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ONE QUESTION; WHICH DIRECTION

Parshas Toldos introduces us to the birth of Yaakov and Eisov, the central players of world history. Yaakov plays the role of the hero who will bring the world to its ultimate destiny when HaShem will be recognized and accepted by all. Eisov plays the role of Yaakov’s nemesis. Eisov is the one who tries to block Yaakov, using his many tactics, from achieving his goal. Hashgacha had it that these two players be born to the same parents in the same womb at the same time – they are twins. Their dichotomous relationship is reminiscent of the two goats that were prepared for the Yom Kippur service. They were supposed to be the same height, same value and as much as possible to resemble one another. One of these goats would be brought before HaShem in the Bais Hamikdosh and the other thrown down a cliff to appease the satan. The only distinction was the direction they were going.

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PAPA IS IN PAIN, TOO!

The Talmud teaches us that just as we wear tefillin on our heads and our arms to attach our-selves to HaShem, so does HaShem wear tefillin on His head (so to speak) and on His arm to attach Himself to us. Just as in our tefillin we have Torah portions which express our commitment to Him, so in His tefillin are Torah portions which express His commitment to us. Judaism is not merely the religion of the Jewish people – it is a loving relationship between HaShem and His beloved people.

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KEEP THE KITCHEN STAFF IN THE KITCHEN

This week’s Parsha, Toldos, presents us the story of Yaakov’s stealing the blessings that were meant for Eisov from Yitzchok. We must point out that once Yitzchok realized what transpired he immediately agreed with Yaakov that the blessings should remain with him as Yitzchok explicitly expressed that.

When Eisov discovered that Yitzchok gave the blessings to Yaakov he begged his father for another blessing to which his father told him that it was already given away. The blessing Yaakov received was that his brother shall serve him, so there is nothing left to give. Eisov begged until Yitzchok told Eisov that when Yaakov fails to live up to his mission and will fall from his position, then you will reign supreme. But when Yaakov reigns you will be irrelevant. From this conversation our Sages teach us that never will Jerusalem and Rome (the capital of Eisov) share positions of world leadership. When Yaakov is supreme Eisov is reduced and vice versa.

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JOB DESCRIPTION

In this week’s Parsha, Toldos we find two distinctly different visions for the Jewish people. We have Yitzchok’s pre-blessing vision and Rivka’s vision to which Yitzchok conceded in the end. As children of this incredible people let us familiarize ourselves with these visions.

Both Yitzchok and Rivka understood that their children would be the people chosen by HaShem to bring the world to its state of perfection. That was to be accomplished by being a Nation of Priests and a light unto the nations. They both under-stood that Yaakov was to be the spiritual leader of this nation. Yaakov was a man of Torah study while Eisov was a man of the field. Yaakov was a man of spirit while Eisov was a man of material.

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MAINTAINING BALANCE

As Jews, we know that HaShem created this universe for the expressed purpose to pro-vide pleasure for others. With this understanding it follows that He is the personification of goodness. His sole interest is the welfare of others. To this end, He created a world that contains uncountable forces and each force has its counterforce that opposes it. His world lies in perfect balance. Gravity pulls the Earth towards the Sun but it is countered by the centrifugal force which pulls it away from the Sun. This perfect balance allows the Earth to continue its movement around the Sun in a perfect orbit. The same occurs in our stomach when the corrosive enzymes break apart the foodstuff but are countered by forces that protect the stomach wall. HaShem is the Master of balance.

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TAKING THE INITIATIVE

In this week’s Parsha, Toldos, the Torah goes out of her way to point out the greatness of our mother Rivka. In referencing Rivka, the Torah identifies her as the daughter of Besuel from the region of Padan Aram and the sister of Lavan. All these details are redundant as we already know them from last week’s Parsha. The reason it is repeated is to teach us the great-ness of Rivka. In spite of her father, Besuel, who was known as a wicked person and in spite of her brother Lavan who was known as a sly dealer and in spite of the region of Padan Aram which was known as a place of much pagan practice, Rivka emerged a virtuous and righteous young lady. This is truly a great testament to Rivka.