What is meant by the verse in Micah, “Give truth to Jacob”? The commentaries discuss this question in Parshat Toldot, where the themes of truth and deception are front and center. The question feels especially urgent today, as we—the children of Yaacov—struggle to make truth heard and to dispel the deceptive narratives told about Israel.

The Torah describes Yaacov as “a plain (tam) man, dwelling in tents,” which Rashi contrasts with Esav, who regularly misled his father about his true character. This is striking, given that it is Yaacov who appears to act deceptively. He acquires the birthright at Esav’s moment of weakness, and later follows Rivka’s plan to disguise himself before Yitzchak. When Yitzchak, who is going blind, asks him directly who he is, Yaacov answers, “I am Esav, your firstborn.” Yitzchak later tells Esau that his brother came with mirma—cunning—and took the blessing. Still, Rashi works to preserve Yaacov’s integrity. He repunctuates the verse so that Yaacov is not technically lying: “I am [bringing you food]; Esav is your firstborn,” and defines mirma as cleverness rather than deceit.

Other commentaries take a different approach: even if the blessing was truly destined for Yaacov, the way he received it carried consequences. In one midrashic tradition, Rachel deceives Yaacov on his wedding night to spare Leah’s shame and reminds him that he once deceived his own father, measure for measure. And when Esav cries out “a great and bitter cry,” Bereshit Rabbah says that this is echoed generations later when Mordechai cries out in Shushan under Haman’s decree to wipe out the Jewish people.

Yaacov was a man of truth. When he acted with duplicity it was to ensure the future of the Jewish people, yet there were long-term consequences. Today, when the world so readily absorbs falsehoods about our people, we renew our mission to “give truth to Yaacov”—to stand for the integrity and truth of the Jewish people. Shabbat Shalom and chodesh tov!🇮🇱 -Karen Miller Jackson