Two Nations Fighting Within

(21) Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD responded to his plea, and his wife Rebekah conceived. (22) But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” She went to inquire of the LORD, (23) and the LORD answered her, “Two nations are in your womb, Two separate peoples shall issue from your body; One people shall be mightier than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.” (24) When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. (25) The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau. (26) Then his brother emerged, holding on to the heel of Esau; so they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when they were born.

ויתרוצצו, “They quarreled.” According to Rashi the wrangle inside Rivkah’s womb concerned two worlds. According to the plain meaning of the text, seeing that Esau developed a lot of body hair whereas Yaakov was smooth skinned, Esau’s hair kept rubbing Yaakov’s skin, resulting in violent movement inside her womb, Yaakov trying to escape being scratched.

ותאמר: אם כן וגו', “she said: ”if so, etc.” according to Rashi she said that “if my desire to found a nation of twelve tribes involves so much pain as part of the pregnancies, why did I ever aspire to become the founding mother of such a nation?” According to a Midrash, Rivkah’s complaint of למה זה אנכי was the reason that it was not she who became the founding mother of the twelve tribes. In practice, it was Esau who inadvertently damaged Rivkah’s uterus to the extent that she could not again become pregnant. Other commentators interpret Rivkah’s complaint not as directed against future pregnancies, but as her immediate fear of her embryos seeing the light of the world too soon due to their conduct within her womb. She was afraid of giving birth to premature babies, babies that would die at birth or shortly thereafter. Her complaint was that if she had to undergo all these pains only in order to abort at the end, what was the point in her becoming pregnant in the first place? Why would she have been singled out for such a difficult pregnancy? Yet other scholars see Rivkah’s question as not addressed to G’d, but to other women who had born children successfully. After these women told her that they had not experienced any of the symptoms Rivkah had been plagued by during her pregnancy, she then addressed the question of why she had been singled out to G’d, (using the head of the academy of Shem and Ever as her intermediary) Nachmanides understands Rivkah’s question as wanting to know if her children were already quarrelling before they were born, her own life would not be worth living and she would be better off dead.

Rabbi Jehudah said: Rebecca was barren for twenty years. After twenty years (Isaac) took Rebecca and went (with her) to Mount Moriah, to the place where he had been bound, and he prayed on her behalf concerning the conception of the womb; and the Holy One, blessed be He, was entreated of him, as it is said, "And Isaac intreated the Lord" (ibid. xxv. 21). The children were contending with one another within her womb like mighty warriors, as it is said, "And the children struggled together within her" (ibid. 22). The time of her confinement came round, and her soul was nigh unto death owing to her pains. And she went to pray in the place whither she and Isaac had gone, as it is said, "And she went to inquire of the Lord" (ibid.). What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? Jacob took hold of the heels of Esau to make him fall, as it is said, "And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's heel" (ibid. 26). Hence thou mayest learn that the descendants of Esau will not fall until a remnant || from Jacob will come and cut off the feet of the children of Esau from the mountain of Seir, as it is said, "Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands" (Dan. 2:45). Another Scripture text says, "Vengeance is mine, and a recompence, at the time when their foot shall slide" (Deut. 32:35).

למה זה אנכי, why were my relatives so concerned that it would be I who provide the seed for Yitzchok when they said את היי לאלפי רבבה, “may it be you who will be the source of millions.” (24,60) Also, why did my husband insist that I become the mother of his children?

ואחרי כן יצא אחיו וגו AND AFTERWARDS HIS BROTHER CAME OUT, ETC. — I have heard a homoletical midrash that expounds it according to its simple meaning: It was with justice that he was grabbing him to hold him back. Jacob was conceived from the first drop and Esau from the second. Go and learn from a tube with a narrow opening - put in it two stones, one after the other. The one that goes in first will come out last, and the one that goes in last will come out first. It comes out that Esau, who was conceived last, came out first, and Jacob, who was conceived first, came out last. And [so] Jacob came to hold him back, so that the first for birth would be the same as the first for conception; and he would open [his mother's] womb and take the first-born status with justice (see Genesis Rabbah 63:8).