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Why did Yaakov hold Esav's heel in the womb, preventing him from leaving to worship idols even though it meant Yaakov himself couldn't go to the beis medrash? The shiur proposes that Yaakov's love for Esav was so great he willingly sacrificed his own Torah (תורה) learning to prevent his brother's spiritual destruction. This deep bond explains Rashi (רש"י)'s enigmatic comment that Esav drank a "cup of consolation" when planning to kill Yaakov—even in hatred, Esav mourned losing someone so devoted to him.
Rabbi Zweig begins with a question posed by his ancestor Rav Yechezkel MeKuzmir: Yaakov and Esav fought in the womb, with Esav positioned closer to the exit and Yaakov further inside. When they passed a beis medrash, Yaakov wanted to leave to learn Torah (תורה), but Esav blocked him. Later, when they passed a place of idolatry, Esav wanted to leave but did not. Why didn't Esav exit for idol worship if that was his nature? Rav Yechezkel's answer, published in his sefer, suggests that Esav's wickedness was so profound that he preferred staying inside the womb rather than allowing Yaakov to leave for the yeshiva. Esav was willing to forgo his own desire to worship idols just to prevent Yaakov from learning Torah—a level of evil that Rabbi Zweig finds almost incomprehensible, since it means destroying one's own good solely to harm another.
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Parshas Toldos - Bereishis 25:26, 27:41
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