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Why does Esav ask for food when the Torah (תורה) says he was "tired"? Rashi (רש"י) explains he was tired from murder, not physical exertion. The shiur builds on a psychological distinction: physical fatigue demands sleep, while emotional emptiness drives a person to eat as a way to "fill up" the void—revealing that murder leaves the deepest sense of unfulfillment.
This shiur examines Rashi (רש"י)'s enigmatic comment on the pasuk describing Esav's return from the field. The Torah (תורה) states that Yaakov was cooking when Esav came in from the field, tired, and immediately asked for food. Rashi famously explains that Esav was "tired from murder." The shiur raises two fundamental questions: first, how does Rashi's interpretation of "tired" as referring to murder coalesce with the straightforward meaning of physical fatigue? Second, what in the pasuk compelled Rashi to abandon the simple pshat and interpret "tired" in this unusual way? Rabbi Zweig develops a yesod based on a fundamental psychological distinction between two types of exhaustion. When a person is physically tired—having worked hard throughout the day—the natural response is to want to sleep. Physical fatigue is alleviated by rest, not by eating. However, when a person is emotionally exhausted or feels unfulfilled, the response is different: such a person seeks to eat as a way to fill the emotional void. This distinction is key to understanding Rashi's interpretation.
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Bereishis 25:29-30 (Parshas Toldos)
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