Tomer Belkin – Year 11/12

Today’s parashah is called Toldot or ‘generations’. In it we are reintroduced to Yitschak and meet his wife Rivkah. Like Avraham, they run into a bit of a bump when trying to make a baby, until their prayers are answered and they conceive. Rivkah has a pretty tough time being pregnant and she is informed by God that “there are two nations in her womb” and that her youngest will prevail over the eldest.

Business goes on per usual until the twins are born, and her son Eisav comes out first, with Ya’akov clutching his heel FORESHADOWING. Anyway, Yitschak ends up favouring Eisav, whilst Rivkah ends up favouring Ya’akov.

Now Eisav grows up to be a “man of the field”. He’s all ‘hunty’ and grr grr masculine and probably wrestles with bears when he gets bored, whilst Ya’akov remains “a sedentary man” who likes to “dwell in the tents”.

Cut the scene to one day, Eisav comes home from a tough day at the field, and boy oh boy is he hungry. So hungry in fact that he starts begging Ya’akov for some food, to the point where Ya’akov convinces him to sell his birthright, as a firstborn, for a bowl of red, lentil soup. Now flash forward a whole lot of time. Yitschak is old, and blind, and probably super wrinkly. He knows he’s going to die soon, so he wants to bless Eisav with the blessing of the first born before he kicks the metaphorical bucket. Rivkah is aware of this situation and she is all like “What about Ya’akov?”

So whilst Eisav is out bulking or farming or drinking whatever the biblical equivalent to protein shakes are, Rivkah gets Yitschak to go grab some baby goats so she can make him his favourite meal. She also uses the goatskins to cover Ya’kov’s face and hands to simulate the feel of his hairier brother. Yitschak suspects but ends up blessing Ya’akov. Eisav then comes back, is made aware of this… tomfoolery, and Eisav can do nothing but weep as he vanishes into history. Eisav is super mad at Ya’akov, end scene.

Now I have to admit I had a bit of struggle with how to relate to this parashah, because the ‘moral’ that was most obvious to me was that if you lie… it’s ok? I didn’t agree with that at all. I personally think that honesty is the most important thing at all times. No matter the situation, we can deal with every circumstance without lying.

What do you think? Is it ok to lie at all? When is it ok to lie?

Gabriel Sebban – Year 11/12

This week’s parashah, Toldot, is hectic and definitely one of the more exciting Torah portions.

This is the story of Yitzchak and Rivkah. Like Avraham and Sarah, Yitzchak and Rivkah can’t have children, but finally succeed after 20 years of trying. Unfortunately, Rivkah experiences a difficult pregnancy, as, according to God, she has “two nations in her womb”, and that the younger child will “dominate” the elder child. Rivkah has yet to fully understand what God means.

The day of the birth comes, and Eisav emerges first with Ya’akov following close behind, clutching his brother’s heel. The Torah then skips over their growing up and returns with Eisav being a “proficient hunter, a man of the field”, whereas Ya’akov is “quiet/sedentary” or a couch potato compared to his brother. Now that’s a massive juxtaposition! To further this divide between the two, we find out that Yitschak prefers Eisav to Ya’akov, and Rivkah prefers Ya’akov to Eisav. One day, Eisav, who’s been out at the gym, or the biblical hunting and gathering equivalent, comes home, and he is FAMISHED. You know how sometimes you’re so hungry you’d sell your soul, but not actually because that’s a bit crazy. Well get this, Eisav did that, selling his rights as being the firstborn son to Ya’akov, just for a pot of red lentil stew, because why not, hey? The funny thing here, is that it was Ya’akov’s idea that Eisav gives him his birthright as a trade, and so in a sense, Ya’akov is the real hunter here. A hunter of the mind and spirit, rather than being.

Suddenly, Yitschak is old and blind, and can tell that he’s going to die soon, and so wants to bless Eisav before he does. Little does he know, but Rivkah thinks that she’s a bit of a “trickster”. What she does is she gets Ya’akov, and dresses him in Eisav’s clothes, and covers his hands and neck with goatskin to simulate the feel of his hairier brother. Rivkah then prepares Yitschak’s favourite dish, and gets Ya’akov to give it to him. Yitschak, being old and blind, still isn’t fooled by this biblical social experiment, but decides to bless whoever this person in front of him is anyway; and so he blesses Ya’akov instead of Eisav, giving him mastery over his brother. Eisav then returns and and all they can do is cry. Ya’akov scrams and we get left on a bit of a cliff-hanger.

Now, onto those life lessons. Every story has its morals, and this one, as you probably guessed, is no exception. There are so many fascinating things that this parashah brings up, but what is probably most important, is that Eisav sold his entire inheritance for a bowl of soup. Wait, what? Why? Huh? We, ourselves, are very similar to Eisav, being unable to see into the future and only wanting to satisfy our immediate needs. Let’s give a good old example. Cat videos. We all love cat videos, spending our time procrastinating on Facebook rather than working. We need a test. Will watching this cat video directly impact our lives tomorrow? Well yeah maybe the world will end if we don’t watch it and actually we’ve been tasked by the government to watch cat videos in order to achieve world peace… BUT what are the chances? Isn’t studying for that massive exam that’s coming up way too soon WAY more likely to affect you and your future, if only to improve your habits that could help you succeed later in life? We need to learn from Eisav’s example of what not to do, and instead constantly question our actions to deem what is most important for our lives and our future.