Choosing Choiceless Choices

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

This week, I put Robert Frost's famous poem—"The Road Not Taken"— in conversation with our weekly Torah portion, Toldot. The parsha covers the story of Isaac, including the exchange between his sons Jacob and Esau, where Esau sells his birthright to his younger brother.

Jacob's actions are often explained away by the rabbis, and Esau is commonly demonized as wild and wicked so Jacob comes across more kindly. This has never felt right to me, and in my mind I couldn't stop comparing what I imagine Esau's response to Jacob's offer must have been, with my own response every time I update my phone and click agree on a terms and condition statement I haven't read.

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I'm not a rabbi, so every week I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the modern world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Just remember, like the text itself says, “there’s nothing new under the sun.”

Modern Torah is published every week on Friday mornings, anywhere you get your podcasts. Learn more about me and any of my other podcasts at www.moderntorah.com.

I’m not a rabbi, so every week, I look at our Torah portion and try to put it in conversation with the world around me. Judaism is rich in tradition, and each of us deserves the chance to find our own meaning in the text. Whether you’re studying Torah daily, or taking a moment to prepare for Shabbat, I hope you’ll make these ten minutes of Torah part of your week.

You can learn more about me, and my work, on my website – www.nathanjvaughan.com

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