Friday, November 20, 2020

Why did Esau become a baddie?

DR. BARRY DOV WALFISH: The Denigration of Esau (TheTorah.com).
Why does Esau in Jewish tradition come to be known as עשו הרשע “Esau the Wicked”? The answer has to do with the history of Judea’s relationship with Esau’s eponymous descendants, the Edomites, and the connection Jews made between them, Rome, and Christianity. The negative view of Esau is expressed nowhere more forcefully than in Rashi’s commentary.

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