Genesis 25:19-28:9 | Malachi 1:1-2:7 | Matthew 3:13-4:11

This week's edition of The Set Table contains:

Questions and Commentary on Shabbat Toledot
Chayyei Yeshua - A Devotional Commentary on the Besora Reading
Looking Ahead

Questions & Commentary on Parashat Toledot

1. What can we learn about the psychology of Isaac from the events in Parashat Toledot (with help from the previous week's readings)?

Benjamin Ehrenfeld

The old adage, "like father, like son", is remarkably applicable to Isaac and Abraham when examining this week's account of Isaac's stay with the Philistines. Just like his father, Isaac chooses to identify his wife as his sister for fear of the inhabitants of a new land. In both cases, God has told them to go because of a famine (compare Genesis 12:10-20 with Genesis 26:1, 6-7). Though God calls them to go to these places, both are afraid for their lives. Furthermore, both fear because of the beauty of their respective wives. In the midst of these similarities there are three distinctions related to their responses to this fear that can shed light on the unique personalities of these two men.

One distinction is what Abraham says to Sarah, versus the absence of conversation between Isaac and Rebecca. Abraham actually tells Sarah that she is a beautiful woman, shares his plan for their survival, and requests her cooperation (Genesis 12:11-13). Isaac says nothing to Rebecca. The first time he even mentions this fact is to the Philistines who greet them (Genesis 26:6-7).

A second distinction is that Abraham actually makes a plan. His dialogue with Sarah happens before they enter the land. Isaac doesn't seem to have planned this course of action. It isn't until after he enters the land that he addresses a concern (again, compare Genesis 12:11-13 and 26:6-7).

Both men are responding to their fears, but the way in which Isaac responds is quite different from his father, Abraham. Isaac is reactionary. He doesn't plan. Not only that, he can't even keep his hands off of Rebecca long enough to keep his self-imposed secret. Another distinctive feature is the absence of communication with Rebecca. Interestingly enough, it is two events that occur in the parshiyot between Toledot and Lekh Lekha that may illustrate why Isaac responds in this way. In Parashat Vayyera, Isaac's own life is put on the line for the purpose of testing his father (and mother?; Genesis 22:1-19). His father doesn't communicate with him at all about what he intends to do. In Parashat Chayyei Sara, only a moment after Isaac lays eyes on Rebecca, they make love with one another. The text actually indicates that this gave him comfort for the loss of his mother.

Isaac learned to be afraid of losing those he loved. He learned to be afraid of losing himself. He learned to hang on ever so tightly to all that he loved because of his fear, regardless of what it might cost. Interestingly enough, this familial dynamic of poor communication coupled with learned helplessness finds its ultimate example in Toledot's narrative climax: Jacob's claiming of the birthright intended for Esau.

It is not often that we examine the "character flaws" of our ancestrors (nor should it be, necessarily). Nonetheless, it is in the examples of what they failed to achieve that paved the way for what later generations learned to do differently, and what we can learn from as well.

2. At the beginning of this week's Torah portion, we read that Isaac and Rebecca were not able to have children?  Why were our ancestors incapable of having children?  What was God trying to teach them?  What principals of prayer do we learn from Isaac and Rebecca?

Rabbi Jason Sobel

The Talmud answers this question by stating, "Because the Holy One longs to hear the prayer of the righteous" (b. Yevamot 64b). One reason that God covets our prayers is that it helps to create an intimate bound between us and our Creator.  Through prayer, we become more aware of the presence of God in our life and are more attuned to the work of God in the world around us. It is all too easy in the midst of the busyness of life to forget God who is the source of all good things. The infertility of our ancestors teaches us to trust and depend upon God. Isaac and Rebecca clearly model true faith for us and bear witness to the fact that ultimately nothing in life can rob us of God's blessings for the one who has promised to be faithful. 

In Genesis 25:21, Isaac demonstrates several key aspects of effective prayer. The first is persistence in prayer. The Hebrew verb translated as "entreated" is not defined anywhere as praying, rather it denotes urging or abundance. Thus Rashi expounds vayyetar "entreated" as meaning "he importuned much through prayer". This clearly implies that Isaac was both determined and persistent in his prayers. Yeshua also underscores the importance of persistence when he says, "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you" (NLT; Matthew 7:7).

A second key aspect is fervency in prayer. This can also be inferred from the verb vayyetar "he entreated" and Rashi's comments on it. Isaac did not just half-heartedly pray; he persistently and fervently beseeched God to remove Rebecca's barrenness. To be effectual in prayer, we must pray with passion and kavvanah as Ya‘akov teaches us, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much" (Ya‘akov 5:16). We should pray as if our lives depended upon it, for in reality life does.

A third key is to pray not just in generalities but in particulars.  In other words, our petitions should be as specific as possible. Isaac and Rebecca had a very precise need that they specifically prayed about. It is not enough just to ask God to bless us, our family, or our communities. We must pray for specific needs if we are going to be effective in prayer like Isaac and Rebecca.

Matthew 3:13-4:11 - A Great Mystery

Joshua Brumbach

This week's besora reading describes the immersion of Yeshua and his temptations by the Adversary. What makes this passage interesting is that it highlights one of the great theological mysteries: the question of how Messiah can be both human and divine. This question has puzzled some of the greatest theological minds for millennia.

Ritual immersion in water has long been a Jewish practice of ritual purity and an act of pious devotion. It is a commitment to ongoing Jewish life. During Yeshua's immersion, as described by Matthew, the heavens were opened, the Spirit of God descended upon him as a dove, and a bat qol - a heavenly voice proclaimed, "This is my Son, whom I love; in whom I am well pleased." 

This bat qol was actually a Messianic sign and a fulfillment of a prophetic utterance given through Isaiah:

Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

Isaiah 42:1

It was meant to drive away immediately doubt within all who were present as to who Yeshua really was. It signaled that he was the long-awaited redeemer who had come to bring about redemption in the world, the one chosen for a divine purpose. 

Within Yeshua's immersion we are able to grasp the humanity of Yeshua. We can picture him coming to his cousin John to be immersed and his envelopment into the waters of purification. Yet we are also made aware through an immediate divine intervention that this is no ordinary man. 

Following Yeshua's immersion he is led into the wilderness to be tempted by the Adversary.  Here too we see Yeshua's humanity: his hunger, thirst, and fatigue as he wanders in the desert. In the end, despite it all, he overcomes the Adversary and establishes his position as the Source of all Creation. 

Matthew records Yeshua responding to the Adversary by quoting a particular verse from the Hebrew Scriptures: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4 quoting Deuteronomy 8:3). In this passage the Adversary again tempts Yeshua, and his response is even more direct: "You shall not tempt the Lord your God" (Matthew 4:7 alluding to Deuteronomy 6:13). Yeshua is stating unequivocally that he is God and is not to be tempted. From these two verses Yeshua makes no qualms about establishing himself as the God of Israel. Not only does he make these statements in reference to himself, but he also quotes verses from the Torah to solidify and support his claim.

NEXT WEEK'S READINGS - PARASHAT VAYYETZE

Genesis 28:10-32:3
Hosea 12:13-14:10 (Ashkenazim)
Hosea 11:7-12:12 (Sephardim)
Mark 1:14-28