If you were told that you had only a matter of days to live what would you do? Write out a will? Eat your favorite meal? Try to repair troubled relationships? In our Torah portion this Shabbat, Jacob knows he is dying. Faced with this knowledge, there is only one thing he wants to do: bless those he loves.
Not long ago, a friend of mine called me and said, "Naomi, I need your help.
"Go away!" Gabe, 15, yells at his two younger brothers, having been rudely awakened by a blast of the shofar.
A young friend of mine switched career paths, giving up on an industry that she did not find fulfilling. She is now working in a field that she finds challenging, has potential for growth and gives her opportunities to contribute in ways that are important to her.
The other day, I got a sample of Pampers in the mail. It doesn\’t happen very often now, fortunately.
Pity Esau. One moment of weakness, one moment ofimpulse, and his birthright is gone. He goes out to fulfill hisfather\’s dying wish for a savory meal of game, and while he\’s outhunting, his mother and brother conspire and rob him of his blessing.Returning to his father with the feast, expecting at last to gain hisdue position as head of the clan, he is met with his father\’s emptyexcuses. And so Esau cries: \”Have you but one blessing, Father? Blessme too, Father!\” And Esau wept aloud (Genesis 27:38). Tears ofbetrayal, of pain, of rage, of broken dreams.
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