FATHER KNOWS BEST

Father Knows Best
AT TOURO SYNAGOGUE
November 10, 2018

BY AARON GINSBURG 

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Shabbat last week was chilly. The temperature was 45 degrees both inside and outside the shul. Outside it was natural difficulties and inside it was technical difficulties. The congregation is experienced, and dressed appropriately for both the inside and outside climate. I noticed that our service, which is known for its fast pace, ended earlier than normal.

The Parsha, Toledot, is about family matters, especially about Jacob and Esau. Esau is a described as a a hunter and a man of the fields, a hunter-gatherer, while Jacob is not. Not only is a clash of two individuals, but two life styles. When they were blessed by their father Isaac, Jacob received land, while Esau was told he would live by the sword.

Rabbi Marc Mandel compared our ancestors to a TV show, Father Knows Best.

“Do you remember the popular TV show Father Knows Best? It starred Robert Young and Jane Wyatt. Robert Young was the father who always knew what was best. Well, this week’s parsha could be called Mother Knows Best. 

“In this week’s parsha it is not the father who is the star of the show; it is the mother. The story is well known-Rivka wants her son Yaakov to receive the blessings of Yitzhak-so she orchestrates a whole plan for Yaakov to dress as Esau and bring Yitzhak a delicious meal before Esau does it to receive the bracha. The question is, does Rivka really know best? Was this a good idea?

“Didn’t she put Yaakov’s life in danger? Is this really a case of mother knows best? Or is it really father knows best and Yaakov should have realized the danger of this plan.

“The Torah teaches in Proverbs 1:18, שְׁמַ֣ע בְּ֭נִי מוּסַ֣ר אָבִ֑יךָ וְאַל־תִּ֝טֹּ֗שׁ תּוֹרַ֥ת אִמֶּֽךָ׃. 'Listen my child to the advice of your father and do not abandon the torah of your mother.' In this case Yaakov does listen to the Torah of his mother and it changes the course of his life.  Yes, he does receive the blessing, but he’s also turned into a fugitive-worrying his whole life that his brother will kill him.

“Yaakov doesn't seem to harbor any anger towards his mother for changing his life so radically: He is willing to follow all her advice and take the consequences. He believed sincerely that mother knows best.

“We pray that as we go on our life’s journey that we will make the right decisions and that Hashem will bless us with an abundance of berachot.”

The Anderson Family source Wikimedia

Father Knows Best, a show about the Anderson family, was created by its star, Robert Young. In the TV series, sometimes father did know best, but often it was mother or one of the children. 

The Anderson house pictured in the credits was used in Dennis the Menace, I Dream of Jeannie. It was built in 1941 for Blondie movies, and also was used in Hazel, Bewitched, The Monkees, and The Partridge Family.

The Hollywood set required a lot of remodeling to make it work for decades. Fortunately, Touro Synagogue only had one remodel, of its eastern wall, in the early 1800s. 

Shabbat Shalom from Jewish Newport!