Monday, October 26, 2020

quality of life or quantity of life?

וְאַתָּ֛ה תָּב֥וֹא אֶל־אֲבֹתֶ֖יךָ בְּשָׁל֑וֹם תִּקָּבֵ֖ר בְּשֵׂיבָ֥ה טוֹבָֽה 15:15

Rashi comments:

בישר שעשה ישמעאל תשובה בימיו, ולא יצא עשו לתרבות רעה בימיו, ולפיכך מת ה׳ שנים קודם זמנו, ובו ביום מרד עשו.

According to Rashi, Avraham lived 5 fewer years than he was supposed to -- a shortened quantity of life -- so that he should not witness Eisav's wrongdoings and have a poor quality of life. 

4 comments:

  1. So he shouldn't see Eisav's wrongdoings.

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  2. -- "lived 5 fewer years than he was supposed to"

    no surprise. the promise at 15:15 was made during a zman of dread* and great darkness (:12). and who was the anesthesiologist? ha'malach ha'maves...

    *eimah, as also at Devarim 32:25-- sword [Eisav] and dread and ish seivah (the old amid the wicked shall know no peace)...


    -- "so that he should not witness...wrongdoings"

    how is it that Avraham, had he lived, would've known of Eisav's crimes, while Yitzchak, who did live on, did not? (had the akeidah left Yitzchak permanently self-absorbed, or in a state of broadening denial?)

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  3. We seem to have this constant tension in the Bereshis stories between being m'karev and being muvdal. Here you say Avraham benefitted from not seeing Eisav and we also see that he decided to distance himself from Lot. On the other hand, acc. to the Midrash, Yaakov is criticized for not allowing the possibility for Eisav to marry Dinah [as if he asked for her, they would be m'chuyav to) she could have been mkarev him. So which is it? Do we turn our backs and stay away from their tumahdke ways or do we try to affect them positively even on their own "turf" (ala the "Disco Rebbe" in EY).

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