The Purpose For Which We Came Into This World,
In this week’s parsha, Yitzchak and Rivka give birth to twins, Yaakov and
Eisav. The name Eisav means complete – fully developed. At first glance,
that’s not a name that is something to be embarrassed about. However,
Yaakov’s name comes from the word eikev, which means heel, because
Yaakov came into this world holding the heel of his brother, Eisav. Why
would Yitzchak and Rivka give such a name to the person who would be the
builder of the Jewish people as the father of the 12 tribes? How could you
call him, for all intents and purposes, Rabbi Heel?!
Answer the commentaries, that we all know childbirth is a very painful
process. This was a world before epidurals, and Rivka is having twins, so
she is going to have to go through that painful process twice. In order to
spare his mother some pain, Yaakov attached himself to the heel of Eisav
so that they could be born together in one delivery. Already as a tiny infant,
his soul knew that its purpose was to lessen the pain of others, and this, my
friends, is our purpose here in this world. We were not born for ourselves.
We were put here to help a fellow Jew. Any Jew. A smile, a listening ear, a
helping hand. We were born to give to others.
Wishing you an inspiring Shabbos,
Rabbi Moshe Gruenstein