Vayishlach 5786 - Goldwater's Finances

 
There is a well-established custom on Shabbos Parshas Vayishlach that someone in shul will inevitably come over to me, excitedly announcing that they’ve found my name in the parsha.

When the Torah lists the various kings who descended from Eisav, it tells us about Hadad, whose city was Pau, and whose wife was Meheitavel, “the daughter of Matreid, the daughter of Mei Zahav” (36:39). Of course, the literal meaning of “Mei Zahav” is Goldwater. Such yichus!

But who was this mysterious “Mei Zahav”? The commentaries debate it fiercely.

Rashi implies that Matreid and Mei Zahav were the same person, with “Mei Zahav” being a nickname.
Ibn Ezra disagrees, arguing that Mei Zahav was the grandfather. Alternatively, he suggests Matreid and Mei Zahav were the mother and father of Meheitavel.
Ralbag offers further possibilities—perhaps Mei Zahav was a foster parent or a grandmother.
One thing is clear: the Torah goes out of its way to mention someone who seems completely tangential to the storyline. Even the Radak was puzzled.

Rabeinu Bachayei sheds light. He explains that Matreid and Mei Zahav were indeed the same person. “Matreid” comes from tirda—a person constantly driven by worry and toil, working endlessly to acquire wealth. Yet he was also “Mei Zahav”—someone for whom gold flowed like water. This is the sort of family Eisav intermarried with: people obsessed with making money yet never satisfied by it.

The Torah includes this detail to warn us about such a miserable type of individual, even if the figure appears only on the margins of the narrative.

At the same time, the Torah’s view of wealth is far more nuanced. Chazal tell us (Eiruvin 86a)* that Rebbi and Rabbi Akiva respected the wealthy. The Meiri explains that they themselves were wealthy and understood that money is a tool—when used correctly, it enables tremendous good.

Modern tax systems—including Israel’s—often punish high earners with incremental tax rates. The assumption is that “those with the broadest shoulders should bear the greatest burden.” Besides being economically counterproductive, this attitude is fundamentally immature. The Torah’s view is that wealth should be respected, not demonized. When society views wealth as a positive force rather than a treasure chest to plunder, it can be used wisely for the benefit of all.

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Good Shabbos!