Dec. 3, 2024

What It's Like to Grow Up as a Twin: Lessons from Yaakov and Esav

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Season 7

Who did it better? Who grew taller? Who made more money? As twins, these are just a few of the comparisons Isaac and I have faced since birth. Join us for a light-hearted yet meaningful exploration of the unique bond and friendly rivalries between twins like us. Drawing inspiration from the biblical tale of Jacob and Esau, we reflect on how our different temperaments have shaped our journeys in sports, Torah study, and beyond. Whether you're a twin or not, discover how to handle the constant comparisons and find your path in a world that loves to pit siblings against each other.

Navigating the expectations of family and tradition, our discussion delves into the quest to avoid becoming like the infamous Esau. We offer personal insights on finding your "ramp onto the expressway of Torah," emphasizing the importance of embracing study methods that resonate with your passions, whether through debate, storytelling, or connecting study to personal interests. This episode is not just for twins but for anyone striving to balance different aspects of their lives while maintaining a sense of personal fulfillment and growth. Tune in for a thoughtful conversation that encourages harnessing what you love as a powerful tool for deeper learning and connection.

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Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com



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To be born as a twin means to be born into the reality that you will be compared to another individual in this world for the rest of your life.

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Who did it better?

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Who grew taller?

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Who made more money?

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Who learns more Torah?

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Who's better looking?

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Who's a better ball player?

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Well, obviously my eight-minute older brother, ike Isaac Yitzchak, knows the truth that he can't hang with me in learning or in ball, even though I am the eight-minute younger twin.

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I say that facetiously for those that didn't pick up on the subtle humor there.

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We're best friends and we'd always make fun of each other being twins that were just like that great story in the Bible, yaakov and Esau.

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You're much more like Esau, I'm much more like Yaakov.

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He would quip with his good old witticisms, but I'd say back no, I'm the younger twin, I'm the Yaakov, the Jacob.

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You're much more hairy and large and running out to the field.

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And speaking here from the heart, because perhaps it will provide somebody with value In reading the Pesukim about what Yaakov and Esav were like, these famous twins Esav was much more into sports, outgoing rambunctious a temperament, much, much more into the field, hunting, trapping skills of sport, the field hunting, trapping skills of sport.

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And Yaakov was way more into serving in the house of study, being a bookworm, and to me, even to this day, my temperament well finds just studying and sitting in one place to be repulsive.

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I'm going to go out and ball Run around.

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So how do we myself included this is the question that I asked make sure that we don't end up like Aesop ended up?

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This is a very pressing question.

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I can still hear my father echoing in my ear that, oh Michael, if only you would remember your football statistics or remember your Torah study as much as you recall your football statistics.

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So I got a great piece of advice from somebody that helped me and maybe it will help you, and that is that there needs to be often this on-ramp to the expressway of Torah, for I also do not like studying and sitting in one place for a moment, but I do enjoy the argumentative part of Torah study.

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My brain honestly feels that 2,000-year-old Aramaic text is rather hard to pay attention to for longer than 10 minutes, but I do enjoy a good Mussar lesson.

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I do enjoy Chumash Rashi.

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I do enjoy the brilliance of Rabbi Yeruchim and the absolute pen of wonder from Rav Hirsch.

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How about the dynamic authorship of the Rajba, how entire concepts are summarized into one, two, three words, the unpacking of certain lessons.

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There is one, two or three things that I found enjoyable.

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Couldn't do it for more than a couple minutes, but I heard from a great person double down on what your heart enjoys, what you find to be tempting and enjoyable to study, because it can work as a interchange or sort of ramp onto an expressway of Torah.

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Because still for me it's hard to sit still and more Asav like temperament Makes a full Seder challenging.

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But every possible hey, maybe I could use that in a podcast.

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Hey, maybe this connects to what I was learning In a Musser concept here.

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Maybe this is something I can share with a friend.

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Maybe I can win this argument.

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It may not always be perfect, but we got to start grabbing at straws here so we don't end up like Asav and God forbid to just have the system work its magic.

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You can be somebody that falls through the cracks because you're forced to be a bookworm, even though your temperament is much more like Asav probably will only exacerbate the issues.

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So for us to remember our Torah study like we recall our football statistics, those with the predisposition to be more outgoing and field and sport oriented, like Esau.

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Consider finding your ramp onto the expressway of Torah.

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Find what speaks to you, whatever it is.

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Speak and learning, argue and learning.

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Speak about anything, but sometimes, like that, you start grabbing and wanting more Torah to connect to whatever it is.

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Speak and learning, argue and learning.

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Speak about anything, but sometimes, like that, you start grabbing and wanting more Torah to connect to whatever it is that makes your heart sing and like that, just maybe we'll be more like Yaakov and hopefully far away from anything like Esav.