Parashat Toldot 5782

by Rabbi Ellen S. Wolintz-Fields

In Parashat Toldot, we read about two parents each having their favorite child, and the competition between Jacob and Esau for their father Isaac’s blessing. The family becomes split by the competition, each parent taking a different child’s side. Rebecca favored Jacob and Isaac favored Esau, to be Isaac’s heir. Rebecca tells Jacob to lie to his father and to take Esau’s blessing from him. Jacob worries that he will be found out and will be cursed. Rebecca responds that the curse will be on her (Genesis 27:13). Genesis 25:34 states that Esau despised (ויבז –va’yivaz) his birthright. We read in Genesis 26:5, God promised many blessings to Abraham and Isaac because Abraham guarded God’s commandments, laws, and teachings.

The Haftarah that is read b’yachad, together with Parashat Toldot is from Malachi 1:1- 2:7, we read that God prefers Israel (Jacob) to Edom (Esau). The Haftarah begins by stating that Edom, a descendant of Esau, will be destroyed, they will never recover, but Israel or Jacob will continue to exist. However, despite the fact that Israel survives, they are insecure about God’s love and needs reassurance. The same word, (ויבזva’yivaz) is used in the Haftarah to say that the priests of Israel despised the table of Adonai (Malachi 1:6-7 and 1:12). We see in the haftarah that the priests, who are responsible for teaching God’s laws, lie and cheat by exchanging the people’s good quality sacrifices for bad ones. In return, God curses the priests (Malachi 1:14). In the final verse of the Haftarah, the priests are reminded that their role is to guard and teach God’s teachings.