Would You Steal From a Blind Husband? (Aleph Beta, Rabbi Fohrman)

In the story of Rebecca in the bible, her choices seem perplexing: She seems to participate, even to initiate, a plan with her son Jacob to flat-out deceive her aging husband Isaac. The goal, more or less, was to steal a birthright intended for another child, Esau, and give it to Jacob – who went on to become one of three great patriarchs of Israel. This makes Rebecca’s deception of Isaac appear even more significant. It seems like Rebecca’s behavior would be something to condemn rather than celebrate, so the question is: What was Rebecca even thinking?

Is it possible to discern Rebecca’s side of the story? In this video, Rabbi Fohrman takes a careful look at Rebecca’s story to suggest that her motives may have been starkly different than we might have expected. Seeing the story in this light brings an intriguing perspective to the rather difficult story about how Rebecca deceived her blind husband Isaac.

There are 4 parts. We encourage you to view it till the end.

Part 2:

A Defense of Rebecca – Aleph Beta

Part 3:

Becoming A Doer – Aleph Beta

Part 4:

Jacob’s Fateful Choice – Aleph Beta