to a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis. It tackles a seemingly simple verse: "Esau was forty years old, and he took as a wife Yehudit, daughter of Be'eri the Hitite, and Basmat, daughter of Elon the Hitite" (Genesis 26:34).

But the rabbis don't just take this at face value. They see something more lurking beneath the surface.

The passage immediately connects Esau's age of forty with a verse from Psalms 80:14: "The swine from the forest gnaws at it." What’s the connection? Well, Rabbi Pinḥas, quoting Rabbi Simon, points out that only two prophets – Moses and Asaf – publicly called out the evils of an empire (understood later as a reference to Rome). Moses does it by describing the pig as having a split hoof, yet being considered unclean (Deuteronomy 14:8). Asaf, in the Psalm, uses the image of the destructive wild boar.

Why the pig?

Here's where it gets really interesting. The rabbis explain that just as a pig lies down and extends its hooves, pretending to be pure when it is anything but, so too does this evil empire – Rome. It steals, it oppresses, but it puts on a show of justice, "arranging the courtroom" to appear righteous.

And what does this have to do with Esau?

The text suggests that Esau, for all his forty years, was living a deceptive life. The Bereshit Rabbah paints him as a man who "would ensnare married women and violate them." A far cry from the upright patriarch he pretends to be! Then, at forty, he decides to emulate his father, Isaac, and take wives. "Just as Father took a wife at forty years of age, I, too, will take a wife at forty years of age." That's why it's written: "Esau was forty years old."

So, on the surface, it's a simple statement of age. But beneath it lies a condemnation of hypocrisy and a connection to a larger theme of oppressive empires masking their wickedness, already present in the Tanakh.

What's the takeaway? Perhaps it's a reminder that things aren't always as they seem. That we need to look beyond the surface, to be aware of the "pigs" in our own lives – the people or systems that present a false image of purity while engaging in destructive behavior. It invites us to question, to analyze, and to seek the truth, just as the rabbis of Bereshit Rabbah did centuries ago.