After my Thursday afternoon class on Parashat Hashevua I got thinking more about the thesis of Esav being a vampire - or at least midrashim painting him that way.
First a disclaimer: This is not a serious Dvar Torah so please take it with a big pinch of salt.
I was discussing on Thursday amongst other things the identity of the mysterious "איש" that Yaakov wrestled with. Ish means man but Yaakov says "that he saw God face to face and my soul was saved". Many of the medieval commentators Rashbam and Radak amongst others identify the mystery ish as an angel. Rashi takes it one step further and identifies the angel as the angel of Esav.
But I have a different take and that is that he was fighting Esav and that Esav may have been a vampire!
Here are my reasons
1. Yaakov wrestles with someone who suddenly has to leave at dawn!
2. When Yaakov and Esav meet, Esav kisses Yaakov on the neck. The midrash says that Esav tried to bite Yaakov but Yaakov's neck turned to marble and Esav's teeth fell out.
As I said before I'm half joking with this position and then I saw a blog on rationalist Judaism. There Rabbi Slifkin brings many proofs. Here's the link for anyone who wants to read more.
Have a great week.
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