Jacob and Esau

Back in the days of early Israel, there were two very different brothers: Esau and Jacob. Esau was a cunning hunter while Jacob stayed inside to do chores with his mother Rebekah. Their father Isaac loved Esau more because he embodied what a man "should" do to help his family making Jacob jealous despite his mother's deep affection for him. After a long day, a very hungry  Esau came out of the fields and asked his brother Jacob for some food to solve his problem. In a rather odd reply, Jacob proposed that Esau sell his birthright meaning the right to call himself the firstborn child in return for some food. In an act of impulsive behavior, Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of  lentils and bread then went on his way (what an idiot...) as Jacob claimed the title for himself.

Although traditional interpretations of this story have focused on the ramifications of impulsive behavior, I want to bring attention to the absurdity of labels such as a birthright. Studies have shown that parents typically have a favorite child because it natural for them to feel attracted to one child over another for a variety of reasons. In the case of Jacob and Esau, Isaac labeled his sons two categories defined by traditional gender roles of "helper" and "hunter" while "helpers" always serve the "hunter." Because of this arbitrary definition, Isaac helped empower the label "birthright" giving it credence to allow oppression thereby explaining Jacob's desire for the title if it can even be called that. In modern society, we see labels applied to every living thing on this planet, maybe we should be trying to understand the person behind the tile instead?

Jacob's even shorter than Esau...surprise...surprise 

http://theyeshiva.net/Article/View/47/Jacobs-Three-Step-Program-toward-Serenity