Toladoth: Thanksgiving

Wikipedia on Thanksgiving:

The 1621 Plymouth, Massachusetts thanksgiving was prompted by a good harvest. The Pilgrims celebrated this with the Wampanoags, a tribe of Native Americans who, along with the last surviving Patuxet, had helped them get through the previous winter by giving them food in that time of scarcity, in exchange for an alliance and protection against the rival Narragansett tribe.^[13]

This year American Thanksgiving  ( known by some as National Day of Morning  and others as Restorative Justice Week) is celebrated during the week of Parshath Toledoth.  Of course, that is a coincidence. 

Parshath Toledoth describes a competitive relationship between Jacob and Esau. Esau is strong, Jacob is clever. Immediately, we are told a story. Esau was identified as  ruddy at birth, 

וַיֵּצֵ֤א הָרִאשׁוֹן֙ אַדְמוֹנִ֔י כֻּלּ֖וֹ כְּאַדֶּ֣רֶת שֵׂעָ֑ר וַיִּקְרְא֥וּ שְׁמ֖וֹ עֵשָֽׂו׃ The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau.^*

^{Esau sells his birthright, the privileges that come with being born first ( the animal sacrificial rights, according to Rashi, the right to a double portion of the inheritance according to Rabbi Yehuda Henkin [z'"l]{}Chibbah Yeteirah (CY) on Torah quoted in Sefaria}) for a bowl of red lentils.  It is on account  of this that he is called Edom, Red ( by Jacob per CY). 

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר עֵשָׂ֜ו אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֗ב הַלְעִיטֵ֤נִי נָא֙ מִן־הָאָדֹ֤ם הָאָדֹם֙ הַזֶּ֔ה כִּ֥י עָיֵ֖ף אָנֹ֑כִי עַל־כֵּ֥ן קָרָֽא־שְׁמ֖וֹ אֱדֽוֹם׃ 

And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff to gulp down, for I am famished”—which is why he was named Edom.^*

Many are named Red.  Malcolm X was called Detroit Red in his youth.  It is a frequent nickname for red haired people ( Maybe someone will call my granddaughter, Evalina, Red  some day). In the spirit of the day, I cannot avoid that this color was a  designation of the Native peoples that survived into the names of many sports teams and Western movies.  It is also the color of the international communism that was associated with Soviet Union and China. Now, it designates Republican states in the US map. Red is not merely a convenient color, it invites conflict.  Mars is red.  Red is the other who is willing to shed your blood and  for whom the  spillage  of red blood can be justified.

Esau could have been called Red, benignly, because of his newborn appearance. ( He was named for an equally non value laden quality, his hairiness). It was not until he did the red thing, indebted himself to his clever brother, put himself in the red, that he purchased this appellation.  

Was this exchange of the birthright, a privilege that the 13 year old Esau did thing much of  at the time, like the trade of wampum for Manhattan or the many treaties signed with the North American Indiginous?

 Happy Thanksgiving.

Isaac comes as an immigrant to Avimelech's domain of Philistia.  When he succeeds too well, he is invited to leave, but every well he subsequently  digs is claimed by the Philistines. Ultimately, the treaty of Grar,  between Avimelech and Isaac is made over a meal. How is this meal like the model for Thanksgiving?

וַיַּ֤עַשׂ לָהֶם֙ מִשְׁתֶּ֔ה וַיֹּאכְל֖וּ וַיִּשְׁתּֽוּ׃ Then he made for them a feast, and they ate and drank.

וַיַּשְׁכִּ֣ימוּ בַבֹּ֔קֶר וַיִּשָּׁבְע֖וּ אִ֣ישׁ לְאָחִ֑יו וַיְשַׁלְּחֵ֣ם יִצְחָ֔ק וַיֵּלְכ֥וּ מֵאִתּ֖וֹ בְּשָׁלֽוֹם׃ Early in the morning, they exchanged oaths. Isaac then bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace.

...

וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֹתָ֖הּ שִׁבְעָ֑ה עַל־כֵּ֤ן שֵׁם־הָעִיר֙ בְּאֵ֣ר שֶׁ֔בַע עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ {ס}         He named it Shibah;^*Shibah As though “oath.” therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.

Here is another example of re-naming the same name.  Beer-sheva was the name Abraham gave to  the place, because of the seven ( the other meaning of sheva; it can mean either seven or oath)  sheep that Abraham gave his Avimelach.  This oath of peace ( that did not last over the generations) is a reassertion of some land and water rights granted to Isaac and his descendants.  It emphasizes the tenuous position of the children of Abraham in relation to the (more) indigenous Philistines.  Isaac needed to, once again, establish a deed that already been granted to his father, Abraham.  The basis of this peace is shaky, it has an aspect of  respect for Isaac's success.  There is no guarantee that this will continue, especially in his offspring. 

Jews have (almost) always lived at the mercy of indigenous people. They have come to foreign lands, occasionally by limited invitation, more often by stealth.  When they were downtrodden, they were a burden on the society and carriers of an alien belief system; they strongly rejected the dominant faith.  When they succeeded, they were portrayed as exploiting the people who had a right to the land.  When they ascended too far, it was time to expel them.

Reacting to a famine, Isaac moves to Philistia. He plants and prospers. The king reacts by saying

וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲבִימֶ֖לֶךְ אֶל־יִצְחָ֑ק לֵ֚ךְ מֵֽעִמָּ֔נוּ כִּֽי־עָצַ֥מְתָּ מִמֶּ֖נּוּ מְאֹֽד׃ And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you have become far too big for us.”

In modern times, the "locals" keep their (filthy) possessions. Jews are persecuted as oppressors.  They had  no haven; they lack indigenous-ness on all sides. 

Happy Thanksgiving.