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Why did Yitzchok love Esav conditionally while Rivka loved Yaakov unconditionally? The Torah (תורה)'s precise language reveals not dysfunction but perfection: each parent offered the specific type of love each son needed at that stage. Disagreement in parenting—when both positions are fully developed and applied wisely—is not failure but the ideal model of shalom bayis.
Rabbi Zweig challenges Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch's interpretation that the parenting of Yitzchok and Rivka was dysfunctional due to their differing feelings toward their sons. Hirsch suggested that the lack of unity between the parents—Yitzchok favoring Esav and Rivka favoring Yaakov—had a pernicious effect on the children and violated a fundamental principle of education. Rabbi Zweig argues the opposite: this was the height of perfect parenting, not a violation of basic principles. The key lies in understanding the precise language of Bereishis 25:28. The Torah (תורה) states "Vayehav Yitzchok es Esav ki tzayid befiv"—Yitzchok loved Esav (past tense) for a reason (conditional love). But regarding Rivka, it states "veRivkah oheves es Yaakov"—Rivka loves Yaakov (present tense, ongoing) with no stated reason (unconditional love). These are two fundamentally different types of love, not a statement that each parent loved only one son and rejected the other. Rather, each parent expressed a different quality of love, and each quality was directed to the son who needed it at that developmental stage.
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Bereishis 25:28
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