Eisav lived a double life. He was a different person from the one he pretended to be

“…And Eisav was a man who knew how to hunt, a man of the field; and Yaakov was a pure and straight person who dwelt in tents.” (Bereishis 25:27)

When speaking about Eisav, the Torah describes him twice as an ish, a man. That means there were two distinct aspects of his personality: hunting and farming. But while Yaakov is also described in two ways, tam (pure) and a dweller of tents, the word ish only used one time. Why? (Rabbi Yissocher Frand, Torah.org)

I

’m a SAHP — a Stay at Home Person. I like my house and my house likes me back. My recliner knows just how to treat my back, and my kitchen coffee corner lets me fill a cup o’ joe even when I’m half asleep.

But life is constantly pulling you away from home. Last week I had to accompany someone to Hadassah Ein Kerem. You can’t get much farther than the comforts of home than the hospital. The large waiting room sounded like the United Nations. Sitting on one of those uncomfortable plastic chairs that I seriously think are patented just for hospital waiting rooms, I felt so uncomfortable. The noise, the pressure, the company… it all made me feel out of my element, and I just wanted to finish up and go home. (Note to unsuspecting self: Time doesn’t exist in hospitals and you should always expect a long wait.)

In the 1950s, the author of the Mishchas Shemen asked the Shotzer Rebbe if he thought mankind would ever really put a man on the moon. He responded with a definitive “No!”

Yet in 1969, a man walked on the moon! The author of the Mishchas Shemen now had a strong question on the Shotzer Rebbe’s answer. As the Rebbe was no longer alive by that time, the author went to the Biala Rebbe and shared his quandary.

The Biala Rebbe didn’t say, “The moon landing was all a fake — it took place in a Hollywood studio,” (as some claimed at the time). Instead, he said that Neil Armstrong’s landing didn’t contradict the Rebbe’s answer. How so? Even though America indeed placed a man on the moon, Neil Armstrong couldn’t survive on his own on the moon. He needed oxygen from earth and a space suit from earth. His lifeline made him still an “earthling,” not a “moonling,” despite the moon landing.

With this the Mishchas Shemen explains why Yaakov Avinu is only called ish once, not like Eisav. No matter what Yaakov did or where he went, his lifeline was always in the “tent,” in the makom Torah. All dimensions of his life stemmed back to the ohalei Torah.

On the other hand, Eisav lived a double life. He was a different person from the one he pretended to be, twisting his personality to trick others.

I was starting to feel like an alien from an alternative universe when the door to the examination room opened and a Gerrer chassid stepped out, peyos tucked under his huge yarmulke. I felt instant planet companionship. There’s a large chassidish community where I live, so this spelled home for me. Not only that, the chassid wasn’t a patient. He was the doctor.

Under his green surgical shirt, he wore his tzitzis and vest, and his pants were the genuine chassidish garb, looking just as out of place as I felt.

A student of Rav Hutner ztz”l once complained to him that he felt he was living a “double life.” He was a ben Torah but spent the majority of his workday in a very secular environment. Rav Hutner answered reassuringly. As long as one derives his chiyus, inspiration from Torah, then regardless of how he spends his day, he’s still in the beis medrash.

When our turn came, this doctor welcomed us with “Vus macht a Yid?” and when he needed to take a blood sample, he prefaced it by whispering, “B’Sheim Hashem naaseh v’natzliach.”

Upon completing the exam, he wished us a refuah sheleimah with a strong chassidish accent, and we returned to the crowded hallway, aliens once again. But this time, we had warm feelings inside. Home isn’t just where we plant our bodies, it’s where our hearts connect and can be accessed anytime, anywhere. I was left dreaming of the day when all of Yerushalayim will be this type of home for all of us.

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 969)