A Day in the Life: Verb Stories
- Leann Shamash
- 19 hours ago
- 4 min read
Updated: a few seconds ago
#toldot #parshattoldot #yitzhak #rivka #aisav #yaakov #birthright #blessings #blindness #breisheet #genesis #torahmusingss #wordshavewings
Parshat Toldot brings us the puzzling and dramatic story of the birthright which is sold for a pot of red lentil stew to a ravenously hungry Asav from his twin brother (and excellent cook), Yaakov. The tale is shared concisely:
Isaac favored Esau because he had a taste for game; but Rebekah favored Jacob.
Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open, famished.
And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am famished”—which is why he was named Edom.
Jacob said, “First sell me your birthright.”
And Esau said, “I am at the point of death, so of what use is my birthright to me?”
But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.
(34)Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the birthright.
Breisheet 25:28-34
It is line 34 which is our focus for the day.
(34)Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew; he ate and drank, and he rose and went away. Thus did Esau spurn the birthright.
וְיַעֲקֹ֞ב נָתַ֣ן לְעֵשָׂ֗ו לֶ֚חֶם וּנְזִ֣יד עֲדָשִׁ֔ים וַיֹּ֣אכַל וַיֵּ֔שְׁתְּ וַיָּ֖קם וַיֵּלַ֑ךְ וַיִּ֥בֶז עֵשָׂ֖ו אֶת־הַבְּכֹרָֽה׃
Different translations translate the verb וַיִּ֥בֶז differently. Among the translations we note the words spurned, despised, scorned, shamed and repudiated, but all point to a lack of respect for the birthright and a certain impatience. It is from this pasuk, as well as others which appear earlier in Parshat Toldot, that the rabbis begin to form a negative opinion of Asav, as it has already been written that it is the home body Yaakov who is to receive the birthright.
I was taken this week by the staccato nature of the languge in pasuk 25:34 that pushes the narrative in an important direction. Indeed, this sentence hurls the story forward, as we soon see that it is Yaakov who is to receive the birthright. Asav, who harbors anger toward his brother and threatens to kill him which sends Yaakov scurrying away to his Uncle Lavan in Haran. In one sentence populated with action verbs, we can feel the rush to eat, the wolfing down of the stew, the quick rise and exit and the scorning of the birthright and the moment.
At our weekly Torah study class this week, I brought this idea of verb stories to my fellow learners. How can we look at our days, straining through the superfluous language and distilling a day into our most basic actions? Of course, for many of us, days are similar, but when taking the time to create a verb story, we can use our imaginations For example, what would a verb story look like for Rivka? For Yitzhak, as an elderly man who no longer could see? For Yaakov? What about a farmer? A soldier? A rancher? A teen? A pet? A dancer? A small child? A president?
Verb stories would begin to take shape and through verbs we can show differences in how we live our lives.
On the page below are a few verb stories. The first is a verb story of Asav on a hunting day. The others are from classmates as they wrote verb stories about pets or their own days. Some do their stories in groupings of 3 or 4, but 5 is also a welcome number, as we find it in pasuk 25:34.
I present this to you, as a challenge. Choose someone in the book of Breisheet and create a verb story or choose to make one of your own day. Perhaps choose a weekday and then a Shabbat day and look for differences. If you choose to, I hope you might share them, either by sending me a message through Words Have Wings or on the comment section below.
I look forward to your responses.
The final message from this week's post? Be conscious of your actions as our own verb stories reveal the patterns of our lives. From these verbs we can learn about ourselves and perhaps learn to empathize with others.
Shabbat Shalom,
Leann
Asav : A Verb Story
Woke, stretched, dressed, drank
Laced, tightened, fastened, tied
Prepared, found, gathered, carried,
Searched, listened, heard, followed
Strung, aimed, shot, killed
Ran, lifted, carried, skinned
Carved, cut, trimmed, deboned,
Smiled, rushed, returned, kindled
Roasted, sniffed, delivered, sat
Ate, drank, thanked, rested
Verb Stories From Fellow Learners:
Woke, heated, planned
studied, quenched, built
ate, pickled, tested
brewed, hammered, released
A Parakeet's Day
Woke, chirped, stretched, pooped
Stretched, preened, shook, pooped
Jumped, ate, stretched, pooped
Sang, jumped, played, pooped
Flew, jumped, talked, pooped
Napped, sang, preened, pooped
Yelled, kissed, ate, pooped
Sat, fluffed, tucked, slept
and pooped.
Stretched, rose, smiled, gazed
Washed, brushed, blinked, walked
Unwrapped, unfastened, stretched, wiggled
Descended, walked, drank, mixed
Weighed, stirred, poured, sipped
Read, scrolled, opened, cried
Museum Trip
Lost, looked, ran, found
Walked, talked, chased, explained
Arrived, looked, cared, dared
Cajoled, laughed, ran, caught
Hugged, despaired, walked, returned
A Trip to a Medical Center
Rise, wash, dress, eat, brush
Peel, make, pack, carry, smile
Talk, laugh, look, honk, stop
Wave, open, lift, thank, tip
Woke, stretched, brushed, dressed
Biked, ate, read, doctored
Laundered, sorted, replaced, phoned
Rested, elevated, cooked ,tv'd
Talked, prayed, slept
Woke, rose, washed, dressed
Descended, prepared ate, drank,
Stretched, ran, lifted, hydrated
Figured, discussed, browsed, typed
Snacked, gossiped, interacted, returned
Commented, questioned, remarked, agreed
Drove, returned, entered, slumped
Cooked, toasted, ate, drank
Watched, browsed, read, laughed
Snuggled, nodded, drowsed, slept
The Verbs of Yitzhak, Rivka and Yaakov Written by I.A., a co-learner
Wait. Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait….
Birth!!!! Rejoice!!!
Circumcise, hope, wean, beloved,
Grow.
Taken,
Brought, bound, offered -
Rescued.
Silence.
Loss
Alone, sitting, waiting.
Sitting, meditating, alone.
Arrival: Comfort: Love
Wait, cry, pray,
petition:
Birth.
Choosing, preferring, mistaking,
Bribing, wasting, taking.
Correcting, deceiving, stealing:
Blessing.
Despair, revenge,
Departure.
Flight. Encounter. Dream.
Other posts from Words Have Wings on Parshat Toldot:
וְיַעֲקֹ֞ב נָתַ֣ן לְעֵשָׂ֗ו לֶ֚חֶם וּנְזִ֣יד עֲדָשִׁ֔ים וַיֹּ֣אכַל וַיֵּ֔שְׁתְּ וַיָּ֖קם וַיֵּלַ֑ךְ
וַיִּ֥בֶז עֵשָׂ֖ו אֶת־הַבְּכֹרָֽה׃ {פ}
Jacob then gave Esau bread and lentil stew;
he ate and drank, and he rose and went away.
Thus did Esau spurn the birthright.