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Drash for Shabbat Toldot By Heather McLaughlin - November 9, 2007 Parashat Toldot explores the personalities and interpersonal relationships of Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Esau and sets the stage for their futures. How appropriate for Family Shabbat. They have an openly dysfunctional family. Isaac has not been a particularly good father. His self-absorption, experiences with his father, ability to be influenced by material pleasures, and seeming lack of connection to God don’t influence his sons in a healthy manner. He appears to be unwilling to recognize what his two sons are turning into, so fails to do anything about it. He seems to have some knowledge of the prophesy and accepts that it will be fulfilled in some way or other or he wouldn’t overlook and/or accept the incidents in the story the way he does. For example he seems to recognize Jacob is not Esau but goes along with the ruse and gives him the blessing anyway. That he is not upset by the story of the sale of the birthright indicates that he does know what is going on in his household. Rebecca hasn’t been the best mother either. She appears to be loving but her love is conditional and focused on her younger son, stemming from the prophesy she received from God that Esau will serve Jacob. While she is generally a decent person, she comes from a less than ethical family and has picked up some of their tricks and habits. She is willing to do unethical things for the sake of what she believes is right end result. She has passed her family’s less than ethical behavior on to Jacob. It appears she has done nothing for Esau in regard teaching of ethics and values. If he had been instilled with any sense of ethics and of understanding of his family history he would not have been so foolish as to his birthright for a bowl of soup. Neither boy has developed into a normal well-rounded person. They seem to have no sense of ethics or history. When faced with a situation they tend to see what is in it for them, right now. Esau acts impulsively wanting instant gratification and Jacob is conniving enough to respond in a way that allows him to get what he wants at the same time. Perhaps they will have a chance to mature and grow into decent people once they get away from their parents. At this point, however, they have a lot of growing up to do. It also brings up some interesting questions about destiny and free will. If the older brother serving the younger is pre-ordained, why the need for all the nefarious activity on the part of Rebecca and Jacob? Won’t it happen of its own accord without their meddling? Would the results have been different if they she and Isaac had left the outcome of the prophesy to itself and concentrated on raising two decent human beings? But if they have some sort of free will, are there a number of end results that are related to the prophesy and they just have to muddle through on their own until they hit one of them, even if it is not the ideal one or done in an ideal manner? Parashat Toldot explores the personalities and interpersonal relationships of Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob and Esau and sets the stage for their futures. How appropriate for Family Shabbat. They have an openly dysfunctional family. Isaac has not been a particularly good father. His self-absorption, experiences with his father, ability to be influenced by material pleasures, and seeming lack of connection to God don’t influence his sons in a healthy manner. He appears to be unwilling to recognize what his two sons are turning into, so fails to do anything about it. He seems to have some knowledge of the prophesy and accepts that it will be fulfilled in some way or other or he wouldn’t overlook and/or accept the incidents in the story the way he does. For example he seems to recognize Jacob is not Esau but goes along with the ruse and gives him the blessing anyway. That he is not upset by the story of the sale of the birthright indicates that he does know what is going on in his household. Rebecca hasn’t been the best mother either. She appears to be loving but her love is conditional and focused on her younger son, stemming from the prophesy she received from God that Esau will serve Jacob. While she is generally a decent person, she comes from a less than ethical family and has picked up some of their tricks and habits. She is willing to do unethical things for the sake of what she believes is right end result. She has passed her family’s less than ethical behavior on to Jacob. It appears she has done nothing for Esau in regard teaching of ethics and values. If he had been instilled with any sense of ethics and of understanding of his family history he would not have been so foolish as to his birthright for a bowl of soup. Neither boy has developed into a normal well-rounded person. They seem to have no sense of ethics or history. When faced with a situation they tend to see what is in it for them, right now. Esau acts impulsively wanting instant gratification and Jacob is conniving enough to respond in a way that allows him to get what he wants at the same time. Perhaps they will have a chance to mature and grow into decent people once they get away from their parents. At this point, however, they have a lot of growing up to do. It also brings up some interesting questions about destiny and free will. If the older brother serving the younger is pre-ordained, why the need for all the nefarious activity on the part of Rebecca and Jacob? Won’t it happen of its own accord without their meddling? Would the results have been different if they she and Isaac had left the outcome of the prophesy to itself and concentrated on raising two decent human beings? But if they have some sort of free will, are there a number of end results that are related to the prophesy and they just have to muddle through on their own until they hit one of them, even if it is not the ideal one or done in an ideal manner? Shabbat Shalom.
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