Parashat Toldot

Parashat Toldot
Cheshvan 29, 5772 ~ November 26, 2011
by Danielle Elkins

“Every human being may become righteous like Moses our Teacher, or wicked like Jeroboam; … There is no one who coerces him or decrees what he is to do, or draws him to either of the two ways; but every person turns to the way which he desires, spontaneously and of his own volition (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah).” This explains the disturbing question: How Isaac and Rebekah, our holy patriarch and matriach, could produce twins, Jacob and Esau, who commonly personify good and evil (The Stone Edition Chumash)? According to this each was born capable of being our holy patriarch, but the use of the word “spontaneously” seems to be a contradiction. The meaning, “done so naturally that it seems to come without prompting or premeditation,” indicates an inborn tendency toward good or evil. Why would one person be given the gift of a good nature and another the challenges of an evil nature?

Parshat Toldot starts with Rebekah learning from Hashem, “Two nations are in your womb; two regimes from your insides shall be separated; the might shall pass from one regime to the other, and the elder shall serve the younger.” This prophecy does not indicate which one would be good or evil. At this point, Jacob and Esau each have the potential for good, just as Maimonides writes. The text does not indicate the boys being treated differently. As the Talmud states in Tractate Kidduishin, that we actually have three parents when you include Hashem’s role in a child’s life. This must always be a positive draw toward the good. “Isaac loved Esau for game in his mouth; but Rebecca loved Jacob (25:28).” It is important to point out this is said after the boy’s grew up, and it does not say Isaac or Rebecca did not love the other; although, the lack of inclusion is unsettling. Each was a favorite of a parent, so how could this create one good and one evil child. The parsha does give us a description of the tendency and their general outlook on life. Jacob sees the birthright as something to cherish, protect, and strive for; Esau views the birthright as something to fear, disregard, and an overall burden. Jacob studies and honors his parents, while Esau spends his time running free and dishonors his parents through his marriages.

Jacob’s tendencies help him to “spontaneously” be a better person. He is always giving of himself naturally. He innately looks toward the spiritual, where Esau by nature is materialistic and impulsive. Both have Free Will, but Jacob’s tendencies make it easier for him to be good, and Esau nature pulls him easily toward evil. Rabbi Dessler describes how the tsaddikim climbs the ladder in service to Hashem one rung at a time, combating his evil inclination, but others without the tendency toward good must cry out for help. In the next parsha Jacob actually dreams of a ladder, and interestingly Esau must cry out in order to receive his blessing.

“And Esau raised his voice and wept.”

“So Isaac his father answered,” and Esau is given the blessing being carried up a rung of the ladder.

One way to make sense of all this is by contemplating the meaning within the whole context of Bereishit and what we are trying to learn. Hashem forms man, and then Hashem deals with the evil of man through punishment, death, destruction, and then through man himself (Noah, Abraham and Sara, and so on) Hashem tries to slowly mold us into people capable of greater levels of good. Hashem is partnering with parents to bring us toward good. We teach our children diligently, for when we teach, we communicate with our children, learning their tendencies or inner workings in order to help mold them toward good, moving them up the ladder, one rung at a time. The key to this seems to be constant communication. In Toldot you don’t see communication between parent and child until the end, the blessing, but later we will see Jacob communicate with his 12 sons. Each child with individual tendencies moving up the ladder toward goodness, sometimes crying out and being carried and other times through his own strength.

Parashat Chayei Sarah

Parashat Chayei Sarah
Cheshvan 22, 5772 ~ November 19, 2011
by Sid Miller

Parashas Chayei Sarah addresses the contribution of two significant women, Sarah and Rebecca. Their contribution to Judaism occurred through their unending pursuit of demonstrating and articulating targeted values and behaviors. The communities’ goals included the delineating and defining our behaviors as individuals and our collective actions toward strangers and those in need who enter our midst.

Sarah represented the obligation to extract from our experiences knowledge, new insights and strategies and apply them to one’s life through the pursuit of individual and community interests. Abraham, the warrior, adventurer, and the one with an “uplink” to Hashem, tended to be focused on abstract ideas and goals, while Sarah tested, challenged and applied abstract notions through intuition and application.

Sarah also provided Abraham a stable mooring from which he was able to communicate with Hashem and pursue the goals he and Hashem had set out. She became the embodiment of three separate acts which have endured: the lighting of the Sabbath lights, transforming dough into challah, and establishing the criteria for intimacy.

While many of Sarah’s contributions may have seemed to have short shelf-lives, each can be rekneaded and rekindled through personal and community commitment, demonstrating again that faltering pledges and efforts can be renewed and restored.

Althoug the acts can be described as simple and functional, they represent aesthetic contributions that enrich and nourish the home, assure individual respect among family members, and provide a beacon to strangers.

Rebecca demonstrated a unique faith and essential contribution that is an underlying principle of the Beth Jacob community, the welcoming and embracing of strangers who seek inclusion, guidance, assistance, and the offers of rewards and challenges. Rebecca welcomed Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, and offered him and his camels water that she had personally shlepted to address her family’s needs.

Rebecca’s behaviors and responses reflected that which she had learned: that strangers are individuals who can be embraced and can enrich and reward an individual and community with their unique insights, experiences and values. Judaism has assured the principle of welcoming by imbedding it into its beliefs and practices.

Among the expectations included:

• Singling out strangers for special treatment;

• Provide fair treatment for the debtor, the laborer, and the stranger, and

• Offering the widow and orphan special consideration care.

The simple and profound acts performed by both Sarah and Rebecca demonstrated and established some essential principles of civility and respect that have not only ushered in community hospitality, they have also enabled Jews to wonder the globe and meet welcoming brothers and sisters. These principles have established an expectation of courtesy and respect, with the opportunity to learn new ways and build bonds that can produce larger, more diverse and inclusive communities.

This Drash was edit by the author’s wife. Clarity, fluidity, and insightful judgements can be attributed to her. All misspellings, grammatical errors, and convoluted ideas are the sole responsibility of the author.