Esau’s trade; soul casts away divine lessons for necessities

A prayer from Jerusalem: “See, O Lord, my dishonor,” she who has lost the adornment because of famine. And perhaps the desirable things are different—primarily the ones shown before “upon which the enemy stretched out the hand,” and secondarily those of each one from the people; and the common ones he took, but in exchange for the private ones each was buying food. And toward the ascent-sense: just as Esau gave away the birthrights for the sake of red food, of which he has become namesake—Edom, that is Red earth; for he also became earthy, having despised the birthrights and having made the earthly things primary, which Jacob pursued as necessary in a secondary account because of being in a body—so also Jerusalem. But the one gives to worthy Jacob to obtain what desirable things he had, even if he did not choose these first; and the people of Jerusalem also gave for the sake of food, but not of a holy one preparing this, but of Babylonians who were going to insult the desirable things given. For Jacob knows how to adorn the things from Esau, but the Babylonians do not use the things given unto their own good. So also a soul, through lack of the necessary needs, throws away the divine lessons to those who from curiosity want to learn unto slander and mockery.