Toldos – Page 6 – Peninim on the Torah

ויאמר לה שני גיים בבטנך ושני לאומים ממעיך יפרדו ולאם מלאם יאמץ ורב יעבד צעיר

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. (25:23)

Rivkah Imeinu was informed of the reality: she was carrying twins. It was not one mixed-up child that she was carrying; it was two children: one righteous and one evil. Her unborn infants represented two powerful nations, each with his own individual, conflicting ideology. The turmoil within her womb was not the result of a single child who was lost and indecisive concerning his religious future. Should he gravitate to the bais ha’medrash, or should he follow his inclination which was pulling him to the house of idol worship? No, it was much simpler. Her two sons were mighty enemies…

Home -> 5773 -> Toldos

ולאם מלאום יאמץ

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5773

The might shall pass from one regime to the other. (25:23)

Rashi explains that when this one rises, the other one falls. He supports this with a pasuk in Yechezkel 26:2, Imaleh hacharavah, “I will fill myself from the river.” Chazal teach, “The city of Tzur, Tyre, a city inhabited by descendants of Eisav, was not filled, but from the ruins of Yerushalayim.” We derive from here that one regime will derive its strength at the expense of the other. Rashi’s proof from this pasuk presents a problem. He began with the statement, “When this one rises – the other one falls,” and he proves this with a pasuk that implies,…

Home -> 5773 -> Toldos

ויצא הראשון אדמוני כולו כאדרת שער ויקראו שמו עשו. ואחרי כן יצא אחיו וידו אחזת בעקב עשו ויקרא שמו יעקב

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5773

The first one emerged red entirely like a hairy mantle; so they named him Eisav. After that his brother emerged with his hand grasping onto the heel of Eisav; so he called him Yaakov. (25:25, 26)

Rashi teaches that Eisav was named by everyone present at his birth. In contrast, the “he” referred to in the phrase, “so he called him Yaakov,” was actually Hashem, Who gave Yaakov Avinu his name. The name is a play on the word eikav, heel, a reference to Eisav’s heel which Yaakov grasped at birth. The fact that Hashem named Eisav as a result of this incident, suggests that Yaakov’s holding onto Eisav’s heel has considerable cosmic significance. A number of questions present themselves. First, did Yaakov grasp Eisav’s heel by design or by chance? Furthermore, is it not most…

Home -> 5773 -> Toldos

ויזד יעקב נזיד ויבא עשו מן השדה והוא עיף

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5773

Yaakov simmered a stew, and Eisav came in from the field, and he was exhausted. (25:29)

Yaakov Avinu was not cooking red lentil soup because he had a yen for eating legumes. Lentils are round, and hence, an appropriate food to be eaten in the house of a mourner. Round brings to mind the cycle of life. A circle has no opening – no beginning – no end. A mourner is cloaked in grief; thus, he has no mouth. They were mourning the passing of Avraham Avinu who had died that day. To Eisav, however, it was nothing more than a quick fix: grab a bite and go on his merry way. The world is mourning…

Home -> 5773 -> Toldos

ויזד יעקב נזיד ויבוא עשו מן השדה והוא עיף. ויאמר עשו אל יעקב הלעיטני נא מן האדם הזה...ויעקב נתן לעשו לחם ונזיד עדשים

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5773

Yaakov simmered a stew, and Eisav came in from the field and he was exhausted. Eisav said to Yaakov, “Pour into me, now, some of that very red stuff. Yaakov gave Eisav bread and lentil stew.” (25:29, 30:34)

Eisav asked for soup. Yaakov Avinu was a magnanimous host, and he gave him soup and bread! Why did Yaakov give Eisav bread in addition to the soup? This question was asked of Horav Chaim Kanievsky, Shlita, who rendered a halachic response. There is a question in Meseches Berachos concerning which brachah one should recite on beans that have been cooked for a long time. Should it be Borei pri ha’adamah, since beans grow from the ground; or, because they have been cooked so long, should the berachah be, She’ha’kol ni’heh’yeh b’devaro? To avoid any halachic issues, one should wash…

Home -> 5773 -> Toldos

אולי ימשני אבי והייתי בעיניו כמתעתע

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5773

Perhaps my father will feel me, and shall seem to him as a deceiver. (27:12)

Chazal derive from the Torah’s use of the word k’masatea, as a deceiver, that one who disguises his speech, so that he would not be recognized, is considered as if he worships idols. The Meiri explains that machlif b’diburo, the term used by Chazal for one who disguises his speech, applies equally to one who does not keep his word. They cite the pasuk in Yirmiyahu 10:15, which employs the root of titua: heimah maaseh tatuim, “They (idol worship) are vanity, the work of deception,” as support for this statement. The connection between Yaakov Avinu’s act of “misrepresentation” and idol…

Home -> 5772 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5772

“And he (Eisav) sold his birthright to Yaakov.” (25:33)

One may wonder how Yaakov convinced Eisav to sell his birthright for a bowl of red lentils. Why would this not be considered a “mekach ta’us, erroneous sale?” Certainly, the birthright is worth much more than a bowl of lentils. Horav Chaim Shmuelevitz, z.l., sums it up very simply. Eisav did not value the spiritual significance of the birthright. It meant nothing to him. Accordingly, Hashem ascribed the same value to the bechorah, birthright, as did Eisav. Thus, the sale was valid, because in Eisav’s mind there was no distinction between the birthright and the lentils. Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita,…

Home -> 5772 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5772

He said (Yitzchak), “The voice is Yaakov’s voice, but the hands are Eisav’s hands.” (27:22)

One can only begin to imagine what must have gone through Yaakov’s mind as he approached his father to accept his blessing. Yaakov, the man noted for his integrity, was acting in a seemingly deceptive manner. His mother had instructed him to act this way as the last resort, the only way to obtain his rightful blessings. He had acquired the birthright “fair and square;” he was only collecting his due. Nonetheless, dressing up as Eisav, even if it was at the behest of his mother, was still not typical of Yaakov. Yaakov dressed up with “hairy” clothes to give…

Home -> 5772 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5772

She sent and summoned Yaakov, her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Eisav is consoling himself regarding you to kill you”… Rivkah said to Yitzchak, “I am disgusted with my life on account of the daughters of Cheis.” (27:42,46)

Apparently, Rivkah was conveying two distinctly different messages. When she spoke to Yaakov, she instructed him to leave home, because Eisav was planning to kill him at the first opportune moment. However, she asserted to Yitzchak that Yaakov should leave, because the time had come for him to marry, and the daughters of Cheis were inappropriate, pagans of base character. Why did Rivkah not tell Yitzchak the truth, that Eisav was intent upon killing Yaakov? Given the situation, it would make sense for Yaakov to take an extended leave. Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, writes that he once heard an…

Home -> 5772 -> Toldos

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In Toldos, 5772

“And he (Eisav) took Machlas the daughter of Yishmael…as a wife for himself.” (28:9)

In the Midrash, Chazal infer from the word “machlas,” which is a derivative of the word “mochal,” to forgive, that when Eisav took a wife, Hashem forgave his prior sins. Furthermore, Chazal say that when one gets married, all of his sins are forgiven. We must endeavor to understand this. Why should Eisav’s sins be forgiven because he entered into matrimony? Is marriage some kind of magic moment, such that the instant one places a ring on his kallah’s finger, all of his prior transgressions are erased? For the sin of chillul Hashem, even teshuvah, repentance on Yom Kippur…

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Back to Home -> Toldos ->

ויאמר לה שני גיים בבטנך ושני לאומים ממעיך יפרדו ולאם מלאם יאמץ ורב יעבד צעיר

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. (25:23)

ולאם מלאום יאמץ

The might shall pass from one regime to the other. (25:23)

ויצא הראשון אדמוני כולו כאדרת שער ויקראו שמו עשו. ואחרי כן יצא אחיו וידו אחזת בעקב עשו ויקרא שמו יעקב

The first one emerged red entirely like a hairy mantle; so they named him Eisav. After that his brother emerged with his hand grasping onto the heel of Eisav; so he called him Yaakov. (25:25, 26)

ויזד יעקב נזיד ויבא עשו מן השדה והוא עיף

Yaakov simmered a stew, and Eisav came in from the field, and he was exhausted. (25:29)

ויזד יעקב נזיד ויבוא עשו מן השדה והוא עיף. ויאמר עשו אל יעקב הלעיטני נא מן האדם הזה...ויעקב נתן לעשו לחם ונזיד עדשים

Yaakov simmered a stew, and Eisav came in from the field and he was exhausted. Eisav said to Yaakov, “Pour into me, now, some of that very red stuff. Yaakov gave Eisav bread and lentil stew.” (25:29, 30:34)

אולי ימשני אבי והייתי בעיניו כמתעתע

Perhaps my father will feel me, and shall seem to him as a deceiver. (27:12)

“And he (Eisav) sold his birthright to Yaakov.” (25:33)

He said (Yitzchak), “The voice is Yaakov’s voice, but the hands are Eisav’s hands.” (27:22)

She sent and summoned Yaakov, her younger son and said to him, “Behold, your brother Eisav is consoling himself regarding you to kill you”… Rivkah said to Yitzchak, “I am disgusted with my life on account of the daughters of Cheis.” (27:42,46)

“And he (Eisav) took Machlas the daughter of Yishmael…as a wife for himself.” (28:9)

YEARS

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

You have Successfully Subscribed!