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Thought for the Day: Rivka Opened the Door to גרות

Why are there converts to Judaism? You could ask the question the other way, of course: Why are there non-Jews? In other words, why would HaShem create human beings that do not have the merit to build a relationship with HaShem? The answer to that is deceptively easy: He didn't; He offered everyone that opportunity and most people said, "No thank you, I'm good." Nebbich. So the question returns: Why, then, are there converts?

In truth, there is really no such thing as a non-Jew becoming Jewish. Instead, it is a Jewish soul born into a non-Jewish body and it is the גרות process that transforms it into a Jewish body. Why? Because that is the test/trial that will perfect that Jew's soul. How does it happen that a Jewish soul has to go through this process? There are different opinions, but one opinion is that all converts come from Eisav, and  we can thank Rivka Imeinu for opening that door.

It is apparent in the text how much Yitzchak did for Eisav. What is less appreciated is what Rivka was doing behind the scenes. Let's start our investigation here: Yitzchak is about to give the brachos to -- he believes -- Eisav. Rivka is preparing the meal the way she knows Yitchak likes. But, wait... shouldn't she prepare it the way Eisav prepares it? But, wait... Eisav, Chazal tell us, is a Yisrael mumar; an apostate Jew. Yitzchak is certainly not going to eat a dish cooked by Eisav; it is forbidden m'd'rabanan -- Yitzchak being the gadol ha'dor. So... that can only mean one thing: Rivka knows how to prepare the meat just as Yitzchak likes because she has always cooked the meat that Eisav brought for his father.

So that means that Rivka -- in woke language -- has been enabling Eisev in his subterfuge of playing the tzadik to Yitzchak! Why would she do that? In fact, both Rivka and Yitzchak know exactly who Eisav is. They very fact that Eisav wants to act like a tzadik in front of his father demonstrates that there is still has that pintela yid buried in his neshama. Yitzchak is striving to reach that core of goodness and fan the flames of t'shuva. Yitzchak, though, only sees Eisav in his tent. He doesn't see that Rivka cooks the food, that Rivka keeps Eisav's formal attire because his wives are not to be trusted, he doesn't see Eisav coming home after a long day of murder and licentiousness.

But Rivka does. She knows that the brachos need to go to Yaakov. (Why Yitzchak needed to think it was Eisav to whom he was giving the brachos is for another time.) Rivka carried Eisav in her womb; she knows who he is in a way that no one else ever could. Rivka will continue being Eisav's mother after Yaakov has left home. Rivka is there for both her sons, as only a mother can be.

Many years ago I asked R' Dovid Seigel, shlita, what happened to all that love that Yitzchak poured into Eisav. R' Siegel told me love gave us the Oral Law that we have preserved in the mishnayos that Rabeinu HaKodesh redacted while being protected by Antoninus -- a descendant of Eisav.

I didn't ask, and I didn't know to ask, at the time -- but what about the love that Rivka poured into Eisav? That, it appears, turned into all the converts that have joined Klal Yisrael from Eisav over the centuries. The love and tears of Mama Rochel bring back the physical exiles. The love and tears of Mama Rivka bring back the spiritual exiles.

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