Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Click here to receive the weekly parsha by email each week. Parashat Toldot WHEN THE BOYS GREW UP, ESAU BECAME A SKILLFUL HUNTER, A MAN OF THE OUTDOORS; BUT JACOB WAS A MILD MAN, WHO STAYED IN CAMP. I SAAC FAVORED ESAU BECAUSE HE HAD A TASTE FOR GAME; REBEKAH LOVED JACOB. (Bereishit 25)   When love is conditional upon a cause, when that cause ends, so does the love. Unconditional love is everlasting. (Pirkei Avot 5: 16)   "Isaac favored Esau because he had a taste...

Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Parashat Toldot ISAAC WAS SEIZED WITH VERY VIOLENT TREMBLING, "WHO WAS IT THEN" HE DEMANDED, "THAT HUNTED GAME AND BROUGHT IT TO ME? MOREOVER I ATE OF IT BEFORE YOU CAME, AND I BLESSED HIM; NOW HE MUST REMAIN BLESSED!" WHEN ESAV HEARD HIS FATHER'S WORDS, HE BURST INTO WILD AND BITTER SOBBING AND HE SAID TO HIS FATHER: "BLESS ME TOO, FATHER…" AND ESAV SAID TO HIS FATHER: "HAVE YOU BUT ONE BLESSING, FATHER? BLESS ME TOO, FATHER!" AND ESAV WEPT ALOUD. AND HIS FATHER YITCHAK...

Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Parashat Toldot But the children almost crushed one another inside her, so she said: if this be so, why do I exist? And she went to inquire of God. God said to her: two nations are in your body, two tribes from your belly shall be divided; tribe shall be mightier than tribe, elder shall be servant to younger. When her days were fulfilled for bearing, here: twins were in her body! The first one came out ruddy, like a hairy mantle all over, so they called...

Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat Toldot (link to original page) Parshat Toldot "He came close and kissed him . . .and blessed him . . . So may God give you from the dew of the heavens, from the fat of the earth . . (Bereishit 27:27-28) "And Yitzhak his father answered, saying to him: Behold, from the fat of the earth must be your dwelling place, from the dew of the heavens above. You will live by your sword, you will serve your brother. (Bereishit 27:39-40) God Shows No Favoritism: Said Rabbi Hanin: Whoever says...

Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat Toldot (link to original page) Parshat Toldot "The voice is the voice of Jacob": there is no effective prayer that is not from the seed of Jacob, "The hands are the hands of Esau": you have no victorious war which is not from the seed of Esau. (Babylonian Talmud, Gittin, 57b) Did Esau disguise himself as Jacob or vice versa? The mistake is possible in both directions. "The voice is the voice of Jacob and the hands are the hands of Esau": he could not have said, "the voice is Jacob's...