactly is the example that the Pope wishes to learn, and teach, from the ancient Romans?

Furthermore, the Pope himself has taken in recent years to refer to the Jews as "Christianity's elder brothers." (AP news report, Wednesday, December 24, 1997; 6:34 p.m. EST) Does this mean that the Pope is admitting to what the Bible has made clear for thousands of years - that the birthright which has so long been the object of struggle between Jacob and Esau, is truly and legitimately the property of Jacob and his descendants, effectively recognizing that Jacob is the de-jure and de-facto "older brother" of the two?

If so, then the Pope is expressing, consciously or otherwise, an historic recognition of the righting of an ancient wrong. Assuming this is true, it would be a healthy development indeed.

31 The Babylonian Talmud (Talmud Bavli), Tractate Sanhedrin, 99, b:

Who was Timna? She was the daughter of kings, as it is written, " ... the Chief of Lotan, the Chief of Timna," (Genesis, 36:29, 40). Each chief was a king without a crown.

She [Timna] wanted to convert. She came to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they wouldn't take her in. So she went and became a mistress to Elifaz the son of Esau, saying, "better to be a slave-girl to this nation than to be a matron to another nation!"

32 Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, Solomon the son of Isaac), Commentary on the Pentateuch, Exodus 17:16:

The hand of the Holy One May He Be Blessed is lifted up above His throne in an oath, that it shall be for Him war and enmity against Amalek for all time.

33 Fr. Edward H. Flannery, "The Anguish of the Jews", Chapter 1.

34 The Future of Esau

Is Esau really, truly personified by Amalek in the world, forced into an endless replay of Amalek's way of seeing things? Or are there other qualities in Esau that might redeem him, and bring to accept the reality that the birthright, and spiritual leadership that came with it, were destined for his younger brother Jacob? This remains to be seen. History has not yet played itself out to its very end. All doors lie open before Esau, and there is still an opportunity for his descendants to choose a new path, one that leads in a different direction. Perhaps Esau will tire of the Amalek option that he has chosen to follow so much since the time of the Bible.

Esau and his descendants can choose the manner in which they approach their brother, Jacob:

With the weapons of war:

And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the King of Edom: "So says your brother Israel: you knew all the troubles that have found us. ... Please, allow us to cross your land. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, and we will not drink water from wells. We will walk on the King's Highway, and we will not turn to the right or to the left until we have crossed your border...."

And he [Edom] said, "you will not pass!" And Edom went out to confront him with a large amount of people and with a show of strength. (Numbers 20:14, 17, 20),

Or with words of appeasement and peace:

And Esau ran towards him [Jacob] and embraced him, and he fell on his neck and kissed him. And they cried. (Genesis 33:4)

The Book of Exegetics (Sifrei), Numbers 9:10:

Rabbi Shimon (Simon) ben Yohai said: "It is a well-known principle that Esau hates Jacob; rather [in this case], his [Esau's] mercy was aroused at that moment - and he [Esau] kissed him with all his heart."

35 The Book of Exegetics (Sifrei), Section V'Zot HaBracha:

"And he [Moses] said: The Lord came from Sinai ... " (Deuteronomy 33:2)

When the Omnipresent appeared before Israel to give the Law, not to Israel alone did He appear, but to all the Nations. At first He went to the Children of Esau, and said to them: "Will you accept the Law?" They replied, "What is written in it?" He said to them, "'You shall not murder.' (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16)" They said in front of Him, "Master of the Universe, the very essence of our forefather [Esau] is a murderer [as it is written:] '... and the hands are the hands of Esau' (Genesis 27:22), and our forefather trusted only in the sword [as it is written:] '... and you will live by your sword'! (Genesis 27:40) - we cannot accept the Law."

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