Parashat Toldot in english 5769
Rav David Daniel Hacohen שליט״א
Summary
The Rav retells the episode of Parashat Toldot in which Yitzhak asks Esav for game in order to bless him, and Yaakov receives the blessings in his place. He asks why Yitzhak wanted to bless only one son, and why he refused to take the blessings back when he understood what had happened. According to the Rav, Yitzhak knew who Esav was and saw in him a great hidden potential, and the request for game was a test meant to push him toward teshuva. The Rav explains Esav's flaw as a split between head and body, between what he thinks and what he does, and contrasts it with the Torah, which must be lived in action. He then links this to Hanukkah: in his view the struggle of the Hashmonaim was also against Jews who wanted to reshape the Torah to look like the nations, and Hashem wants the Torah kept without change.
Highlights
- 0:08 Yitzhak asks Esav for game; Rivka sends Yaakov in his place The Patriarchs
- 1:41 Esav learns of the blessings taken and Yitzhak refuses to undo them The Patriarchs
- 2:17 Why bless only one son, and why not take the blessings back Faith The Patriarchs
- 4:10 Yitzhak knew exactly who Esav was Edom and Ishmael The Patriarchs
- 4:22 Esav's burial: his head in Ma'arat HaMachpela, his body elsewhere Edom and Ishmael The Patriarchs
- 6:13 Esav's flaw: head and body split, thought and action apart Character traits Mussar
- 6:58 The great potential Yitzhak saw in Esav; Leah's tears Marriage and family The Patriarchs
- 8:41 Yaakov takes Leah and becomes Israel Marriage and family The Patriarchs
- 9:57 The blessing as a test pushing Esav toward teshuva The Patriarchs Repentance
- 11:17 The Hashmonaim against the Hellenizing Jews who wanted to change the Torah Hanukkah Exile
- 13:31 Why the Sages waited a year to institute Hanukkah, and the meaning of the oil Hanukkah Halacha
- 15:50 Keeping the Torah without change leads to the Mashiach Hanukkah Mashiach