Reply To: R' Jonathan Sacks

So this past Shabbos I read a piece in his sefer that amazed me. I will write it here, but I want to see people’s reactions before I write one last item. It doesn’t change the vort at all, but might change how people perceive it. This isn’t the whole piece, just a small part of it.

He questions how Yaakov could trick his father. He says it wasn’t really Yaakov, it was Rivka who pushed him. So why would Rivka do it? He gives a few possible reasons – either Rivka did not feel Eisav deserved the brachos because of his lifestyle, or because she was told while pregnant that the younger brother would rule over the older brother.

Whatever the reason, Rivka obviously had valid reasons. So the question is, why didn’t she share them with her husband? Did they not communicate? Why didn’t Yitzchok know what she thought?

He gives an answer that Rivka and Yitzchak’s marriage was not like the marriage of Avraham and Sarah, who shared things as equals. The posuk says that when Rivkah first saw Yitzchok, he appeared as a majestic figure who awed her. She was intimidated! For her entire marriage, she was intimidated by her husband, and she was nervous to tell him of her feelings when he obviously did not feel the same. She was scared of how he’d react, and didn’t trust her own feelings against those of someone she felt was way above her.

This idea of Rivkah being scared of her husband shocked me. What do you think? As I said, after I hear some reactions, I will post something that might change your view.