GC#35 - Snakes and Ladders - Omer Day 21

The culmination of 3 weeks of counting. Hopefully, we are on an upwards journey, ascending Yaakov's ladder, and not slipping into Eisav mode. Eisav - the twin who should have been the perfect counterpart to Yaakov. There should be no Yissachar-Zevulun partnership. It should have been a Yaakov-Eisav coalition. But the latter took a wrong turning, only rearing his head positively once in history subsequently - as evidenced by Rebbi and Antoninus - the former a scion of King David; the latter a powerful Roman ruler.

כי ציד בפיו - whilst the mouth and voice of Yaakov was used for learning, and David's for praying, Eisav's was used for ensnaring. Eventually, he ends up as an empty shell, a husk of what he should have been. The outward trappings of this man, belie the rejection of לב טוב - a good heart which encompasses all the correct attributes needed to choose the right path.

He becomes the ancestor of the most powerful, long-lasting of all the four ersatz kingdoms and exiles - the Roman exile. It will require Hashem Himself to bring him down. To bring down the eagle - symbol of Rome and symbol that Ovadia, the faithful Eved and Edomite convert describes, as he predicts the house of Yaakov to be a fire;the house of Yosef to be a flame...and the house of Eisav, mere straw stuffing...

...Sparks will fly!