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Parshat Toldos Highlights

▪ The parsha starts off by reaffirming Isaac is, in fact, Abraham’s son; the commentaries mentioned he even looked like his father. This was purposely done by G-d because Abraham and Sarah could not have kids for many years and people might doubt that Isaac was really his.

▪ After years of Isaac and Rivka not having children, Rivka is finally pregnant with twins.

▪ Rivka gives birth to Eisav, who has a full head of red hair. The second child that is born is named Yaacov.

▪ Isaac loves Eisav while Rivka loves Yaacov.

▪ Eisav sells his birthright for a cup of soup to his brother Yaacov (the incident occurred the day their grandfather Abraham dies).

▪ There’s a famine in the land and Isaac and Rivka go to Avimelech, King of the Philistines. Puzzling the script is the same as his father Abraham, who went down with Sarah, his wife, to both Philistine and Egypt. Isaac tells the king the same story as his father did, many years before, ‘she’s (Rivka) my sister’. The reason is people might kill me so they can take my wife. Avimelech finds out it’s his wife and orders ‘anyone touches this woman will be killed’.

▪ The Philistines felt threatened by Isaac’s successes in Gerar. They did not honor his treaty with his father by filling the wells in which Abraham dug forcing Isaac to leave. Isaac settled in the valley of Gerar where he dug three wells and successfully found water.

▪ Avimelech makes a treaty with Isaac.

▪ Eisav finds wives that are not appropriate.

▪ Isaac asks Eisav to hunt and make him his favorite meal so he can give him an important blessing.

▪ Yaacov deceives Isaac and impersonates Eisav on instructions from his mother and goes and receives the bracha from his blind father.

▪ Eisav vows to kill Yaacov.

▪ Rivka is not happy with the quality of the girls in Canaan; she convinces Isaac to send Yaacov to her family in Padena Aram.

▪ Eisav saw that Isaac sent Yaacov to Padena Aram to find a wife. He too realized the Caanite women were not good. So he marries the daughter of Yishmael, his uncle.

One of the most puzzling questions in the Torah is why did Yaacov have to demean himself to an uncharacteristic extent and resort to stealing the most prestigious bracha of all time? Secondly, and equally puzzling, his mother – of all people – is the mastermind. It’s as if these personalities, our beloved ancestors (strait laced honest Yaacov and his beloved mother Rivka) have taken on different characters for this role, for this operation, ‘OPERATION: GET THE BRACHA’. It seems kind of odd. Rav Gedalia Schorr (Or Gedalyahu) offers a riveting answer. He says, both of Issac’s sons, Yaacov and Eisav have come to correct the character of the first man, Adam. Yaacov before the sin and Eisav after the sin.

We’re able to derive from the Chumash that both boys, Yaacov and Eisav, were exceptionally talented in their own right. Each brother, according to the Zohar, had an equally important mission to better the world and eventually pave the road for the quick arrival of the Mashiach. We see from the Scripture, ‘ish tam yoshev ohalim’ (wholesome man abiding in tents) referring to Yaacov. His mission was to expand knowledge of math, science, and philosophy, as well as increase sensitivity towards fellow man, etc., through the Torah and through G-d’s words. Yaacov’s task was to appeal to people (the elite) who are already committed to G-d but want to expand their horizons in spirituality. This scenario is similar to the state of Adam in Gan Eden before the sin, which were basically, to increase G-d’s message, and having the luxury of very minimal intervention of the evil forces.

Eisav, on the other hand, had a different task. His mission was to convince the people of the world who are not believers. He was given the talent of ‘ish yodeah tzayid’ (a man who knows how to hunt). A hunter tricks his prey by setting traps; these traps are set through clever words combined with illusions and stretching the truth. G-d empowered Eisav with the ability to fight the evil powers by tricking it. One needs all different kinds of props and sparks to motivate oneself and overcome the negative powers so it can be easier to believe in G-d. Eisav was also given the ability to enjoy physical pleasures so he can show the world you can enjoy physicality and also serve G-d to the utmost.

However, Eisav used his tools in a wrong way. Instead of overpowering the evil powers, they overpowered him. He used his tremendous talents of hunting, giving, and receiving pleasures, for his own satisfaction. With those powerful tools used incorrectly, he became a dangerous monster on a collision course to destroy the world.

It was his mother, Rivka, who realized Eisav’s failure. She knew the importance to fill the void that Eisav has abandoned. The logical choice was Yaacov, who would now be required to fulfill both roles. This strait laced honest man now must show the ability to trick and stretch the truth and be a hunter as well as his natural ability to enhance the world intellectually.

Therefore, Yaacov receives the crucial bracha transformed into both Eisav and himself.

As Jews, we have a double task of both Yaacov and Eisav in the world. This very difficult responsibility entitles us to be the chosen people. That is the reason we, as Jews, are always looked under a magnifying glass.