Toldot | The Riddle of Esav's Wives

KMTT - the Torah Podcast · Nov 16, 2023 · 32m

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…