Toldot D'var Torah

Toldot Summary:

Isaac and Rebekah eventually got married and had kids named Esau and Jacob. Isaac liked Esau more, he was into hunting and outdoorsy stuff, and Rebekah liked Jacob more, he was more mild and stayed in camp most of the time.

Jacob was cooking a stew, and Esau came in very hungry. Esau asked for stew, but Jacob made Esau give up his birthright to eat.

There was a famine, so Isaac went to Abimelech, who was the king of the Philistines. However, Isaac pretended that Rebekah was his sister (apparently, this is a very common theme in the Torah), so that the men wouldn’t kill him so that they could have Rebekah. After some time passed, Abimelech looked out his window and saw Isaac with Rebekah, and he realized that they were married. He sent for Isaac and asked him why he lied, and after Isaac explained, Abimelech made it so that anyone who did anything to Isaac or Rebekah would be put to death. During the rest of the time Isaac spent with the Philistines, he continued to become wealthier and wealthier, until Abimelech kicked him out, since Isaac had become too good for them.

When Isaac was old and mostly blind, he asked Esau to go out and hunt him something good to make something to his liking, so he could give Esau his “innermost blessing” before he died. Rebekah overheard this and told Jacob to get her some sheep from their own flock so she could make a good meal and give it to Jacob. They also covered Jacob in animal skins to make him hairy, like Esau, so Isaac would be fooled. Isaac ate and then blessed Jacob, and right after that, Esau came and made his own meal. When he brought it to Isaac, they realized that Jacob had taken the blessing, which was irreversible. This made Esau sad, and then mad. He decided that he wanted to kill Jacob. Rebekah then told Jacob to run away from Esau to protect himself, and he did.

Commentary:

At the beginning of the portion, God told Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb, two separate peoples shall issue from your body; One people shall be mightier than the other, and the older shall serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). I think that’s an interesting quote because it signifies that God had planned on Jacob receiving Isaac’s birthright blessing instead of Esau, since he clearly says the older brother (Esau) would “serve” the younger brother (Jacob). That also puts into question Rebekah’s motives for helping Jacob secure the blessing- was it because she liked him more, or was it because she was following God’s prophecy by helping Jacob get the blessing when he was younger? I think it’s probably a combination of both, for she did like Jacob, but her subconscious decision may have been because of God’s words, or it may have been fate compelling her to make that decision.