Toldos – Page 15 – Peninim on the Torah

“And the boys grew up and Eisav was a man who knew hunting, a man of the field; Yaakov was a wholesome man dwelling in tents. ” (25:27)

With these few words, the Torah characterizes the essence of Yaakov and the essence of Eisav. Indeed, it seems that the text pinpoints the predominant difference between the two brothers. One question is readily apparent. Eisav was a rasha m’rusha, evil incarnate. Even before his birth, in his mother’s womb, his wicked tendencies were already manifest. Chazal teach us that when Rivkah passed by a house of idolatry, Eisav gravitated towards it. All this while he was still in the womb! On the day that he sold his birthright, he committed five cardinal sins. Is this a man who should…

Home -> 5757 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5757

“And Eisav was a man who knew hunting, a man of the field, and Yaakov was a wholesome man dwelling in tents.” (25:27)

Eisav is not depicted as a hunter, but as a man who “knew” hunting, a professional hunter who is an expert at his chosen vocation. Eisav is the consummate hunter, the one who sets the standard for excellence in the field of hunting, the one to whom everybody looks up. Eisav is a “doer;” his entire essence bespeaks accomplishment and success. Yaakov, on the other hand, is portrayed as a man who dwells in tents, the quiescent scholar who remains cloistered from society, his mind buried in his books. Undoubtedly he is successful at what he is doing. In the…

Home -> 5757 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5757

“And he said (Yitzchak), ‘Your brother came with cleverness and took your blessing.'” (27:35)

Probably one of the most difficult narratives in the Torah to understand, is the one which depicts Yaakov as “taking” the blessings from Yitzchak, through a manner uncharacteristic of someone who is considered to be the epitome of veracity. We do not understand the ways of Hashem. Why did He choose that Yitzchak be unaware that he was actually blessing Yaakov — and that Eisav was actually not fit for blessing altogether. The Zohar Ha’Kadosh comments that this scenario was essential so that the blessing would come directly from Hashem to Yaakov via the medium of the unsuspecting Yitzchak. The…

Home -> 5756 -> Toldos

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5756

“These are the generations of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham, Avraham begat Yitzchak.” (25:19)

The commentators address the apparent redundancy of the pasuk. Obviously, if Yitzchak was the son of Avraham, then Avraham begat Yitzchak. In his commentary on Chumash, the Tzemach Tzedek offers an explanation rooted in Chasidus. Avraham Avinu is a figure who serves as a paradigm for avodas Hashem, service of Hashem, through love and chesed. In contrast, Yitzchak is the model of fear and stringency. These two divergent approaches to serving the Divine have two levels. The lower level of fear is represented by yiraas ha’onesh, fear of punishment. The higher, more sublime sense of fear, yiraas ha’rommemus, is described…

Home -> 5756 -> Toldos

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5756

“The children agitated within her.” (25:22)

Rashi cites Chazal, who explain that the word ummr,hu is derived from the root .r, which means, “to run.” Hence, Rashi interprets the pasuk to suggest that when Rivkah walked by the yeshivah of Shem and Ever, Yaakov would “run” in an attempt to come forth. In a similar manner, when she walked by a temple of idol worship, Eisav would “run” and struggle to escape. Horav Yerucham Levovitz, z.l., questions Yaakov’s “ability” to perceive the presence of the Bais Ha’Midrash and Eisav’s tendency to sense the tumah, impurity, of the temple of idol worship. He explains that we, regrettably,…

Home -> 5756 -> Toldos

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5756

“The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Eisav.” (27:22)

Chazal imply that when the voice of Yaakov, the sound of Torah and tefillah, is strong and dominant the evil “hands” of Eisav are rendered powerless. Eisav’s strength is reinforced when we are weak in our commitment to Torah. This interpretation does not seem consistent with the text of the pasuk. The pasuk seems to suggest that it is possible for both the “voice of Yaakov” and the “hands of Eisav” to reign simultaneously. How are we to reconcile this apparent inconsistency? Horav E.M. Shach, Shlita, offers a novel interpretation. Hashem has established individual “borders” for Yaakov and Eisav. Yaakov’s…

Home -> 5756 -> Toldos

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5756

“And Yitzchak trembled a very great trembling.” (27:33)

That Yitzchak “trembled a very great trembling” is a powerful statement. The phrase implies an exceptional incident taking place which serves as a foreshadowing of the future. Pesikta D’Rav Kahana states that Yitzchak suddenly became aware of Eisav’s deception. The presence of Gehinnom — which Yitzchak felt when Eisav entered the room — caused Yitzchak to realize that he had erred terribly all these years. Had Rivkah not manipulated the course of events, maneuvering Yaakov to enter before Eisav, who knows what the disastrous outcome might have been? Indeed, the entire history of Klal Yisrael would have been severely altered….

Home -> 5756 -> Toldos

Sruly Schnair In Toldos, 5756

“And he (Eisav) let out a most loud and bitter cry, ‘Bless me too, Father,’ he pleaded.” (27:34)

In the Midrash, Chazal teach us that the bitter tears which Eisav shed merited him the blessings for which he yearned. Horav Shmelke M’Nikolsburg, z.l., made an interesting observation based upon this Midrash. It is a wonder that the few tears shed by Eisav serve as his source for blessing. We have a halachic rule that if an impermissible food falls into a permissible food, the resultant mixture does not become forbidden if there is sixty times as much permitted food as forbidden food. This is referred to as the rule of “batel b’shishim.” Now, Bnei Yisrael have cried oceans…

Home -> 5755 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5755

“And Yitzchak prayed opposite/for his wife for she was barren.” (25:21)

The cause and effect seem to be presented in the reverse sequence in this pasuk. The Torah should have mentioned Rivkah’s inability to conceive prior to citing Yitzchak’s prayer on her behalf. In response to this analysis, the Torah Temimah suggests that Rivkah actually was an akarah, childless, because Hashem desired to hear the tefillos of Yitzchak and Rivkah. The cause was the need for supplication, while the effect was Rivkah’s barren state. What really is a tefillah, prayer? Tefillah is an expression of extreme devotion in which man negates his entire being in deference to Hashem. His individual essence…

Home -> 5755 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5755

“And Yitzchak loved Eisav because (of) the venison (which he put) in his mouth.” (25:28)

Essentially, the central theme of this parsha is the quest of Yaakov and Eisav for their father’s blessing. A superficial reading of the parsha suggests that Yitzchak and Rivkah each had personal reasons for favoring one twin over the other and that there was a communication problem in their home. After studying the various commentaries, one learns that this was clearly not the case. In response to the obvious question, why was Yitzchak so insistent on blessing Eisav, the Radak explains that Yitzchak was acutely aware of Eisav’s character traits. His evil behavior and rebellious, antagonistic attitude had not escaped…

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Back to Home -> Toldos ->

“And the boys grew up and Eisav was a man who knew hunting, a man of the field; Yaakov was a wholesome man dwelling in tents. ” (25:27)

“And Eisav was a man who knew hunting, a man of the field, and Yaakov was a wholesome man dwelling in tents.” (25:27)

“And he said (Yitzchak), ‘Your brother came with cleverness and took your blessing.'” (27:35)

“These are the generations of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham, Avraham begat Yitzchak.” (25:19)

“The children agitated within her.” (25:22)

“The voice is the voice of Yaakov, but the hands are the hands of Eisav.” (27:22)

“And Yitzchak trembled a very great trembling.” (27:33)

“And he (Eisav) let out a most loud and bitter cry, ‘Bless me too, Father,’ he pleaded.” (27:34)

“And Yitzchak prayed opposite/for his wife for she was barren.” (25:21)

“And Yitzchak loved Eisav because (of) the venison (which he put) in his mouth.” (25:28)

YEARS

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

You have Successfully Subscribed!