"And Isaac entreated the L-rd for his wife, because she was barren; and the L-rd let Himself be entreated of him, and Rebecca his wife conceived. And the children struggled together within her; and she said: 'If it be so, wherefore do I live?' And she went to inquire of the L-rd." And the L-rd said unto her: Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy insides; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger." (Genesis 25:21-23)
Let's envision the scenario. Rebecca finally conceives after twenty years of marriage. She's exuberant; however her happiness is marred by the extremely difficult pregnancy. She therefore decides to consult with Shem the Prophet. Shem informs her that she is carrying twins who will father disparate nations. She returns home at ease.
This entire episode begs for an explanation.[1]
1) How could our matriarch Rebecca have become despondent? Where was her faith?[2]
2) If she has a medical issue, let her approach an obstetrician. What assistance could a prophet render her?
3) Why did she consult with Shem (Noah’s son) and not with Isaac or Abraham?
4) How did the prophet assuage her concern if the severe kicking never abated?
To understand Rebecca’s pregnancy woes, we must first examine the Jewish concept of pregnancy. The Talmud (Niddah 30) relates that the prenatal period is the happiest and most pleasurable time in a persons life. An angel teaches the fetus the entire Torah, and the fetus’s soul hovers over its body[3], granting it the ability to see, hear, and experience the world without bounds. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein[4] (1895-1986) writes that from the moment of conception a fetus already has a portion in the World to Come (even if it miscarries) and will merit resurrection. However the soul is still in development while in the womb. Whatever it experiences prenatally could either sully or sanctify its soul. Therefore a pregnant woman should be extra careful to conduct herself in a holy and proper manner.[5] Many women have a custom during pregnancy to avoid looking at indecent matters and non-kosher animals (i.e. animals in a zoo), and not to enter cemeteries[6]. One should be especially careful to only eat strictly kosher food[7], and to be exposed to proper talk and sounds.[8] The mother-to-be should visit places of Torah learning and prayers and listen to Torah study.[9]
The Talmud stresses how the development of the fetus’s soul is influenced in large part by its mother. The Talmud (Yoma 82b) relates that a pregnant woman desired to break her fast on Yom Kippur, so Rebbi advised somebody to whisper into her ear that today is Yom Kippur. She immediately recovered from her urge. Rebbi said that this fetus will surely merit to be righteous akin to the verse from Jeremiah 1:5 regarding the unborn child, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee”; and indeed she merited to give birth to the great Talmudist Rabbi Yochanan.
The Mishna in Avos 2:8 sings the praises of Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Chanania by saying “Praiseworthy is the mother who bore him!” The Jerusalem Talmud (Yevamos Ch. 1) explains that his mother used to bring him during infancy into the study hall so that he would be exposed to Torah and become holy, therefore she merited that recognition.
Scientific research over the past number of years has yielded interesting findings regarding prenatal development. One research article summarized the literature as follows: “The idea that fetuses and newborns are capable of interacting with and being deeply imprinted by their social environments may be revolutionary from the standpoint of conventional Western science, but it is far from new. Indeed, many ancient and additional cultures— including some of the most "primitive" ones known—have beliefs that agree closely with what we are learning from age-regression studies.” [10]
In the case of Jeanne d'Albret, mother of King Henry IV of France, ‘sweet’ music was played to her every morning during her pregnancy in the belief that the fetus could hear the music, and that the music would help to mold the baby's temperament. Historians of the day reported that Henry IV was always in good spirits, as a direct consequence of this procedure![11]
Clearly the beginning is crucial.[12] A newly-minted 23 year old father approached Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, known as The Steipler Gaon (1899–1985) for some parenting advice. Rabbi Kanievsky replied that he is 23 years too late. Parenting begins by molding the parent! Our sages maintain that the famed rabbinic apostate Elishah Ben Avuyah (Acher) went astray due to his father's wrong intentions and his mothers desire to eat non-kosher food while she was pregnant.[13]
With this in mind, let’s return to our original four questions. The foremost commentator Rashi quotes the Midrash which explains the struggle inside her womb was that when Rebecca would pass by places of Torah study Jacob would toss about attempting to exit, and when she would pass places of idol worship, Esau would attempt to exit. Rebecca however was unaware that she was carrying twins. She therefore feared that her single child was a spiritual schizophrenic. That thought frightened her more than anything else. She blamed herself for the spiritual deficiency in her child, and attributed the positive energy in this child as coming from Isaac. Because she was the mother, she felt responsible for this child’s spiritual destiny. She exclaimed that her life is worthless if she merely perpetuates the evil that her father and brother embodied. At this point she sought out the prophet Shem to pray for her child.[14] She didn’t dare approach her husband Isaac or her father-in-law Abraham, lest they would think that she was the culprit and was unworthy of remaining married to Isaac.[15] Shem mollified Rebecca by informing her that she was carrying twins who were engaged in a spiritual battle. Although she wasn’t thrilled by the reality that Esau wasn’t going to be Rabbi Righteous, she was quite relieved that she was going to have at least one pristine child who could carry on the Abrahamite tradition, albeit in a struggle with his older brother. [16]
This explains Rebecca’s frame of mind, now let’s focus on Esau. The Talmud (Nidda 16b) states that righteousness and wickedness is not predetermined. The Torah also informs us that the evil inclination does not enter the body until birth. Accordingly, how could Esau have evil dispositions already in the womb[17]? Rabbi Yehudah Loew (popularly known as the Maharal of Prague 1525-1609) explains that although Esau was not intrinsically evil, he had evil proclivities which were malleable. Indeed until age 13, he seemed just as righteous as Jacob. It was only when he turned bar mitzvah and Isaac allowed him more freedom for personal development did his true colors shine.[18] Had Esau been reared in a more customized fashion, perhaps his righteous potential would have emerged.[19] Jacob however didn’t want to take any chances even in the womb. Although he was studying Torah with an angel, he couldn’t bear to learn in such close proximity to Esau, so he sought to leave.[20]
What could have saved Esau? Only a good wife! Even wicked Esau could have been made righteous had he married a wife such as Dina the daughter of Jacob.[21]The Talmud (Berachos 8a) implores every righteous man to pray for a proper wife. The reason being is that a wife is not only a soul mate; she is also the insurer of the next generation’s spiritual level beginning with conception!
May we all merit to increase the level of spirituality for ourselves, our spouse, and our children (both born and unborn!).
[1] Ohr Hachayim
[2] See Ramban who understands her plea as saying that she would be better off dead.
[3] Maharal ibid
[4] Igros Moshe Yoreh Deah 3:138 quoting Talmud Sanhedrin 110b and Talmud Kesubos 111a.
[5] Sefer Shevet Hamusar Ch. 24
[6] See Shut Minchas Yitzchak siman 42:2 for sources
[7] Darchei Moshe O”CH Siman 617.
[8] Sefer Habris Maamar 17
[9] Sefer Shevet Hamusar Ch. 24
[10] Heinberg, R. Shift: At the Frontiers of Consciousness; Mar-May2005 Issue 6, p16-17, 2p, Creativity Begins in the Womb.
[11] Much research has been conducted on the pre-natal learning stage. In an interesting survey of the research published in the Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Journal, William B. Sallenbach, Ph.D writes: “There is also a growing body of research which attempts to understand the prenate as an intelligent and sentient being. This has been one of the main pursuits of David Chamberlain (1988; 1992; 1993, 1994). Henry Truby demonstrated that by 28 weeks gestational age, mothers and premature infant voices could be matched on voice spectrographs. The work of Anthony DeCasper (DeCasper and Fifer, 1980; DeCasper and Spence, 1982; DeCasper and Prescott, 1984) reveals a complexity of bonding and language processing during the prenatal period.
In his work, Chamberlain (1992, p. 222) has pointed to the surprising musical intelligence demonstrated by prenates. Premature infants hearing Brahms' Lullaby in the hospital nursery, had accelerated growth and were discharged sooner than non-stimulated babies (Chapman; 1975). Peter Hepper (1988) has demonstrated that the prenates of mothers who listened to "soap opera" theme music during pregnancy showed a preference for the same music during the postnatal period. It has also been reported that unborn children respond favorably to portions of Vivaldi and Mozart, but with hyperactivity to rock music and other heavy classical compositions (Clements, 1977, Verny, 1991). Gellrich (1993) has even postulated that musical abilities developed prenatally can be enhanced and accelerated throughout early childhood.”
-Sallenbach,W.B. Pre- and Perinatal Psychology Journal, Claira: A Case Study in Prenatal Learning
[12] See Daas Torah by Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz cheilek 3 pp.202-210 where he expounds on this theme at length. He quotes the Gaon of Vilna Peirush Avnei Eliyohu Al Sidur who demonstrates the pattern of the importance of beginnings: circumcision was the first mitzva and therefore it is equal to all mitzvos, Tzitzis was the first positive commandment so it is also equal to all mitzvos, Shabbos is the first negative commandment so it is equal to all mitzvos, and the first beracha of shemona esrei must be recited with concentration. Also see Nedarim 20a-b
[13] Tosfos Chagiga 15a based on Jerusalem Talmud Chagiga 2:1
[14] Ramban
[15] Maharal
[16] Alshich, Shem Mishmuel p.264,300-301
[17] See Tosfos ibid regarding Chizkiah, and the Brisker Rav al Hatorah on this pasuk
[18] Midrash. See Sefer Lev Shalom by Rabbi Shalom Schwadron for an in-depth analysis
[19] Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in Selected Writings Volume VII pp. 319-331
[20] R. Yitzchak Kalish of Vorki (1779-1848)
[21] Rashi Genesis 32:23 quoting Midrash Rabbah 76:9
Thursday, November 8, 2007
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