Bereishis/Toldos - Red Lentils

 

In parsha Toldos we learn that, while Yaakov was cooking red lentil stew, Eisav came home exhausted, and asked Yaakov to pour some of that red stuff into his mouth:

וַיָּ֥זֶד יַעֲקֹ֖ב נָזִ֑יד וַיָּבֹ֥א עֵשָׂ֛ו מִן־הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה וְה֥וּא עָיֵֽף׃

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר עֵשָׂ֜ו אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֗ב הַלְעִיטֵ֤נִי נָא֙ מִן־הָאָדֹ֤ם הָאָדֹם֙ הַזֶּ֔ה כִּ֥י עָיֵ֖ף אָנֹ֑כִי עַל־כֵּ֥ן קָרָֽא־שְׁמ֖וֹ אֱדֽוֹם׃

Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff, for I am exhausted”—which is why he was named Edom. (Genesis 25:29-30)

Which Rashi explains means: "I will open my mouth and you pour it all in". 

Now, this seems like a very odd request, and should raise a red flag of suspicion. Have you ever heard such a wild request made by an adult hairy man, asking his host to pour a pot full of stew into his mouth, while he keeps his mouth wide open? Why not simply ask the host to give him a very large plate of stew with a very large spoon, and at least pretend to eat it like a refined, civilized person? What's the deal with unhinging his jaws wide open and pouring a pot of stew into it? 

We may suspect that this is some kind of a trap, since Eisav was a known trapper, and a deceiver, as it says:

 וַיֶּאֱהַ֥ב יִצְחָ֛ק אֶת־עֵשָׂ֖ו כִּי־צַ֣יִד בְּפִ֑יו וְרִבְקָ֖ה אֹהֶ֥בֶת אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹֽב

And Isaac loved Eisav, because of trapped meat (צַ֣יִד - tzaid) in his mouth, while Rivkah loved Yaakov. (Bereishit 25:28)

Which Rashi explains means hunting (צַ֣יִד - tzaid) in Eisav's mouth, meaning that he used to entrap and deceive by his words (Genesis Rabbah 63:10).

But what kind of a trap and deception is Eisav setting up by this unusual and wild request? We may resolve this mystery by recalling two clues surrounding this event. 

First, is that the reason why Eisav came home from the field exhausted that day, is because he killed a man, as Rashi says:

והוא עיף AND HE WAS EXHAUSTED through murdering people, just as you mention exhaustion in connection with murder, (Jeremiah 4:31) ‘‘For my soul is exhausted before the murderers” (Genesis Rabbah 63:12).

The reason why he was exhausted was because on that day he killed Nimrod and his son Chavir (Perkei DeRabbi Eliezer 32:12) and he spent the day running away from his pursuers. Another version is that Nimrod was pursuing him because he stole his muli-colored garment (Bereishit Rabbah 63:13). Another version is that on that day he killed Nimrod and two of his assistants, then stripped him of his muli-colored garment and ran off with it (Legends Of The Jews 1:6:19)

The second clue is that Torah tells us that he also inteded to kill  his brother Yaakov

וַיִּשְׂטֹ֤ם עֵשָׂו֙ אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹ֔ב עַ֨ל־הַבְּרָכָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בֵּרְכ֖וֹ אָבִ֑יו וַיֹּ֨אמֶר עֵשָׂ֜ו בְּלִבּ֗וֹ יִקְרְבוּ֙ יְמֵי֙ אֵ֣בֶל אָבִ֔י וְאַֽהַרְגָ֖ה אֶת־יַעֲקֹ֥ב אָחִֽי׃

Eisov hated Yaakov because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Eisov said in his heart, The mourning days for my father are approaching. I will then kill my brother, Yaakov.

(Genesis 27:41)

It was only a matter of time. It's not clear when he made this decision, it could be after the blessing of Isaac, but also could be long before that. It's very possible that once he decided to go off the path of righteousness at the age of 13 and establish his own empire, the fate of all those who stood in his way was sealed, as far as he was concerned.

With these two clues we may discern the Machiavellian plot cooked up by Eisav to entrap Yaakov. Since Nimrod's men were pursuing him for killing Nimrod and/or stealing his muli-colored garment, he decides to frame Yaakov as an accomplice in the crime of conspiring against the king, by setting up a scene for all to see, where Yaacov visibly and explicitly feeds Eisav in front of many servants as witnesses. When Nimrod's men arrive and discover that Yaacov was his accompice by providing him food and shelter, they would kill him as a conspirator.

This Machiavellian skill runs in Eisav's family, as his descendant Doeg the Edomite reported to king Saul that he witnessed priests in the city of Nob giving food to David. Upon hearing this, king Saul had Doeg kill all the 85 priests and dispatched an army to massacre the entire city, men, women, children and animals, for the crime of conspiring against the king by feeding David, enemy of the king. (1 Samuel 22:9-19)

As we know, Eisav was planning to kill Yaakov after Isaac's death, but this evil plot gave him an opportunity to have Nimrod's men kill Yaakov even sooner, by publically framing him as an accomplice in conspiracy against the king.