(נז) וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ נִקְרָ֣א לַֽנַּעֲרָ֑ וְנִשְׁאֲלָ֖ה אֶת־פִּֽיהָ׃ (נח) וַיִּקְרְא֤וּ לְרִבְקָה֙ וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֵלֶ֔יהָ הֲתֵלְכִ֖י עִם־הָאִ֣ישׁ הַזֶּ֑ה וַתֹּ֖אמֶר אֵלֵֽךְ׃
(נט) וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֛וּ אֶת־רִבְקָ֥ה אֲחֹתָ֖ם וְאֶת־מֵנִקְתָּ֑הּ וְאֶת־עֶ֥בֶד אַבְרָהָ֖ם וְאֶת־אֲנָשָֽׁיו׃ (ס) וַיְבָרֲכ֤וּ אֶת־רִבְקָה֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְרוּ לָ֔הּ אֲחֹתֵ֕נוּ אַ֥תְּ הֲיִ֖י לְאַלְפֵ֣י רְבָבָ֑ה וְיִירַ֣שׁ זַרְעֵ֔ךְ אֵ֖ת שַׁ֥עַר שֹׂנְאָֽיו׃
(57) And they said, “Let us call the girl and ask for her reply.” (58) They called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will.”
(59) So they sent off their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men. (60) And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “O sister! May you grow into myriad thousands; May your offspring seize the gates of their enemies.”
May you grow into myriad thousands - May you and your seed receive that blessing which was promised to Abraham on Mount Moriah, (Genesis 22:17) “I will greatly multiply thy seed … [and let thy seed possess the gates of their enemies]”. May it be God’s will that that seed may proceed from you and not from another woman.
(יט) וְאֵ֛לֶּה תּוֹלְדֹ֥ת יִצְחָ֖ק בֶּן־אַבְרָהָ֑ם אַבְרָהָ֖ם הוֹלִ֥יד אֶת־יִצְחָֽק׃ (כ) וַיְהִ֤י יִצְחָק֙ בֶּן־אַרְבָּעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה בְּקַחְתּ֣וֹ אֶת־רִבְקָ֗ה בַּת־בְּתוּאֵל֙ הָֽאֲרַמִּ֔י מִפַּדַּ֖ן אֲרָ֑ם אֲח֛וֹת לָבָ֥ן הָאֲרַמִּ֖י ל֥וֹ לְאִשָּֽׁה׃
(כא) וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר יִצְחָ֤ק לַֽה' לְנֹ֣כַח אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י עֲקָרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וַיֵּעָ֤תֶר לוֹ֙ ה' וַתַּ֖הַר רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ (כב) וַיִּתְרֹֽצֲצ֤וּ הַבָּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔הּ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִם־כֵּ֔ן לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה אָנֹ֑כִי וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ לִדְרֹ֥שׁ אֶת־ה'׃
(19) This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac. (20) Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean.
(21) Isaac pleaded with the Eternal on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Eternal responded to his plea, and his wife Rebekah conceived. (22) But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why is this me?” And she went to seek answers from the Eternal.
ויתרוצצו. עַ"כָּ הַמִּקְרָא הַזֶּה אוֹמֵר דָּרְשֵׁנִי, שֶׁסָּתַם מַה הִיא רְצִיצָה זוֹ וְכָתַב אִם כֵּן לָמָּה זֶּה אָנֹכִי?
רַבּוֹתֵינוּ דְּרָשׁוּהוּ לְשׁוֹן רִיצָה; כְּשֶׁהָיְתָה עוֹבֶרֶת עַל פִּתְחֵי תּוֹרָה שֶׁל שֵׁם וָעֵבֶר יַעֲקֹב רָץ וּמְפַרְכֵּס לָצֵאת, עוֹבֶרֶת עַל פֶּתַח עֲבוֹדַת אֱלִילִים, עֵשָׂו מְפַרְכֵּס לָצֵאת.
דָּבָר אַחֵר מִתְרוֹצְצִים זֶה עִם זֶה וּמְרִיבִים בְּנַחֲלַת שְׁנֵי עוֹלָמוֹת.
ותאמר אם כן. גָּדוֹל צַעַר הָעִבּוּר.
למה זה אנכי. מִתְאַוָּה וּמִתְפַּלֶּלֶת עַל הֵרָיוֹן:
But [the children] struggled - This verse calls out to us, "Interpret me!" For it does not explain what this struggling was about and then it says, “If so, why is this me?"
Our Rabbis interpreted [the word ויתרוצצו] to mean "running." For whenever she passed by the doors of the Torah (i. e. the Schools of Shem and Ever) Jacob ran and tried to get out, but whenever she passed by a door of idol-worship, Esau ran and tried to get out. (Genesis Rabbah 63:6).
Another explanation is: they struggled with one another and fought over how they should divide the two worlds as their inheritance (Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 111:2).
And she said, "If so..." - If the pain of pregnancy be so great,
Why is this me? - Why did I desire and pray to become pregant? (Genesis Rabbah 63:6).
ותאמר אם כן למה זה אנכי
אם כן גדול צער העבור למה זה אנכי מתפללת ומתאוה על ההריון לשון רש"י ואיננו נכון
ורבי אברהם אמר כי שאלה את הנשים אם אירע להם ככה ותאמרנה לא ותאמר אם כן הדבר והמנהג למה זה אנכי בהריון משונה והנה הכתוב חסר ואיננו שלם בפירוש הזה
והנכון בעיני כי אמרה אם כן יהיה לי למה זה אנכי בעולם הלואי אינני שאמות או שלא הייתי כטעם כאשר לא הייתי אהיה (איוב י יט):
And she said, "If so, why is this me?"
Rashi says: "If the pain of pregnancy is so great, why did I desire and pray to become pregnant?" And that is not correct.
Rabbi Abraham [Ibn Ezra] says: "She was asking other women if it this had happened to them, and they told her, 'No.' And so she said, 'If that is the regular way,' why do I have such a strange pregnancy." But that explanation would mean the verses themselves are incomplete and lacking information.
The correct interpreation, in my eyes, is that she said, if such a thing is happening to me, why am I in the world? I’d rather die, or never have lived! Much like what Job said: "Would that I had never been!" (Job. 10:19)
(לא) וַיֹּ֖אמֶר יַעֲקֹ֑ב מִכְרָ֥ה כַיּ֛וֹם אֶת־בְּכֹֽרָתְךָ֖ לִֽי׃ (לב) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר עֵשָׂ֔ו הִנֵּ֛ה אָנֹכִ֥י הוֹלֵ֖ךְ לָמ֑וּת וְלָמָּה־זֶּ֥ה לִ֖י בְּכֹרָֽה׃
(31) Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.” (32) And Esau said, “I am at the point of death, so of what use is my birthright to me?”
ויתרוצצו הבנים בקרבה וגו'.
רציצה זו היה שבעברה על פתח ביהמ״ד של שם ועבר יעקב מפרכס לצאת ועשו מעכב ע״י, ובעברה על פתח ע״ג עשו מפרכס לצאת ויעקב מעכב על ידו,
והיא סברה שאין הדבר כן אלא ולד אחד בבטנה ורוצה לצאת בין לפתחי בתי מדרשות בין לפתח ע״ג וא״כ ח״ו שמא שתי רשויות יש, לפיכך אמרה למה זה אנכי כי כמוני כשאר נשים עובדי ע״ג ומה יתרון יש לי עליהם אם ח״ו שתי רשויות יש, לפיכך ותלך לדרוש את ה' ר״ל לדרוש אחר מציאת ה' ממש מהו.
And the chidren struggled in her womb -
This "struggling" happened when she would pass by the door of the Beit Midrash of Shem and Ever, Jacob struggled to come out, and Esau grabbed his hand. And when she would pass by the door of idol-worship, Esau struggled to come out, and Jacob grabbed his hand.
But she did not reason out the matter this way. For she thought that there was only one child, who wanted to go into the doors of both Torah and Idolatry. And therefore, she thought, have mercy, maybe there are two Dominions (i.e. two gods) !! And so she asked, “If so, why am I not acting like all the other idolators? What do I gain [by my faith] if there are, have mercy, really two gods?!" Therefore she went to seek God, which is to say, she went to seek after the real nature of God’s existence.
And the Eternal answered her, “Two nations are in your womb, Two different peoples shall emerge from your insides; One people shall be mightier than the other, And the greater shall serve the younger.”
(6) Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I overheard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying, (7) ‘Bring me some game and prepare a dish for me to eat, that I may bless you, with the Eternal's approval, before I die.’ (8) Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you. (9) Go to the flock and fetch me two choice kids, and I will make of them a dish for your father, such as he likes. (10) Then take it to your father to eat, in order that he may bless you before he dies.” (11) Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am smooth-skinned. (12) If my father touches me, I shall appear to him as a trickster and bring upon myself a curse, not a blessing.” (13) But his mother said to him, “Your curse, my son, be upon me! Just do as I say and go fetch them for me.”