Toldot | The Riddle of Esav's Wives

Toldot | The Riddle of Esav's Wives, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

In Parashat Toldot, we are told about Esav's first two wives - Yehudit and Basemat, both Hittites. We learn that his parents are embittered by these wives - but not why. At the end of the story, after Yaakov flees, Esav, realizing that his father doesn't approve of his wives, takes a third wife, a daughter of Yishmael. Two oddities provoke our curiosity here - why didn't Yitzchak and Rivka like Esav's wives - and how would adding a third wife to his already troubling marriages make his parents feel any better? The problems become exacerbated when we see the genealogical listing of Esav (Bereishit 36) which identifies three wives - with different, or switched names. We explore the issue of polygamy, both in Bereishit and from the later perspective of the end of the prophetic era (Malakhi) and, after sharing several approaches taken by the Rishonim to solve the puzzle of their names, suggest, based on Ramban's explanation, an approach that solves both the mystery of the changed names as well as the source of Rivka and Yitzchak's bitter feelings towards Esav's first wives. This shiur was given in memory of ליבא ביילע בת משה ז"ל

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