The Struggle Between Thought and Impulse

We move into the next stage of growth. As with every beginning it takes time until we settle into the realities of it. Before we start a new venture we tend to overthink the possibilities and challenges but once we actually start doing the work we realize how the dreams may be a year of hard work away, and that most of the challenges we sunk into were unfounded and will never happen. Once we start we realize that we first have to get through the initial problem in step one, and once we pass that hurdle an entire new world of possible challenges will arise. And in many cases, all of the anxiety we built up surrounding the goal was actually just in our own heads.

People who don’t think often take risks, for the good and for the bad. They can’t take credit for their successes only because there is nothing worse than a pompous and arrogant dummy, so too, they shouldn’t cry over failure since their entire motivation came about without thought. But, although they shouldn’t cry over their losses, they can always become better once they reflect in hindsight at their behaviors. The overthinkers among us are the ones who need inspiration in order to be motivated and to commit, otherwise, if there is no passion to the cause, they will die out and blame themselves and others for everything. There is a balance that one should be living in, one where we take the time to think ahead but also enough room to allow ourselves to take the risk and that leap of faith.

It is as if our minds are in the clouds, floating high above the physical reality. We dream big and expand on the achievement process, which in many cases could leave us in the fantasy zone for a long time and in many cases miss the opportunity. On the other hand we understand the need for action in this world and how just thinking won’t lead to any results. We are somewhere in between Yaakov and Eisav, we are right in the center of a battle between the heart and the mind.

Rivkah, who by all means was the most understanding and independent matriarch of all. She left home at an early age, waited for children for twenty years, and raised two very opposite kinds of people. She knew how to balance those two sides with her as she sought the counsel of Hashem. Once she heard that the baby within her womb was actually ‘babies,’ she was able to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that the task before her was something she was prepped and groomed for her entire life. At first she thought that she would be dealing with one kid who would be struggling between love and lust, intense ups and tough downs, light and darkness, she was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to help. But as she got her answer it was only a matter of time until we saw Yitzchak taking charge of his risky child and Rivkah choosing her thoughtful son.

This new endeavor Yitzhak and Rivkah were about to start was one that will challenge the past and hold the dreams of the future. What kind of nation would be the best for the one Hashem calls “My children?” Would it be the ones who know what they want and jump in completely unaware of the future consequences or one where we are thought out and detailed with our work. Should the focus be on the Eisav kind of personality where as long as we know our way forward we don’t have to ask too many questions or should the focus be on the thoughtful one so that each and every move we take is measured and precise?

Rivkah, with her love and dedication, understood that the future depends on meaning. Those who are taught to follow blindly, like sheep, won’t know how to teach or pass on what they were taught, whereas Yaakov will be able to pass on the lesson he learned. But Yaakov won’t learn any lessons until he actually jumps into action which is contrary to his personality of being way up where, floating in the skies of theory. It would be up to his mother to teach him to act upon the truest feelings without delay, one where he goes and snatches the blessings from his father. Otherwise, the Yiddishkeit we know today would be very ‘Chelm-like,’ where we just simply live out a command for thousands of generations without much thought or connection.

As we see next week as the Torah describes Yaakov’s dream, the ladder stood on the ground while its head reached the heavens. Yaakov learnt to bridge the gap between the spiritual and physical world. He understood the heights of his mind and deeply knew that his life on earth requires action and not just thought. We need to get married and have children, we need to open up pathways to our next challenges, and we aim to follow through and find success at the end of it. The work requires thoughtful action, and that is what his Mother Rivkah really instilled within him.

Eisav on the other hand; when he saw Yitzchak telling Yaakov to run to Lavan’s home and marry his daughter because Eisav wanted him dead, impulsively went and married Yishmael’s daughter. When Eisav saw that Rivkah’s philosophy for life was chosen above his own, he didn’t care about killing Yaakov whilst she was still alive, all he cared about was his father. He is a man of action and doesn’t calculate the risks of his actions, he just does what his mind tells him at this moment. Yes, he doesn’t have to cry over his failures, but it sure would be nice if he took a moment to reflect upon his dumb decisions. He was unable to fathom the idea that Hashem chose Yaakov, and that he simply had to make peace with the facts. He married Yishmael’s daughter due to the way he was taught and not because a good wife will lead him and his future generations to the promised land.

When Yitzchak gave the Brachos he was 123 years old. Rashi in Gen 27:2 quotes the Bereishit Rabbah, that since he was within the five years of his mothers age of death he feared that he may also die at this age. Yishmael was 13 years older than him, and as we see at the end of last week’s Parsha, he died at the age of 137. So after the story of the blessings and Eisav went and married Yishmael’s daughter, Yishmael just had a heart attack and died. Eisav was someone who turned out to be intolerable to the people around him, he would place no thought in his actions and just do as he pleased. Yaakov on the other hand, he learned how to climb the ladder from physicality to spirituality. And even if he would fall and struggle on his way back up, he would take action, fight hard and win. Not for naught did he receive the name “Yisrael, The one who battled Hashem and was victorious. This is the legacy we carry on, this is the mentality of the nation he raises, a people who always remember their duties. Their duties to find meaning and take purposeful actions in their life, their challenges and most of all with Hashem.

David Lemmer is an Orthodox Jewish Writer and Hypnotherapist. He can be reached at LemmerHypno@gmail.com