At the shiva service for Dr. Morris Unher of blessed memory, the line of people to greet the family extended all the way to the door. All of them had one thing in common: he had assisted in their birthing process. As a longtime obstetrician at Sisters Hospital, Dr. Unher had seen it all, even on occasion being called over to the Buffalo Zoo to help with Giraffes and Gorillas. The stories shared that day were colorful to say the least, including one from a woman who had not been told she was having not one, not two, but three babies until after they were born. Just imagine the surprise on her face when she saw her triplets for the first time.
While I have never officiated at the Bnei Mitzvah of a triplet, I have had more than my fair share of twins. It’s always interesting to see how different each pair of students are both from one another and from other sets of twins. Some are best friends and do everything together, others have clearly defined roles that are separate. Being part of a twin grouping, usually makes it a little easier for the individual child. Double the participants, can mean half the work for either one of them.
One thing that I have not been able to officiate with, is a Bnei Mitzvah of twins during this week’s Torah portion, Toldot, which describes the birth of the most famous of Biblical twins: Jacob and Esau. There are actually a few other examples of twin babies in the Torah, Perez and Zerah, the children of Judah and Tamar who end up being the progenitors of King David. The rabbis suggest a few other possibilities including Leah and Rachel, the dueling wives of Jacob, and Ephraim and Manasseh, the product of Joseph and his Egyptian wife Asanat. Even according to legend, Cain from the story of Cain and Abel had an unnamed twin brother. To the many Shir Shalom members who are either twins yourself or raised twins, consider this week’s Torah portion to be your own, a celebration of an underappreciated part of our historical narrative:
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Alex