#mochalat

עֵשָׂו לָקַח אֶת נָשָׁיו . . וְאֶת בָּשְׂמַת בַּת יִשְׁמָעֵאל - בראשית ל"ו, ב-ג 

Eisav chose his wives... and Bosmat daughter of Yishmael. (Bereishit 36:2-3)

Elsewhere, the Torah calls her מָחֲלַת, Mochalat. ...There are three whose sins are forgiven: A convert, someone promoted to a high position, and one who marries. The proof is derived from here; she was called Mochalat because her sins were forgiven (נְמְחֲלוּ in Hebrew, from which the name מָחֲלַת is derived.) —Rashi

By marrying a woman from the family of Avraham, Eisav sought to convince his parents that he was pursuing a more righteous life. Rashi (28:9) sums up Eisav's hypocrisy, saying, "he added wickedness upon his wickedness, for he did not divorce his other wives."

Yet, in reference to this marriage of convenience, or even worse, this marriage of deceit, the Torah introduces to us the amazing personal transformation that marriage effects on the couple being wed. Eisav's bride Bosmas is hintingly referred to as Mochalas, from the Hebrew word for forgiveness, to teach us that every Jewish bride and groom is cleansed from all previous sins on their wedding day. Whether one is aware of it or not, the mere desire and decision to build a Jewish family, fulfilling G-d's great command: "Be fruitful and multiply," makes a person worthy of such great spiritual elevation.

Marriage allows for new life to be brought into this world. Hence, its spiritual equivalent is the effort to "revive" another Jew's study and observance of the Torah of Life. as the Gemara declares, "He who teaches Torah to another's child, the Torah considers it as if he fathered him (Sanhedrin 19b)." It follows that the lesson learned from Eisav's marriage applies to spiritual marriage as well.

Even if you view yourself as an "Eisav", G-d forbid, do not hesitate to pursue a spiritual marriage – to draw others to the Torah way of life. If you but resolve to put yourself to the task of building a spiritual family, you will be supernaturally assisted to rise to the highest and purest spiritual heights.