The Twins

Parashat Toldot
Genesis 25:19-28:10

"These are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham..."

Toldot, the title of this week's parasha, means "generations," and this portion of Torah begins by recounting the family background of Isaac in preparation for its description of his adult life. The story of Isaac and his beloved Rebecca is very similar to that of his parents, Abraham and Sarah. Both couples share great difficulty in getting pregnant, and Parashat Toldot begins with Isaac praying to God on Rebecca's behalf, for she is barren. Lo and behold, God responds to Isaac's plea and Rebecca conceives twins. The first twinges of sibling rivalry are felt within her womb, as it says that they struggle within her. The first twin to emerge is red and hairy and is named Esau; the other, born holding Esau's heel, is called Jacob. The twins are quite different from each other with different interests and temperaments - Esau is a hunter, Jacob is a quite individual who chooses to stay in camp. Isaac favors Esau, but Rebecca loves Jacob.

One day, Esau returns from a day of hunting to find Jacob preparing a delicious fragrant stew. Esau comes in starving and demands food. As payment, Jacob, always the wily one, manipulates Esau into selling him his birthright in return for the hot meal, which Esau does with no hesitation.

The parasha continues with the tale of a famine in the land, but God commands Isaac to remain in Canaan and not travel to Egypt so that Isaac might receive the blessings God bestowed upon his father, Abraham (i.e., a great nation and land). There are interactions with local neighbors, some cases of mistaken identity and/or relations (Isaac pretends Rebecca is his sister - much as Abraham did with Sarah when they traveled to Egypt), Isaac becomes wealthy and is asked to leave the area, and a series of wanderings ensue, with Isaac eventually settling in Beersheva and making a peace treaty with the Philistines.

The end of the parasha brings us the end of Isaac's life - he grows old and the time of blessing his offspring is at hand. This is the famous story of Rebecca's intervention that causes Jacob to steal his older brother's blessing. She convinces Jacob to deceive his father by impersonating him - he dons animal skins and pretends to be Esau, in turn receiving the blessing rightfully due his older brother. Jacob, encouraged by his mother's fear of Esau's reaction to this theft, flees to Haran to his uncle Laban's home.

A few questions for your Shabbat table:

• The Torah tells us that Jacob and Esau were not identical twins - they looked very different from each other. In what ways - your appearance, your hobbies, the way you view the world - are you similar to other members of your family? In what ways are you different?
• Think of a time that you were jealous of a family member of friend. What made you jealous? How did you feel inside? How did you act?
• For parents: Describe a time when you acted like Rebecca. For children: describe a time when you acted like Jacob.
• In order to get his father's blessing, Jacob had to trick Isaac. Was this the right thing to do? Why or why not?
• What could this family have done differently? What advice would you give them to handle this situation better?
• Think of a choice you made on impulse. What were the consequences? Would you have acted differently if you had considered the repercussions of your actions?
• If Jacob already received his brother's birthright when they agreed on the deal over a bowl of soup, why did he also need his father's blessing?

This week's Torah cartoon...