Dear Friends,
Commonly, Torah is both very modern and very practical, but we don’t always see it.
Note, then, the midrashic commentary to this week’s portion – it could have come right from my mother’s mouth. In fact, it likely did!
In short, the portion commences with Jacob returning to Canaan after 20 years away, bringing his wives, his children and all of his servants, flocks and herds with him. Nearing where his estranged brother, Esau was encamped with 400 men, Jacob was frightened and anxious, so he divided his people and animals into two camps, thinking that if Esau attacked one camp, the other would survive. (Genesis 32:8-9)
The commentary is plain and simple. It reads, “Rabbi Hiyya the Elder said, ‘The Torah teaches you worldly wisdom, that a man should not put all his eggs in one basket.’”
We might wish to think that the Torah is laden with lofty teachings and divine episodes, but no! In fact, our sage, Rabbi Hiyya directly stated that the Torah offers worldly wisdom. So often the biblical experiences are not only eminently human, but employ the same wisdom and aphorisms which we enjoy today.
Why?
I think there are two answers – and both are simple and practical. Firstly, the Torah teaches that life for the ancients was not too dissimilar from life for us, cell phones and microwaves, notwithstanding. The real matters of life – dealing with jealous siblings, negotiating purchases, falling in love – are forever the stuff of humanity, and has changed little over the millennia. And secondly, quite likely, the teachings from the Torah – like not putting all of one’s eggs in one basket – have been taught for those millennia, and continue to be taught.
Worldly wisdom never goes out of style, even if one no longer goes to the henhouse with a basket to collect eggs. Every child in every generation in every culture and every language is taught by her or his mother, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!”
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
Commonly, Torah is both very modern and very practical, but we don’t always see it.
Note, then, the midrashic commentary to this week’s portion – it could have come right from my mother’s mouth. In fact, it likely did!
In short, the portion commences with Jacob returning to Canaan after 20 years away, bringing his wives, his children and all of his servants, flocks and herds with him. Nearing where his estranged brother, Esau was encamped with 400 men, Jacob was frightened and anxious, so he divided his people and animals into two camps, thinking that if Esau attacked one camp, the other would survive. (Genesis 32:8-9)
The commentary is plain and simple. It reads, “Rabbi Hiyya the Elder said, ‘The Torah teaches you worldly wisdom, that a man should not put all his eggs in one basket.’”
We might wish to think that the Torah is laden with lofty teachings and divine episodes, but no! In fact, our sage, Rabbi Hiyya directly stated that the Torah offers worldly wisdom. So often the biblical experiences are not only eminently human, but employ the same wisdom and aphorisms which we enjoy today.
Why?
I think there are two answers – and both are simple and practical. Firstly, the Torah teaches that life for the ancients was not too dissimilar from life for us, cell phones and microwaves, notwithstanding. The real matters of life – dealing with jealous siblings, negotiating purchases, falling in love – are forever the stuff of humanity, and has changed little over the millennia. And secondly, quite likely, the teachings from the Torah – like not putting all of one’s eggs in one basket – have been taught for those millennia, and continue to be taught.
Worldly wisdom never goes out of style, even if one no longer goes to the henhouse with a basket to collect eggs. Every child in every generation in every culture and every language is taught by her or his mother, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!”
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
