Parashat Toldot
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==Birth of Yackov and Esav== | ==Birth of Yackov and Esav== | ||
− | The generations of Yitzchak the son of Avrahom were Yackov and Esav.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:19">Rashi Berashis 25:19</ref> Hashem created Yitzchak's facial features | + | The generations of Yitzchak the son of Avrahom were Yackov and Esav.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:19">Rashi Berashis 25:19</ref> Hashem created Yitzchak's facial features to greatly resembled Avrahom. This was done to dispute the claim of the generation's scoffers that Sarah had conceived from Avimelech for she had lived with Abraham for many years and had not conceived from him.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:19"/> |
===Prayers for Children=== | ===Prayers for Children=== | ||
− | Yitzchak was forty years old when he married Rivka the daughter of Bisuel the Aramean from Padan Aram, the sister of | + | Yitzchak was forty years old when he married Rivka the daughter of Bisuel the Aramean from Padan Aram, the sister of Luvon the Aramean, who had grown up with these two wicked men but did not learn from their deeds.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:20"/> Although Rivka was born at the time of Akadah and Sara's death when Yitzchak was 37, he had waited 3 years before marrying her until she would be fit for marital relations.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:20">Rashi Berashis 25:20</ref> Padan Aram - literally the 'field of Aram' was the joint name four the two Aram provinces: Aram Naharaim and Aram Tzovah.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:20"/> |
− | Yitzchak prayed a lot<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:21"/> and entreated<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:21">Rashi Berashis 25:21</ref> Hashem, because Rivka was barren. | + | Yitzchak prayed a lot<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:21"/> and entreated<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:21">Rashi Berashis 25:21</ref> Hashem, because Rivka was barren. Yitzchak would pray in one corner opposite his wife who prayed in the parallel corner.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:21"/> Hashem allowed Himself to be entreated and appeased by Yitzchak,<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:21"/> accepting his prayer and Rivka conceived. Yitzchak's prayer had been answered since he was righteous and his father Avrahom was righteous but not Rivka's because her father Bisuel was wicked.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:21"/> |
===The Pregnancy=== | ===The Pregnancy=== | ||
− | The two children struggled within her. When Rivka would near the Torah center of Shem and Ever, Yackov would run and struggle to come out | + | The two children struggled within her. When Rivka would near the Torah center of Shem and Ever, Yackov would run and struggle to come out. When she would pass by temples of idolatry Esav would struggle to come out.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:22">Rashi Berashis 25:22</ref> Additionally they were struggling and fighting regarding the inheritance of This World and the Next.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:22"/> |
− | She told herself if the suffering of pregnancy is so great,<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:22"/> why is she like this desiring and praying about the pregnancy.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:22"/> She went to inquire from Hashem at the academy of Shem,<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:22"/ | + | She told herself if the suffering of pregnancy is so great,<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:22"/> why is she like this desiring and praying about the pregnancy.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:22"/> She went to inquire from Hashem at the academy of Shem,<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:22"/> so he could tell her what her future will be.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:22"/> Hashem told her through Shem who received the answer through Divine Inspiration and transmitted it as a messenger;<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:23">Rashi Berashis 25:23</ref> there were two nations in her womb. Two kingdoms<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:23"/> will separate from her womb, having already separated there, Esav to wickedness and Yackov to piety.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:23"/> One kingdom will be mightier then the other, they will never have equal greatness, when one rises the other will fall,<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:23"/> an example being Tyre's rise to power only from the destruction of Yerushalaim.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:23"/> The elder one will server the younger one. Also alluded were the great Antoninus and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, whose tables did not lack neither radishes or lettuce, both in the summer and winter.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:23"/> |
===The Birth=== | ===The Birth=== | ||
− | Rivka's days to give birth were completed after 9 months of pregnancy<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:24">Rashi Berashis 25:24</ref> and there were twins in her womb, one righteous and one evil.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:24"/> | + | Rivka's days to give birth were completed after 9 months of pregnancy<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:24">Rashi Berashis 25:24</ref> and there were twins in her womb, one righteous and one evil.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:24"/> The first emerging with reddish complexion, symbolizing that he will be murderer.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:25">Rashi Berashis 25:25</ref> He was entirely covered with hair like a woven woolen coat which is full of hair.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:25"/> They all<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:25"/> named him Esav, since he was made and developed (עשוי) from birth with the hair of someone much older.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:25"/> |
− | + | Afterwards his brother emerged with his hand grabbing Esav' heel. Yackov was created from the first drop and Esav from the second, just like when two stones are inserted in a narrow tube, the one entered first will emerge last and the one inserted second will emerge first. Therefore Yackov who was created first had the right to restrain Esav who was created last but trying to emerge first and instead try to be the one to open her womb since he was formed first and be the firstborn according to law.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:26">Rashi Berashis 25:26</ref> By grasping Esav's heel, Yackov symbolized that Esav will not manage to complete his reign until he rises up and takes it from him.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:26"/> Hashem<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:26"/> named him Yackov, Yitzchok also naming him so because of the grabbing of the heel.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:26"/> | |
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− | Afterwards his brother emerged with his hand grabbing Esav' heel. Yackov was created from the first drop and Esav from the second, just like when two stones are inserted in a narrow tube, the one entered first will emerge last and the one inserted second will emerge first. Therefore Yackov who was created first had the right to restrain Esav who was created last but trying to emerge first and instead try to be the one to open her womb since he was formed first and be the firstborn according to law.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:26">Rashi Berashis 25:26</ref> By grasping Esav's heel, Yackov symbolized that Esav will not manage to complete his reign until he rises up and takes it from him | + | |
Yitzchak was 60 years when Rivka gave birth to them. Yitzchak was 40 when he married Rivka at age 3 and then waited 10 years until she was 13 and able to give conceive. When an additional 10 years passed, which he spent looking forward for her, just like his father Avraham did for Sarah, and she did not conceive, he knew that she was barren and prayed for her.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:26"/> Yitzchak did not wish marry a maidservant because he had become sanctified on Mount Moriah to be perfect burnt offering.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:26"/> | Yitzchak was 60 years when Rivka gave birth to them. Yitzchak was 40 when he married Rivka at age 3 and then waited 10 years until she was 13 and able to give conceive. When an additional 10 years passed, which he spent looking forward for her, just like his father Avraham did for Sarah, and she did not conceive, he knew that she was barren and prayed for her.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:26"/> Yitzchak did not wish marry a maidservant because he had become sanctified on Mount Moriah to be perfect burnt offering.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:26"/> | ||
==Growing Up== | ==Growing Up== | ||
− | As long as they were small, they where not recognizable through their actions and no one analyzed their nature.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27">Rashi Berashis 25:27</ref> However when the children grew up and turned thirteen years old they parted.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> Esav became a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, an loafer who hunted animals and birds with his bow<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> and parted to idolatry.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> Aside for hunting animals, Esav also knew how to trap and deceive his father.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> He would ask Yitzchak questions like how to take off Masser from salt and straw, convincing him that he was very carful observing Mitzvos.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> Yackov on the other hand was a simple man who was not an expert deceit, rather his mouth was like his heart<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> and he dwelt | + | As long as they were small, they where not recognizable through their actions and no one analyzed their nature.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27">Rashi Berashis 25:27</ref> However when the children grew up and turned thirteen years old they parted.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> Esav became a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, an loafer who hunted animals and birds with his bow<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> and parted to idolatry.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> Aside for hunting animals, Esav also knew how to trap and deceive his father.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> He would ask Yitzchak questions like how to take off Masser from salt and straw, convincing him that he was very carful observing Mitzvos.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> Yackov on the other hand was a simple man who was not an expert deceit, rather his mouth was like his heart<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> and he dwelt in tents of Shem and Ever,<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> parting to the houses of Torah study.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:27"/> |
Yitzchak loved Esav because he would feed his mouth with hunted food.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:28">Rashi Berashis 25:28</ref> Additionally Esav trapped him through his mouth by deceiving Yitzchak with his words.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:28"/> Rivka loved Yackov. | Yitzchak loved Esav because he would feed his mouth with hunted food.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:28">Rashi Berashis 25:28</ref> Additionally Esav trapped him through his mouth by deceiving Yitzchak with his words.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:28"/> Rivka loved Yackov. | ||
− | == | + | ==Firstborn Rights== |
On the day they turned thirteen, Avraham passed away so he would not see his grandson Esav falling to bad ways and counter the promise Hashem had given him of experiencing a good old age. Therefore Hashem deducted five years from his life, living only 175 years, while his son Yitzchak lived 180 years.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> Yackov cooked<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:29">Rashi Berashis 25:29</ref> a dish of lentils to feed his mourning father.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> Selecting lentils because they are shaped like wheel, symbolizing that mourning is like a wheel turning in the world. Also just like lentils do not have a mouth opening, so to a mourner does not have a mouth since he's forbidden to speak,<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> and for the entire first three days he can not reply to anyone's greeting and for sure can not initiate a greeting. From to the third to seventh day, he can may respond but can not greet.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> This is similar to the custom to start the mourner's meal with eggs, that are round and have no mouth.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> | On the day they turned thirteen, Avraham passed away so he would not see his grandson Esav falling to bad ways and counter the promise Hashem had given him of experiencing a good old age. Therefore Hashem deducted five years from his life, living only 175 years, while his son Yitzchak lived 180 years.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> Yackov cooked<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:29">Rashi Berashis 25:29</ref> a dish of lentils to feed his mourning father.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> Selecting lentils because they are shaped like wheel, symbolizing that mourning is like a wheel turning in the world. Also just like lentils do not have a mouth opening, so to a mourner does not have a mouth since he's forbidden to speak,<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> and for the entire first three days he can not reply to anyone's greeting and for sure can not initiate a greeting. From to the third to seventh day, he can may respond but can not greet.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> This is similar to the custom to start the mourner's meal with eggs, that are round and have no mouth.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> | ||
Esav came from the field feeling very tired from committing an act of murder.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:29"/> Esav asked Yackov to pour into his open mouth<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30">Rashi Berashis 25:30</ref> a loth<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> of the red dish of red lentils<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> for he was weak. He was therefore named Edom. | Esav came from the field feeling very tired from committing an act of murder.<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:29"/> Esav asked Yackov to pour into his open mouth<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30">Rashi Berashis 25:30</ref> a loth<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> of the red dish of red lentils<ref name="Rashi Berashis 25:30"/> for he was weak. He was therefore named Edom. | ||
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===Taking Firstborn Status=== | ===Taking Firstborn Status=== | ||
When the forces of evil attack a person and he fights back, not only is he able to recover the energy they stole from him, he is able to extract energy that was buried deep inside of them from what they had previously captured. Therefore when Yaakov battled the damages of Esav he was able to extract from him even the status of Firstborn.<ref name="Likutay Halachos, Hilchos Ginava 5/9-11"/> | When the forces of evil attack a person and he fights back, not only is he able to recover the energy they stole from him, he is able to extract energy that was buried deep inside of them from what they had previously captured. Therefore when Yaakov battled the damages of Esav he was able to extract from him even the status of Firstborn.<ref name="Likutay Halachos, Hilchos Ginava 5/9-11"/> | ||
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==The Blessings== | ==The Blessings== |