Jacob's Tents

  ... Esau was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.                                    Genesis 25:27

            Rashi, based upon Midrash Rabba, implies the question of why the verse uses the plural “tents” and comments that the tents referred to are those of Shem and of Ever (in Rabbinic tradition, the two yeshivot at the time of the Patriarchs).

            Netziv (late 19^th century), in what is perhaps a variant of the Midrash, comments that the reference is to the tents of Torah study and of prayer.

            Sforno (c. 1475 - 1550) comments that the two tents are the shepherd’s tent and the “tent that shall not be removed” [Isaiah 33:20], in which Jacob reflected on recognizing his Creator and sanctifying himself through Him. Contrasting Sforno’s comment with that of Rashi’, Sforno implies that Jacob was self taught.

            Rabbeinu Behayye (d. 1340) writes that according to the simple meaning (p’shat), the tents are those of Shem and Ever, while according to kabbala, the tents are the heavenly and earthly ones. Thus, unlike the Rashi and Netziv, Sforno and Rabbeinu Behayye understand the plural to refer to two different realms. Jacob was equally at home, whether in the spiritual or physical tent.

            My father suggested that the use of the plural indicates that Jacob remained the same “plain man” no matter what tent he occupied. Whether in his own tent or that of his less than righteous father-in-law, Laban, Jacob maintained his devotion to God and adherence to His way. Jacob dwelt comfortably not only in his own tent, his natural environment of Torah, but fit in as well in the world outside the tent of Torah.  In whatever environment he found himself, Jacob remained Jacob. The use of the plural thus indicates that Jacob was able to live not only in different tents, but even in conflicting ones.