Toledot – Gen. 25:19-28:9 (Nov. 20/21)

November 20, 2020

As the Torah Turns

Rabbi Lader’s Weekly D’var Torah

Toledot – Gen. 25:19-28:9 (Nov. 20/21)

This week’s Torah portion is Toledot – Gen. 25:19-28:9, and opens with the story of the birth of Isaac and Rebecca’s sons, twins: Jacob and Esau. It is written that “Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for meat [and Esau was a hunter], and Rebecca loved Jacob.” (25:28) Yes, this is the story of Esau, the elder of the twins, spurning his birthright for a bowl of Jacob’s lentil stew… and then Rebecca helping Jacob disguise himself to receive Isaac’s blessing, as if he were the first born son. Is Isaac truly old and infirm and blind? Or is he blind to the situation around him? Or is he helping Rebecca bring about what was told to her when she was pregnant and the two “struggled in her womb”? This is a story of parental love… and favorites… and birthrights and blessings. And we find resonance in this story for the approval we seek (and need) from our parents to become self-sufficient adults. In their book on the families of Genesis, Wrestling With Angels by Naomi H. Rosenblatt and Joshua Horwitz, we read: “Jacob and Esau show us how desperately children need their parents’ love and how explicitly that love needs to be conveyed… Parents need to find time to share with children, to listen to them, to teach them. Nothing can replace a parent’s loving attention, and no child can get too much of it.” (p. 255) What birthrights and blessings can we offer our children? Our nieces and nephews? Our grandchildren? The chldren in our lives? We pray for the wisdom to favor no child, and to appreciate the gift that each child brings.From the beginning, help us give each child our fullest love and our fullest blessing;and help us give each child their share in the heritage of our people.* *based on a poem by Ruth F. Brin, “The Generations of Isaac”