Toldos Parshah Thoughts
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What Causes What?
‘Yitzchak beseeched Hashem opposite his wife, for she was barren’
Isn’t that backwards? First we need to tell the situatio
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What Causes What?
‘Yitzchak beseeched Hashem opposite his wife, for she was barren’
Isn’t that backwards? First we need to tell the situation – that his wife was barren, – and then the response: Yitzchak prayed for her. Why first tell us that Yitzchak prayed, and then that she was barren?
The answer is that she was barren was so that Yitzchak would pray! Hashem wanted Yitzchak’s prayer; Rivka’s barrenness was simply the means. The cause, Yitzchak’s t’filah, really is written before the effect. – Rabbenu Bachya
What a lesson to us! When we face a challenge, a difficulty, with pain and trouble, maybe its so that we to turn to Hashem and cry out to Him?
You think?
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Grey Hat
The Shaarei T’shuvah suggests that for gaining mitzvos we may, and ought to deal in an underhanded manner.
Boaz pointed out to his competitor Ploni Almoni that Rus was a Moavite to discourage him from marrying her. Boaz knew very well that she was permitted. However He wanted the mitzvah for himself.
Yaakov stole the brachos from Esav. It was not a gentlemanly thing to do. One should try to get ruchnios by all means possible.
How strange this seems to us! How utterly politically incorrect!
But suppose a case: an impeccably dressed gentleman enters a restaurant and is walking daintily to his table. Suddenly he sees his red Porche parked outside begin to move. In a flash he is off and running after it, designer clothes and all. He leaps out of the window, losing all fastidiousness. His car is at stake!
If something is important enough, other considerations go out the window. Mitzvos are our Porche. If it seems strange that gaining ruchnios may allow for some dishonesty, we need to rethink mitzvos. Think a billion dollars!!
Its Not What You Think It Is!
Rivka sent Yaakov to impersonate Esav. Perhaps she understood that those blessings would not accrue Yaakov – they were not intended for him. Rather the exercise illustrates to YITZCHAK how easily he could be fooled. Rivka had told Yitzchak that Esav was a no-goodnik: he had refused to believe her. ‘Esav seems fine to me’, he said.
When she showed him how even simple Yaakov could fool him into thinking that he was Esav, Yitzchak realized how much more could wily Esav fool him into thinking he was a tzaddik. He realized he had been badly hoodwinked, and trembled greatly. Suddenly he suddenly saw the real deal. – R’ SR Hirsch
This happens a lot in life. We react to a situation, for instance – a near-accident, – and then realize that Hashem was presenting us with a lesson. It was not for real, rather for us to learn from. Lets learn!
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More Than One Road Leads To Rome
Yitzchak was unaware that Esav was the bad man until the episode with the brachos – near the end of his life. Question: Wasn’t he aware that Yaakov was the scholar and Esav the wanderer? How could Yitzchok prefer Esav??
Seems that there are more ways than one to serve Hashem. Yitzchok heard of Esav’s ways, but thought that Eisav was traveling down another path, a path of serving Hashem that included wandering and hunting.
I think its important to know that such roads do exist for real.
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Yehudis
Esav called his wife Yehudis. What does the name mean? Is it a good name?
Rashi says that it indicates denial of Idols. Leah called her son ‘Yehuda’ – a very similar name – not to deny idols, but as an expression of thanks to Hashem. Do the two come together?
Yehuda/Yehudis is a conjunction of two words; Kah, and Hodah (- the ‘heh’ in the middle is used twice). Hashem Hoda. ‘Hoda’ means ‘admit’, and also means ‘thank’. (The two are closely related – thanking is admitting!)
So the name means both: Praising Hashem and Admitting Hashem, i.e. denying idol worship.
So is it a good name? Yes! It means Accepting Hashem and Thanking Hashem. (Just don’t use it as a smokescreen – as Esav did!)
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Yitzchak: Ultimate Man (-!?)
Rivkah, Esav and Yaakov all duped Yitzchak. Yitzchak thought Esav was a tzaddik, and no one undeceived him. Yaakov played an elaborate hoax on his father. The impression is that he was feeble and easily confused.
Did Yitzchak accomplish much in life? What? The Torah recounts so little about Yitzchak. Why not??
My mashgiach, R’ Chaim Mintz shlit”a (Yeshiva of Staten Island) told an interesting Rabbenu Bachya (- Kad HaKemach);
Rebbi, Rav Yehuda HanNasi, almost never laughed. The day Rebbi laughed, misfortune came to the world. A young man died, a hurricane blew. Bar Kaparah was always joking, trying to get Rebbi to laugh. Rebbi said to him ‘If you hold off making me laugh I’ll award you a bushel of grain’. Early next morning Bar Kapparah showed up at Rebbi’s door with an oversized pitch-coated basket over his head. Hearing a knock Rebbi answered the door and beheld a walking basket. Rebbi burst out laughing. Bar Kapparah said ‘I came for my wheat; here is my basket!’ Rebbi said ‘Shucks, you just forfeited it with this prank!’ – Gemarah
What was going on??
Rebbe was constantly concentrating on Hashem, his thoughts never wandering. As a result of his engagement of Hashem, the Sh’chinah dwelt upon him. Coming down to this world it brought blessing and prosperity to all people. However, when Rebbi laughed and was lighthearted, his mind was not focused on Hashem. The Sh’chinah was not as present, allowing misfortune to happen. On the other hand, when Rebbe laughed his mind expanded and his learning benefited: he was able to teach and innovate better.
Rebbi and Bar Kapparah disagreed about what was more important; the constant concentration and attachment to Hashem, or the increase in Torah learning which was a result of Rebbi relaxing. Their ‘scrap’ was ideological!
(Aside, this dispute is still alive and well: some opt for Avodah at the expense of their Torah, others put their learning ahead of their Avodah.)
Yitzchak was home to the Shchina. He was the portal and facilitator of His Presence to this planet. He thought continuously about Hashem, and brought Hashem’s presence to this world. He cleaved to his Creator with all his might, and brought untold good to the world. Any outside disturbance would distract him from this awesome task.
Those around him purposely shielded him from disturbances, even from knowing upsetting news. They knew this would take him away from his mission. The people in his life worked behind his back, but not because he was a fool, but because he was involved in a task of ultimate importance. (Compare this to shielding a scientist working on a great discovery from disturbing news. He must not be distracted!)
We will not find much written about his life. He did not build buildings nor wage war. His accomplishments were not in interacting with the community at large (as his father, Avraham, and son, Yaakov). His doing was of another sort, internal. Something hard to chronicle.
He was bringing the Sh’chinah into this world.
(And so is that little guy sitting and serving Hashem quietly in his corner. People say ‘What’s going to be? He needs to DO something already!’ But we know better than that….)
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Suffering!!!
Avraham loved Yishmael. They had great feelings between them. He loved him so badly that he spoiled him. In fact, he never censured Yishmael. What turned out? At the end he drove Yishmael away in hatred, not even providing basic necessities for him.
Yitzchak loved Esav too. As a result he never disciplined him. (I would go as far as to say that since he loved Yaakov much less, he yelled at him often. But that’s my addition; the Midrash does not say so explicitly.)
That is why Esav turned out so badly.
If life is comfortable, we rot. The North Wind made the Vikings. Troubles build character and are a gift. – Midrash
Something to think about?
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Focus On Success
Yitzchak dug three wells. The first two caused him nothing but grief, because the shepherds of Grar claimed them as their and fought over them. The third was conceded to him, and he called it ‘Rechovos’, meaning ‘Hashem has widened for us, and we will be successful in this land’.
The Targum indicates that the name expressed Yitzchak’s conviction that this was an omen of good things to come. It seems that Yitzchak was doing poorly – only one out three worked out. Why take the lonely single success as the omen?
The issue is what our self-talk needs to be. Yitzchak saw his successes as the natural thing and the setbacks as temporary blips; ‘accidents’. He ignored his failures and concentrated only on his successes. This was an expression of faith, not wishful ‘positive thinking’.
His broad experience and knowledge of Hashem’s goodness led him to expect good, causing him to look at success as the natural thing. He expected success to continue on and that there be more of.
We need to do the same!
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Trick AND Treat!
Yitzchak was compelled, by famine, to leave his home – Be’er L’chai Ro’i. He traveled as far as Grar, in Philistine territory, near the sea. He was on his way down to Egypt, presumably because rain had little effect there, for they drank from the Nile.
Hashem came to him in a dream and told him to stay in Eretz Yisroel. So he settled in Grar, building up a great fortune in the process.
(Why he needed a great fortune is a question. He was the inheritor of Avraham, a fabulously wealthy individual. He ought to have had a great fortune already!)
Why didn’t he simply turn around and go back home? Why settle in Grar? And if Hashem wanted him in Grar so that he build up his status, why didn’t He instruct him to do so?
Simple: Yitzchak needed to be in Grar in order to amass wealth. This was essential. It was so that the prestige of believing in Hashem spread, and so that Yitzchak be assured of safety and not need to worry about every passing highway man.
However this was not a spiritual quest. Yitzchak might have been reluctant in undertaking this hazardous trip just for money. Hashem too prefers saving His directives for spiritual endeavors. in He engineered that Yitzchak be compelled by the famine to leave, and then be stopped in Grar.
Yitzchak no doubt realized that Hashem could have told him this while he was back home, before he left. He realized that Hashem was signaling him to stay in Grar, and he did.
The lesson here is that the ways of Hashem are subtle and sometimes tricky. The Midrash in Shmos points out that we hide our tricks, because they help only ourselves, but Hashem is proud of His. His are pure Kindliness!
©2013
kollel parshah | Tiferet Ramot 83-21, Jerusalem, Israel, 97290
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