Transcript
Okay, good morning. Thank you for your patience. First of all, I want to thank our sponsors for this morning's class, enabling us the opportunity to study פרשת תולדות Parshas Toldos together. Special thank you to Jesse and Sarah Marilus in memory of his beloved brother, Avi Marilus, אברהם משה בן דוד Avram Moshe ben Dovid Marilus, whose נשמה neshama should have an עליה aliyah. A couple of housekeeping notes quickly before we begin the amazing פרשת תולדות Parshas Toldos. First of all, this Sunday night at 8:00 p.m., we have an incredible guest speaker, Gidon Ramon Lichtman. Gidon Lichtman flew one of the first Israeli Air Force missions. He's the last surviving hero. You may have seen the movie Above and Beyond, the incredible story of the first Israeli Air Force. We'll be showing that film from 6:30 to 8:00, but even if you've already seen that film, the last member of that first Israeli Air Force, one of true heroes of the modern era, will be speaking at 8:00 p.m. The program is free, it's open to the public. Details are in the lobby or the weekly, but make sure to mark your calendar this Sunday night. And lastly, as we do every single year, we're raising money for the Jewish education scholarship fund. Our schools collectively give out, thank you. Our schools collectively give out $6 million to scholarship to children. There are still countless families who struggle to meet the gap between the reduced tuition and what they can do. I take it upon myself to try to raise about $80,000 a year, without which these children literally would be in public school. This fund has enabled children to go back from public school to Jewish education. We have an event this Thursday night. The details are in the lobby as well. I hope you'll give to the point that you can participate in the event. If you can't do that much, please do whatever you can, because we need absolutely everybody's help in order to be able to address this challenge.פרשת תולדות Parshas Toldos, page 124 in the ArtScroll Stone חומש Chumash. As always, we'll try to do an overview of the פרשה Parsha, and then we'll get into our specific פסוקים pesukim that we're going to see. Yeah. Still trying to figure this out over here. Okay. Okay, פרשה Parsha begins with the story of last week's פרשה Parsha, יצחק Yitzchak and רבקה Rivka have met. The great שידוך shidduch was arranged. They're married. And for 20 years they struggle with infertility. Infertility is a great challenge as well in our time. Primary infertility, secondary infertility. Something we should all be very sensitive about, how we talk, what we assume. We don't know which of our friends have children or grandchildren struggling to have, giving us grandchildren or great grandchildren. And so it's a fine balance between having נחת nachas and taking joy in our own שמחות simchas, but not doing so with assumptions and doing so with sensitivity to the people around us. רבקה Rivka suffers, she suffers terribly. יצחק Yitzchak also suffers. He doesn't suffer as much. And we'll see in a moment because we're going to look at these specific פסוקים pesukim, part of the reason יצחק Yitzchak is not suffering as much has nothing to do with the gender difference, although maybe there is one. But it has to do with the fact that יצחק Yitzchak was promised that he was going to have progeny. He was going to be the continuity of אברם Avram. So he had a level of confidence that רבקה Rivka did not have. She did not know it would come through her, just because she was יצחק's Yitzchak's wife. We already have the precedent of אברם Avram finding another wife in order to begin a sense of continuity. But ultimately, רבקה Rivka does conceive. יעקב Yaakov and עשיו Eisav are born. They emerge, similar DNA, but they're very different personalities. We have of course the famous story. אברם Avram died. יצחק's Yitzchak's in the midst of mourning. יעקב Yaakov makes lentils, which are parallel to us, the סעודת הבראה seudas havra'ah, the egg and the and the bagel or the bread the mourner eats when they return from the funeral. And עשיו Eisav is so hungry, he comes in. ויבא עשיו מן השדה והוא עיף Vayavo Eisav min hasadeh v'hu ayef. He's out in the field. He's busy hunting. He comes in and he's exhausted. He's exhausted. ויאמר עשיו אל יעקב Vayomer Eisav el Yaakov, הלעיטני נא מן האדום האדום הזה hal'iteni na min ha'adom ha'adom hazeh. Give me some of this red stuff. Give me some of that grub. Give me some of that food. I'm starving. עיף אנכי Ayef anochi. על כן קרא שמו אדום Al ken kara shmo Edom. And עשיו Eisav, we know, is the progenitor of the nation of אדום Edom, which we consider to be modern-day Christianity. And we are in what חז\"ל Chazal said was the fourth גלות galus. There would be four exiles. We are still in that fourth exile, the exile of אדום Edom. True, we like to think that we're in the beginning of the Messianic era, the אתחלתא דגאולה aschalta d'geula. How could, speaking of the story of the Israeli Air Force, the miracles surrounding 1948, 1967, the miracles surrounding today, there's more תורה Torah thriving and flourishing in Israel than ever before. Sovereignty, autonomy in the holy land. As bad as a picture you could paint of how things are in Israel, we've never been safer, we've never been more prosperous, we've never had more progress. Jewish people have never been in more control of their own destiny. If you zoom out the lens and take a holistic view, things have never ever been better. Which isn't, not that as Jews we need a reason for anxiety, but that offers a reason to be anxious, that things have never ever been so good. So despite all of that, we're still in the גלות galus of אדום Edom. It's the fourth exile because minus a בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, minus השרת השכינה hashras hashchina, without God's intense dwelling, without His presence on the top of הר המוריה Har Hamoriah and הר הבית Har Habayis, even with all that progress, it's the beginning of the echo of the shadow of the footstep of the Messianic era. You could taste it. For 2,000 years, our ancestors would have given anything to be just at this point, but still this point is early on in the redemptive process. We're not yet there. We're still in the גלות galus of אדום Edom. ויאמר יעקב Vayomer Yaakov, מכרה כיום את בכורתך לי michra chayom es bechorascha li. יעקב Yaakov tries to make a deal. יעקב Yaakov tries to take advantage of the moment. I won't say exploit עשיו Eisav, but עשיו Eisav is willing to give up anything. ויאמר עשיו הנה אנכי הולך למות ולמה זה לי בכורה Vayomer Eisav hinei anochi holech lamus v'lama zeh li bechora. What do I care about my status? What do I care about my identity as the firstborn? I'm going to die. I'm starving. I'm exhausted, spent. יעקב Yaakov makes him promise. He sells him the בכורה bechora. יעקב Yaakov gives עשיו Eisav לחם ונזיד עדשים ויאכל וישת ויקם וילך lechem v'nezid adashim vayochal vayesht vayakom vayelech, ויבז עשיו את הבכורה vayivez Eisav es habechora. That פסוק pasuk says an enormous amount. On page 128, פרק כ\"ה פסוק ל\"ד Perek Chaf Hei pasuk Lamed Dalet. This is not the section we're studying. We're still in our overview, but that פסוק pasuk says everything. יעקב Yaakov threw, I'm sorry, עשיו Eisav rather, threw away his birthright. Now, you can imagine that there are circumstances where a Jew abandons their birthright. There are circumstances where a Jew has to suspend their belief, their values, their principles. Maybe they should, maybe they shouldn't, but they do. I think to the middle of the 20th century, when so many came to America and the only way they could earn a פרנסה parnasa was to work on שבת Shabbos. The origin of the השכמה מנין hashkama minyan. The young generation thinks that the השכמה מנין hashkama minyan began because of all those who wanted to sit and learn and שטייגען shteig all morning, or such צדיקים tzaddikim they wanted to watch the kids so the wife could go to שול shul. That's not how the השכמה מנין hashkama minyan began in America. We know better. The origin, the genesis of the השכמה מנין hashkama minyan were those men who were Orthodox in the sense that they valued תורה Torah, they valued הלכה halacha, in principle they valued being שומר שבת shomer Shabbos, but אלא מאי Elamai, they would starve, their family would starve, and I'm not justifying it, I'm not saying it's okay. I'm saying it was a time that it's hard for us to judge anybody. People went to work and that's how the השכמה מנין hashkama minyan began. Again, I'm not justifying, I'm not excusing, I'm not rationalizing. I'm just describing a period of time. But what was true about that generation? Even when they had to go to work on שבת Shabbos, they cried over the sense of giving up the בכורה bechora. They were giving up their birthright to live as שומר שבת shomer Shabbos Jews. There was a sadness, there was a tragic aura, they were crying. There are circumstances in history where Jews had to abandon the בכורה bechora. What does עשיו Eisav do? ויאכל וישת ויקם וילך Vayochal vayesht vayakom vayelech, ויבז עשיו את הבכורה vayivez Eisav es habechora. He celebrates walking away. He drinks and he eats and he makes merry and he parties and he laughs and he denigrates, he spurns the birthright. עשיו Eisav doesn't walk away backwards from the birthright. He doesn't walk away with his head down. He doesn't walk away with a tear in his eye. He walks away with his head held high. Sadly, we're seeing this in our generation. There were people who were what we would call today off the דרך derech. There were people who struggled with religion for all kinds of reasons in earlier generations, but when they walked away, it was sheepishly, it was shy, it was with sadness, it was with tragedy that Judaism didn't speak to them. Today we're seeing a generation who are ויאכל וישת ויקם וילך vayochal vayesht vayakom vayelech, which is pretty much a description of college campuses today. Even Orthodox Jews on שבת Shabbos on college campus, ויאכל וישת ויקם וילך ויבז עשיו את הבכורה vayochal vayesht vayakom vayelech vayivez Eisav es habechora, to be able to do so with no hesitation, no reluctance, no sadness, no tragic aura, but just to be able to walk away, ויבז vayivez, ויבז vayivez. Even when we, even when we're weak, even when circumstances for whatever reason we think force us to walk away, it should still be sad. עשיו Eisav just walks away. עשיו Eisav just walks away. There's a famine, it forces יצחק Yitzchak to go down to פלשתים Plishtim. He thought he should go to מצרים Mitzrayim. Why did he think he should go to מצרים Mitzrayim? Who went to מצרים Mitzrayim before him? אברם Avram. מעשה אבות סימן לבנים Maaseh avos siman l'banim. יצחק Yitzchak is going to follow in the footsteps of his father. We'll see in a moment. Why was he not allowed to go down to מצרים Mitzrayim? Why? רש\"י Rashi tells us because he was a קרבן עולה korban olah. He had a certain sacred status because he was offered as a sacrifice. Ah, the offering wasn't complete, but the intent in the offering was there, and that placed a certain status on him, and his holiness precluded him from leaving Israel. So it's kind of an interesting thing. On the one hand, יצחק Yitzchak wanted to follow exactly his father. On the other hand, he applies it differently, not by going down to Egypt, but by understanding he has to go to another exile within Israel itself, and that is to migrate to the area of the פלשתים Plishtim. יצחק Yitzchak is in גרר Grar. There's a dispute over the wells. The פלשתים Plishtim fill up all the wells that אברם Avram had dug and יצחק Yitzchak redigs the wells of his father. And then אבימלך Avimelech reaffirms the treaty and עשיו Eisav marries. רב שכטר Rav Schechter writes in the new ספר sefer of רב שכטר Rav Schechter on the פרשה Parsha, on this פסוק pasuk that יצחק Yitzchak dug anew the wells of the water that אברם Avram had dug and he called them the same names. It's פרק כ\"ו פסוק י\"ח Perek Chaf Vov pasuk Yud Ches. The תורה Torah doesn't include irrelevant details, insignificant details. Why would the תורה Torah include this, that יצחק Yitzchak redig wells, that he gave them the same names, who cares? So רב שכטר Rav Schechter writes as follows. He quotes from the רב Rav, רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik explained the connotation of this פסוק pasuk is that יצחק Yitzchak followed the exact מסורה mesora of his father, the tradition of his father. This is why earlier in the פרשה parsha when there's a famine in the land, יצחק Yitzchak traveled to גרר Grar, intending to dwell in מצרים Mitzrayim just as his father had done. But רש\"י Rashi cites the מדרש medrash that השם Hashem said to יצחק Yitzchak, \"Don't go to Egypt, you're a blemish-free offering, and territory outside of Israel is not worthy of you.\" השם Hashem was explaining to יצחק Yitzchak that by going to מצרים Mitzrayim, he was in fact not following in the footsteps of his father. Following the incident of the עקידה Akeida, יצחק Yitzchak had attained the קדושה kedusha of a קרבן עולה korban olah, was not permitted to leave ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. This restriction was unique to יצחק Yitzchak, never applied to אברם Avram, who was permitted to leave ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. People often believe, writes רב שכטר Rav Schechter, that by acting in the same way as their ancestors, they're following the מסורה mesora. However, if the circumstances have changed, performing the same act is not necessarily following the same tradition. יהושע בן נון Yehoshua Bin Nun was most certainly a loyal student of משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu. Upon conquering יריחו Yericho, he placed the חרם cherem on the spoils captured in the battle just as his teacher משה Moshe had done earlier in his battles. When עכן Achan violated the איסור isur of the חרם cherem, the punishment for which was the defeat of the Jewish army of עי Ai, השם Hashem chastised יהושע Yehoshua, \"You caused this calamity.\" The אחרונים Achronim wonder, יהושע's Yehoshua's guilt. He apparently was following the tradition of his teacher. יהושע Yehoshua just did exactly what משה Moshe did. Why was he wrong to create the same חרם cherem, to institute the same ban if someone were to touch the spoils? He was just walking in the footsteps of his teacher. The מהרש\"א Maharsha explains that by the time of יהושע Yehoshua, circumstances had changed. Once בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael had crossed the ירדן Yarden, the דין din of ערבות arvus of כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה Kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh, guardianship, had become operational, placing blame on the entire community even if an individual were to violate the חרם cherem. In the current situation, even משה Moshe, יהושע's Yehoshua's teacher, would not have placed such a חרם cherem. Although יהושע Yehoshua had intended to duplicate the exact practice of his teacher, he was in fact deemed responsible for deviating from the proper procedure given the current new reality. So it's a very, very interesting thing, this notion of מסורה mesora, the catchword also in our time. It's a very controversial question. What innovations are included within our tradition and what innovations are a breach or break of our tradition? I'm not going to give examples because I don't want to distract us, but there are every day new questions arising. What's within the מסורה mesora, what's outside the מסורה mesora? So says רב שכטר Rav Schechter quoting his רבי rebbi the רב Rav, you know, some make the mistake of abandoning the מסורה mesora, but others make the mistake of blindly duplicating what they think is the מסורה mesora without adapting to a new generation and a new time and a new language and new circumstances. And the real, the real trick so to say, is to actually be in between, to figure out what is true to our מסורה mesora, how can we remain loyal to our מסורה mesora, our tradition, but at the same time have the wisdom to adapt it to the changing circumstances. So you'll say, well who gets to decide that? Who gets to decide where the envelope, where the boundary, when it's pushed too far? What's in the מסורה mesora and is adapting, and what is not adapting, but what is actually abandoning the מסורה mesora? And the answer is that in every generation there are בעלי מסורה baalei mesora. We spoke about this last שבועות Shavuos, when we gave a שיעור shiur on one of these controversial topics. And we talked about the notion of מסורה mesora and that in every generation there are the בעלי המסורה baalei ha'mesora. And that the משנה Mishna at the beginning of אבות Avos, that משה קיבל תורה מסיני ומסרה ליהושע Moshe kibel Torah mi'Sinai u'mesara l'Yehoshua, משה Moshe passed the מסורה mesora to יהושע Yehoshua, יהושע לזקנים Yehoshua l'zkeinim, זקנים zkeinim, כנסת הגדולה Knesses HaGedolah, and the שלשלת הקבלה shalshelas ha'kabbalah, the chain of transmission of מסורה mesora for the רמב\"ם Rambam and others is not over, is not over. And the need to identify in every generation, who are the outstanding תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim? Who are those who are so literate in תורה Torah that they can anticipate the רצון השם ratzon Hashem? Right? The רב Rav gave the following example in the הספד hesped for his uncle, the בריסקער רב Briske Rav, you know, the רב Rav said there are people who are תלמידי חכמים talmidei chachamim, they're extremely knowledgeable, unbelievably knowledgeable about the תורה Torah. But there are others who are not only so knowledgeable, they've absorbed תורה Torah so much, their relationship with the תורה Torah is not one that is casual, they're married to the תורה Torah. What do we say about married people? They could finish one another's sentences. So my wife, let's say, may have many dear friends who know her well. And on the one hand, if you'd ask what she would want, they know her well. But nobody could finish her sentence or tell you what she would want like I can because nobody is as close, nobody is as married. The בעלי המסורה baalei ha'mesora are not just people who are who are so smart. They're people who are so connected, their relationship with תורה Torah is so true that they are trusted to be able to anticipate and share the רצון השם ratzon Hashem, to tell us where is that fine line, being true to the מסורה mesora but adapting it. He ends this piece רב שכטר Rav Schechter by quoting רב שוואב Rav Schwab. רב שמעון שוואב זצ\"ל Rav Shimon Schwab Zatzal once made the following observation when he saw someone who in preparation for דאווענען davening removed his necktie, tying it around his waist to be used in place of the customary גרטל gartel. The doning of the גרטל gartel, a sash worn around the waist, is the fulfillment of the פסוק pasuk הכון לקראת אלקיך ישראל Hikon likras Elokecha Yisrael, 'Prepare to meet your God.' רב שוואב Rav Schwab felt that nowadays, the more appropriate way to fulfill the פסוק pasuk, and in fact to preserve the מסורה mesora of his community, would be to wear a necktie prior to דאווענען davening. Thus in thinking he was fulfilling the custom of his ancestors by replacing his necktie as a גרטל gartel, the man was actually forfeiting the fulfillment of that מסורה mesora of that very practice. So there's an example, a little more benign than some of the controversial ones being discussed today, but where רב שוואב Rav Schwab felt, what are you taking off the tie to tie it around your waist? That's not the מסורה mesora. Once upon a time, wearing that around your waist was the way you showed the honor and respect to השם Hashem for דאווענען davening. Today, you wouldn't go to a state dinner, you wouldn't meet a a powerful person without wearing the tie, and that is being more true to the מסורה mesora. So יצחק Yitzchak redigs the wells of his father and gives them the same names, he's being true to the מסורה mesora. But on the other hand, he doesn't go down to מצרים Mitzrayim. Why? Because his circumstance was different. He was a קרבן עולה korban olah. So even though he's following the מסורה mesora of his father that when there's a famine to go into a certain exile, but on the other hand, he doesn't go to the same place because circumstances changed, says רב שכטר Rav Schechter quoting the רב Rav, you see in here some of the notion, the parameters of this concept of מסורה mesora. עשיו Eisav marries. יצחק Yitzchak decides it's time to bless עשיו Eisav. Now it's very interesting. What does יצחק Yitzchak tell him when he's ready for the blessing? הנה נא זקנתי לא ידעתי יום מותי Hinei na zokanti lo yadati yom mosi. I'm old, I'm blind, I don't know when I'm going to die. I saw by the way one beautiful insight. How could יצחק Yitzchak, we've spoken about this in the past. How could יצחק Yitzchak have made such a gross error in judgment? How could he not see what was in front of him, that עשיו Eisav was a רשע rasha? And יצחק Yitzchak is a, and יעקב Yaakov rather, is the צדיק tzaddik. How could he not see? If יצחק Yitzchak is as great as we believe he is, he's one of our אבות avos, how could he not see? So I saw one interpretation that says that, you know, sometimes you see more when you can't see, when you're blind. יצחק Yitzchak was blind. He didn't see what was in front of him. He saw potential. He saw the reality as he wished it were. He saw the reality, the potential he wished were fulfilled. And so יצחק's Yitzchak's blindness didn't allow him to see the reality as it was. He saw the potential as he wished it. עשיו Eisav had that potential in him, and that's what יצחק Yitzchak saw. Sometimes as a parent, we do that. Sometimes for the good of our children and sometimes to the detriment of our children. Rather than deal with the reality as we have to deal with it, we only advocate based on the potential we dream and wish they have. And that's יצחק Yitzchak, that's יצחק's Yitzchak's blindness at that moment. But יצחק Yitzchak says, נו Nu, go hunt, עשה לי מטעמים כאשר אהבתי Asei li matamim ka'asher ahavti. נו Nu, make me a barbecue. I want some ribs. I want a good juicy rib steak, some fried onions on top, some french fries, sweet potato fries on the side. והביאה לי ואוכלה V'havi'ah li v'ocheila. I know it's a little early in the morning still. But והביאה לי ואוכלה v'havi'ah li v'ocheila, I want to eat it. בעבור תברכך נפשי בטרם אמות Ba'avur tevarechecha nafshi b'terem amus. נו Nu, before I die, hurry up! Hurry up! Smoke me some brisket before I die, so I can give you the ברכה bracha. Now, if I'm worried about dying and giving a ברכה bracha before I die, I think I'd say come over here so I can give you a ברכה bracha. And after the ברכה bracha we'll sit down and break bread. After the ברכה bracha, נו nu, we'll have a meal. Why is יצחק Yitzchak saying, before I can give you the ברכה bracha, נו nu, make me a delicious meal? What's the role of the food here? What's the role of the food? Isn't it not interesting that every time we celebrate תורה Torah, we have a meal? For it to be a סיום siyum, you don't have a סיום siyum without a meal. שבועות Shavuos, the יום טוב yontif of מתן תורה Matan Torah, the holiday of קבלת התורה kabbalas haTorah, even though there's a debate when it comes to the other holidays, is it for השם Hashem, is it for you? Everybody agrees שבועות Shavuos has to be partly for you. You got to eat well and drink well and enjoy. Every time we see the celebration of תורה Torah it's associated with food. יצחק Yitzchak says, I want to give you a ברכה bracha, you live a life of תורה Torah, first we have to eat. First we need some פליישיגס fleishiks. יצחק Yitzchak was not a vegan, that is clear, or a vegetarian. That is my מסורה mesora. So what's going on? So רבינו בחיי Rabbeinu Bachya here on this פסוק pasuk says that יצחק Yitzchak is not simply looking for the pleasures of the flesh. It's not a hedonistic craving or appetite for a good barbecue before I can give you the ברכה bracha. But what is it? Rather, we know we have a principle, חז\"ל Chazal tells us, אין השכינה שורה לא מתוך עצלות ולא מתוך עצבות, אלא מתוך שמחה ein hashchina shora lo mitoch atzlus v'lo mitoch atzvus, elah mitoch simcha. I think Avraham Fried or someone once made a song out of that. You can only, שכינה שורה shchina is shora, when do you feel השם's Hashem's presence? When are you spiritually elevated, uplifted, elated? Only when, not when you have sadness, and not when you feel deprived, and not when your stomach is growling, and not when you're dehydrated, and not when you lack sleep. לא מתוך עצבות Lo mitoch atzvus, not from sadness, לא מתוך עצלות lo mitoch atzlus, not from laziness and not from fatigue, אלא מתוך שמחה elah mitoch simcha. There has to be an atmosphere of joy. There has to be an atmosphere of happiness. The שכינה shchina, השם Hashem, only wants to come to a party. השם Hashem doesn't want to be in a sad place. When we live life with a certain sense of שמחה simcha, then השם Hashem, then השם Hashem is going to be there. So the ספר איש לרעהו Sefer Ish L'rei'eihu says that that's why יצחק Yitzchak specifically said, 'What do I want? Bring me meat and bring me wine.' כאין שמחה אלא בבשר ויין Ke'ein simcha elah b'basar v'yayin. יצחק Yitzchak says when I give you this ברכה bracha, I want to be בשמחה b'simcha. I don't want to be sad. Maybe I'm on my deathbed, maybe I have a terminal illness, maybe I feel it's the end, but in reflecting back on my life and transmitting to you, I want to be בשמחה b'simcha. So I'm going to use the elements that make me בשמחה b'simcha, not substances that shouldn't be used to help us feel בשמחה b'simcha, but in an appropriate fashion to satisfy the cravings of the body so that the body will be a platform that promotes and encourages the joy of the soul. It's a very חסידיש chassidish idea, it's found in a lot of ספרי חסידות sifrei chassidus and it's practiced, we know, by a lot of חסידים chassidim who enjoy within limitations and in a healthy way לחיים l'chaim. The idea which is part of our מסורה mesora, again, in a healthy way, in an appropriate way, not insensitive to those who can't or shouldn't be having alcohol, but the notion of the לחיים l'chaim or the notion of just eating good food, of שבת Shabbos, of בשר ודגים basar v'dageem on שבת Shabbos, the עונג שבת oneg Shabbos, is that when we satisfy the body, the גוף guf, we are engaging the גוף guf to be a partner of the נשמה neshama. As opposed to again, I think I've shared this with you recently before, this was the חידוש chiddush of the בעל התניא Baal HaTanya, the אלטער רבי Alter Rebbe in the ספר sefer of the בינוני Benoni, in his ספר תניא sefer Tanya, the אלטער רבי Alter Rebbe as opposed to the בעלי מוסר baalei mussar and בעלי מחשבה baalei machshava who came before him who said that the spiritual, the soul needs to negate, and needs to conquer, and needs to abolish the body. The body should be red, body and its appetite should be rendered insignificant, should be abolished, and the soul should reign supreme. So the חידוש chiddush of the, of the Baal of the תניא Tanya is that no, the נשמה neshama should engage the body and make the body a partner in the goals of the נשמה neshama. That it's not that the נשמה neshama is defeating the נפש בהמית nefesh behaimis, it's that we're engaging it, we're ruling over it, and we're transforming it. So it's not that we take vows of abstinence, it's not that we take vows of fasting, it's not that we take vows of silence, because the root to holiness is by removing ourselves from the physical, but rather you engage the physical but you elevate it, you transform it. And that perhaps is what's going on over here. יצחק Yitzchak says, נו Nu, get me some good food, because עשיו Eisav, when I give you this ברכה bracha, I don't want to be distracted by the growl of my stomach. When I give you this ברכה bracha, I don't want to be looking forward to a meal or nostalgic about my last meal. I want to be בשמחה b'simcha. I want to give you a ברכה bracha on a full stomach. I want to be happy. I want to be singing and singing ניגונים nigunim and זמירות zemiros and feel full and and and happy and elevated. And therefore, אין שמחה אלא בבשר ויין ein simcha elah b'basar v'yayin, and then we'll take it, and then we'll take it from there. Okay, ווייטער weiter, we got to finish our summary and get into these פסוקים pesukim. It's getting late. רבקה Rivka knows יצחק's Yitzchak's giving a ברכה bracha. She realizes that destiny is about to go the wrong way. She takes an enormous, it's not a coincidence that it's a woman with insight and foresight who is taking this enormous heroic step by orchestrating so that in fact יעקב Yaakov gets the ברכה bracha. And יעקב Yaakov comes to יצחק Yitzchak, הקול קול יעקב והידיים ידי עשיו hakol kol Yaakov v'hayadayim yedei Eisav, which is really a description of Jews for eternity. יעקב Yaakov gets, יצחק Yitzchak gets the, I'm sorry, יעקב Yaakov gets the ברכה bracha, עשיו Eisav arrives, he gets what ends up being a very similar ברכה bracha. What's the difference between them? We've discussed in the past. רבקה Rivka realizes יעקב's Yaakov's life is at risk and has him run to her brother לבן Lavan. And then the פרשה parsha ends with the prohibition of marrying within the כנענים K'naanim, and עשיו Eisav marries the daughter of ישמעאל Yishmael. The elephant in the room of the whole פרשה parsha, which again we've discussed in the past, we won't do now, is the notion of deception and lies. In fact, all of ספר בראשית Sefer Breishis is characterized by deception and lies. It's hardly a פרשה parsha that goes by that doesn't include gross deception and horrific lies. These are our אבות ואמהות avos and imahos, our greatest heroes, the matriarchs and patriarchs of our people, and it seems like they can't tell the truth, from אדם Adam and חוה Chava about the עץ הדעת eitz hada'as, can you not eat, can you not even touch it? What's going on over here? קין Kain and הבל Hevel, I don't know what happened to my brother, to all the way through these lies that are going on. אברם Avram says to שרה Sara, pretend you're my sister and not my wife. יצחק Yitzchak. יעקב Yaakov is lying to his father. What happened to יעקב Yaakov, the איש תם ish tam, יושב אוהלים yoshev ohalim? אמת ליעקב Emes l'Yaakov, חסד לאברהם chesed l'Avraham, אמת ליעקב emes l'Yaakov. יעקב's Yaakov's the איש אמת ish emes? Has there been a greater deception in history? And חז\"ל Chazal say this deception is paid back, because when יעקב Yaakov thinks he marries רחל Rachel, who does he wake up to find next to him? לאה Leah. To which the מדרש medrash says, lies go around, what goes around comes around. Karma. So lies are are the entire, you know, יוסף Yosef disappears on יעקב Yaakov, the מדרש medrash also says that's part of the payback for יעקב's Yaakov's lie. And יעקב Yaakov says what happened, and his other children saying an animal ate him. יוסף Yosef meets the brothers, does he say he's יוסף Yosef? He conceals his identity, deception. The whole ספר בראשית Sefer Breishis is lies and deception. Is truth a value in Judaism? The חתימה chasima, the signature of השם Hashem is אמת emes. השם Hashem signs His name as the the paradigm of truth. Is truth a value? Is it not a value? Is it absolute? Is it relative? Is it negotiable or is it something which is objective? So again, we've talked about that in the past. We don't have time now. I want to go back to the beginning of the פרשה parsha. Page 124, פרק כ\"ה Perek Chaf Hei, פסוק י\"ט pasuk Yud Tes, the very beginning of our פרשה parsha. So much to talk about here. Don't even know where to start. Okay. אלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Eileh toldos Yitzchak ben Avram, Avram holid es Yitzchak. A little repetitive, a little redundant, isn't it? אלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם Eileh toldos Yitzchak ben Avram, these are the children, the descendants of יצחק Yitzchak the son of אברם Avram. By the way, in case you forgot from like a millisecond ago, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avram holid es Yitzchak. These are the descendants of יצחק Yitzchak the son of אברם Avram. In case that wasn't clear, just to clear up the confusion, אברם Avram is the father of יצחק Yitzchak. Don't we know that? So רש\"י Rashi says, who are these תולדות toldos? יעקב Yaakov and עשיו Eisav, האמורים בפרשה ha'amurim ba'parsha. Right? רש\"י Rashi's already anticipating who are the תולדות toldos? We say אלה תולדות Eileh toldos, what happened to listing the תולדות toldos? Look at the next פסוק pasuk. ויהי יצחק בן ארבעים שנה בקחתו את רבקה בת בתואל הארמי מפדן ארם, אחות לבן הארמי לו לאשה Vayehi Yitzchak ben arba'im shana b'kachto es Rivka bas Besuel ha'arami mi'Padan Aram, achos Lavan ha'arami lo l'isha. How old is יצחק Yitzchak? 40 when he marries רבקה Rivka, the daughter of בתואל Besuel, the brother of לבן Lavan, when he takes her as a wife. Well, what happened? We're about to list. So, let me tell you all about my children. They are, I was 20 when I got married and then I, 'I thought you were about to tell me about your children.' אלה תולדות יצחק Eileh toldos Yitzchak, these are the children of יצחק Yitzchak, and then we never come back to saying who the children of יצחק Yitzchak are. What happened? So רש\"י Rashi's bothered by that question and רש\"י Rashi says, 'יעקב Yaakov and עשיו Eisav האמורים בפרשה ha'amurim ba'parsha.' Yeah, the story of יעקב Yaakov and עשיו Eisav that we're going to get to, that's the continuation. So the פסוק pasuk began, this is the story of the offspring of יצחק Yitzchak. Ah, the next פסוק pasuk doesn't tell us who they are, because we now have to get into the fact that רבקה Rivka had infertility, she got pregnant, it was a rough pregnancy, she gave birth to twins. But we're just introducing what will be the whole story by saying, 'These are the descendants of יצחק Yitzchak.' True, it's not the very next words, it's an introduction to the whole story. As I say, that's רש\"י's Rashi's interpretation. The רשב\"ם Rashbam, רש\"י's Rashi's grandson says, 'No. The פשוטו של מקרא pshuto shel mikra לפי שאמר למעלה בישמעאל בן אברהם אשר ילדה הגר המצרית l'fi sh'amar l'maila b'Yishmael ben Avram asher yalda Hagar ha'mitzris. אבל כאן יצחק עיקר בן היה לאברהם, שהוא הוליד את יצחק מאשתו הגמורה Aval kan Yitzchak ikar ben hayah l'Avram, shehu holid es Yitzchak me'ishto ha'gemura.' The simple understanding of the text, it said above that ישמעאל Yishmael was also the son of אברם Avram. ישמעאל Yishmael the son of הגר Hagar the Egyptian was also the son. So אלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Eileh toldos Yitzchak ben Avram, Avram holid es Yitzchak. יצחק Yitzchak is the עיקר בן לאברהם ikar ben l'Avram. Says the רשב\"ם Rashbam, the פסוק pasuk wants us to know that יצחק Yitzchak is the true continuation of the legacy of אברם Avram. כי ביצחק Ki b'Yitzchak. יצחק יקרא לך זרע Yitzchak yikareh l'cha zara. Because God promised it was through Yitzchak that Avraham would build a nation. וכן בדברי הימים לאחר שכתוב כי בני אברהם היו יצחק וישמעאל ובני קטורה V'chein b'divrei hayamim l'achar shekasuv ki bnei Avraham hayu Yitzchak v'Yishmael u'vnei Keturah, חוזר וכותב סתם ויהיו לאברהם את יצחק chozer v'kosev stam v'yihyu l'Avraham es Yitzchak. What is the Rashbam really saying? I'd like to suggest to you that what the Rashbam is saying is the following. Unlike his grandfather Rashi, that the תולדות toldos are Yaakov and Eisav, players to be named later, unlike that, I'd like to suggest to you what the Rashbam is saying is, you want to know the תולדות toldos of Yitzchak? You want to know Yitzchak's legacy, Yitzchak's life? You know what Yitzchak's legacy is? אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. That he's his father's son. That's his legacy. Nice, huh? You understand what I'm saying? The פשט pshat? It's not that this is literally who the sons are. We're trying to make a family tree here. You'd have Avraham, is Yishmael and Yitzchak. Yitzchak is Yaakov and Eisav. Yaakov had, it's not a family tree. What we're saying is what is Yitzchak's legacy? Yitzchak's legacy is אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. His legacy is that he is his father's representative in this world. Why does that make sense? It makes sense based on what I told you a moment ago, that Yitzchak re-dug the wells of his father. And he gave them the same names. And he was committed to transmit the מסורה mesorah of his father. He didn't deviate. He adapted it when necessary by going to גרר Gerar, not to מצרים Mitzrayim. But when not necessary, he re-dug the same wells and he gave the same name because Yitzchak is the quintessential role-player. Do you know of all the אבות avos, we have the least amount of dialogue with Yitzchak in the Torah? Avraham talks to Hashem a lot. Yaakov, we have a whole storyline, talks to Hashem a lot. Yitzchak is like this silent figure. He doesn't get a lot of, he doesn't get a lot of talking parts in the script of ספר בראשית Sefer Bereishis. It's very quiet. But moreover, he doesn't really have an enormous impact. Avraham is the father of ethical monotheism. Yaakov is the progenitor of the 12 tribes and goes through the entire episode, goes down to Egypt with them. What's Yitzchak's legacy? Transition. The answer is Yitzchak's legacy is transition. Yitzchak's legacy is he's a role player. He's a link that binds the chain before him and the continuity of the chain that will come after him. And we make the mistake of thinking that to be a patriarch, you need your name in lights, radical innovation, leadership. You need to stand out. But sometimes you can be one of the אבות avos by being a יצחק Yitzchak. If you successfully have passed the torch of your parents to your children, שומר שבת, שומר כשרות, אמונה, יראת שמים shomer Shabbos, shomer kashrus, emunah, yiras shamayim. You don't have to cure cancer or bring world peace. You didn't have to be the president of the shul or start the new school. You don't have to be the biggest גביר gvir. You could be a יצחק Yitzchak. If you simply succeeded in passing the torch and you can in your life know and feel good that you have left children, grandchildren who are on their way and on the path to continue what your parents left you, you've passed the baton, you too are one of the אבות ואמהות Avos v'Imahos. You're following in the footsteps of יצחק Yitzchak. That is Yitzchak's legacy. So I'm suggesting to you this morning, maybe that's the פשט pshat in the פסק pasuk. אלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם Eileh toldos Yitzchak ben Avraham. These are the offspring of Yitzchak.What is Yitzchak's legacy? That אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. His legacy is that my father gave birth to me and I'm passing that on to my children. That I'm not trying to carve a new way. I'm not trying to make a new name for myself. His legacy is אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. My legacy is that I'm my parent's child and I'm taking what they gave me and I'm passing it forward to the next generation. Look at Rashi, the next Rashi. אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. I'm going to now fit this into the next Rashi. Rashi says, לאחר שקרא הקדוש ברוך הוא שמו אברהם, אחר כך הוליד את יצחק. דבר אחר, ידע שכתוב ואלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם, הוצרך לומר אברהם הוליד את יצחק l'achar shekara Hakadosh Baruch Hu shmo Avraham, achar kach holid es Yitzchak. Davar acher, yodei shekasuv v'eileh toldos Yitzchak ben Avraham, hutzrach lomar Avraham holid es Yitzchak. Why? Why the redundancy? לפי שהיו ליצני הדור אומרים, מאבימלך נתעברה שרה l'fi shehayu leitzanei hador omrim, me'Avimelech nisabra Sarah. That story I told you when they were in Egypt for the famine and Avraham's deception, the Ramban says he was accountable for, he made a mistake. I'm not saying it, the Ramban did. So the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador, the cynics of the generation said, יצחק Yitzchak? That Avraham's an old man. There's no way the kid inside Sarah is from him. I bet she had an affair with אבימלך Avimelech. That is the child of אבימלך Avimelech and Sarah. That's what the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador said. הרי כמה שנים שהתה עם אברהם harei kama shanim she'sha'asah im Avraham, ולא נתעברה הימנו v'lo nisabra himenu. They said Avraham and Sarah have been married forever, they didn't have children. One night with אבימלך Avimelech, next thing you know she's pregnant. It must be that this child is the illegitimate child of אבימלך Avimelech and Sarah. מה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא mah asah Hakadosh Baruch Hu? What did the רבונו של עולם Ribono shel Olam do? צר קלסתר פניו של יצחק דומה לאברהם tzar kalaster panav shel Yitzchak domeh l'Avraham. Hashem made a miracle. Yitzchak would look like Avraham's twin. When you looked at Yitzchak, you were like, there's no question that Avraham's his father. He was the spitting image of Avraham. והעידו הכל אברהם הוליד את יצחק V'heidu hakol Avraham holid es Yitzchak. So the whole world testified, אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. Yitzchak's not only the son of Avraham, that that's what we're saying, but also אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. One look at Yitzchak's face, he's a spitting image of Avraham. וזה שכתוב כאן יצחק בן אברהם, שהרי עדות יש שאברהם הוליד את יצחק V'zeh shekasuv kan Yitzchak ben Avraham, sheharei eidus yesh she'Avraham holid es Yitzchak.And if you ask me, I think I mentioned this in shul a couple weeks ago, what do we care what the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador said? Who cares? So ליצני הדור leitzanei hador, the cynics, the skeptics, the scoffers. Who cares? Who cares what they said? So let them say that Avraham, that Sarah had an affair with אבימלך Avimelech. Who cares? We know the truth. אלא מה ela mai, what do you see? The power of cynicism. Cynicism has the ability to contaminate, to corrupt. It's toxic. It spreads, it's contagious. And in an atmosphere of cynicism and sarcasm, you cannot build light and beauty. You cannot make progress. The cynicism couldn't go unanswered because it's such a lethal attribute, cynicism. It's so horrible. It's so horrible. Every generation has its cynics and conspiracy theorists, and Avraham's was no different. What's amazing is that the Torah felt the need to address it, to address the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador. So רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik understands this מדרש medrash a little bit differently. And he said so, this comes from in his חמש דרשות Chamesh Drashos, in the five talks that he gave to the Mizrachi, the Rov suggests that the cynics didn't in fact doubt Avraham's physical ability to father a child. The Rov homiletically interprets this מדרש medrash so beautifully. The cynics were not suggesting that Avraham could not biologically father a child. What they were doubtful was that an old man could successfully communicate his radical ideals and lifestyle to a young person from a new generation. There's no way this kid is going to embrace the the principles of his old man. You see as much as Avraham had revolutionized the world and transformed countless individuals from paganism to monotheism, there were ליצני הדור leitzanei hador. There were always the cynics who saw his philosophy and ideology as a passing fad, as a short-lived trend. I can tell you as a rabbi, you get up, you try to give the most inspiring speech, and maybe some people give you nice feedback, it's gratifying, but then you always see the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador, you know, who are able to poke that hole in what you said, who put up this force field. The רמח\"ל, רב משה חיים לוצאטו Ramchal, Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, in מסילת ישרים Mesilas Yesharim says that ליצנות leitzanus, cynicism is so self-destructive. You know what he likes, he likens it to a sword that has oil smeared on the outside of it, that the arrows can't penetrate the sword, instead, they slide right off. So the cynic has a force field of oil and they can't ever hear a message to inspire. They can never learn, they can never grow, they don't have real relationships, because they're just cynical about everything. Nothing penetrates, nothing gets inside, nothing is absorbed. Nothing is taken seriously. And the one they hurt the worst in that is themselves. So said the Rov, this generation looked and said, \"Ah, this new truth of Avraham.\" It slid right off of them. It didn't penetrate. They didn't embrace it and they didn't believe anyone from the young generation could. How could an old man with extreme ideas inspire this young kid to embrace his legacy? Never going to happen. Instead, this kid's going to follow אבימלך Avimelech. He's going to follow modern society and culture and popular trends, instead of the outdated ideals of his old man biological father. So the Rov reinterprets the מדרש medrash that the cynics weren't questioning Avraham's biological ability to father a child. They were questioning whether Avraham could successfully transmit values with this enormous generation gap. There's no question the kid's going to embrace the pop culture of אבימלך Avimelech and Egypt. They'll never embrace Avraham. This is what the Rov writes. Listen to the quote. \"People laughed at the event. They did not believe Isaac would inherit Avraham, that he, a young lad of the new generation, would continue to carry Avraham's vision and laws. That he also would engage in building altars and calling on the names of God. They laughed at Avraham's dreams and that his son would give his life for Torah and fight for the sanctity of Avraham's house. The scoffers said, 'Sarah conceived from אבימלך Avimelech.' Others claim they bought themselves a foundling from the marketplace. It's impossible to pass on Avraham's outlook, the מצוות mitzvos, the statutes and laws to the modern generation. When Avraham dies, people said his entire philosophy will perish, his altars will be dismantled, his שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch will be eaten by moths, and all the trace of his life will vanish, just as the grass will grow over his grave.\" But instead, what do we see in our פרשה parsha? The exact opposite. יצחק Yitzchak, that it's אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak. That Yitzchak exactly embraces the legacy of his father. That he fills the wells, that he gives them the same name. And the Rov's interpretation offered in the early 1960s is poignant and profound today and maybe even more today than ever. Listen how the Rov put it. \"Yitzchak dug again and he called their names after the names of his father called them. The same גמרא Gemara, the same שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch, the same שבת Shabbos, the same laws of divorce. Who could have foreseen that the young modern Yitzchak would also say that a divorcee is forbidden to a priest? That he would demand the kosher kitchen and fight for religious education and the like? Who could have guessed that he would speak with the same language that old Avraham spoke, as the author of שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch, as the רמ\"א Rama, as the גאון מוילנא Gaon mi'Vilna, as רב חיים מוולוז'ין Rav Chaim mi'Volozhin?\" Beautiful, no? This image that אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak, that the young generation can and does embrace, does redig the wells, does call it the same name, and so on. So this is our challenge. The cynics and the scoffers, the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador are active in our generation, but we have to be that יצחק Yitzchak that אברהם הוליד את יצחק Avraham holid es Yitzchak to redig the wells, to call the same names, to perpetuate the values, to be that role player, a link in that chain of transmission. Bob. When you say that Avraham was so old, how could he, how could he father a child? Yeah, right. Now, how old was Sarah at the time? She was also very old. And why don't we say the same thing? Because right now she's pregnant. And they said they're married for so long, Avraham didn't get it done. It must be that night she spent in the palace, that must be how she conceived. Why would you believe it's from Avraham? Now the fact that Sarah could conceive, we know, because she's the one who's pregnant. But who's the father? That was the question. And the cynics said, the simple interpretation of the מדרש medrash is that the ליצני הדור leitzanei hador said it must be אבימלך Avimelech, it can't be Avraham. Why don't we ask the question that how could a woman at that age give birth to... Because she gave birth. That was the miracle. That was the miracle. She gave birth. So the pasuk continued to describe. Yitzchak was 40 when he took Rivka, the daughter of Besuel, the brother of Lavan. Do we not already know? Asks Rashi, והרי כבר נכתב שהיא בת בתואל אחות לבן מפדן ארם v'harei kvar nechtav shehi bas Besuel achos Lavan mi'Paddan Aram? We know all this. Last week's parsha wasn't that long ago. You don't have to remember from last year, just from last week. We know she's the daughter of of Besuel. We know she's the sister of Lavan. Says Rashi, להגיד שבחה l'hagid shivcha, to tell us her praise, שהיתה בת רשע ואחי רשע ומקום אנשי רשע ולא למדה ממעשיהם shehayta bas rasha v'achi rasha u'makom anshei resha v'lo lamda m'ma'aseihem. She's the daughter of a רשע rasha, the sister of a רשע rasha, she lives in a neighborhood of רשעים reshaim, and yet she emerges, she emerges so beautiful nonetheless. So why are we reiterating her poor יחוס yichus? Because to tell us this is a praise. This speaks to her greatness. The בעל הטורים Ba'al HaTurim says לבן הארמי Lavan ha'Arami, ארמי Arami, the Aramean, אותיות הרמאי osiyos ha'ramai. It's the same exact letters as רמאי ramai which means the tricky one, the the the the deceitful one, the tricky one, the manipulative one. Exactly. רב סולובייצ'יק Rav Soloveitchik in the Rov Chumash writes about this too.He writes, \"The focus on Rivka's family in her verse can be understood in light of a comment of the תרגום יונתן בן עוזיאל Targum Yonasan ben Uziel on the Torah's depiction of the Jewish people in Egypt. When the pasuk says I am God, the God of your father, don't be afraid of going down to Egypt, I will make you a great nation. The Targum comments, 'Only there will God make us a great nation.' Furthermore, the בעל הגדה Ba'al Hagadah derives from the pasuk, this teaches the Jews there became distinguished and distinctive. היו מצוינים שם hayu metzuyanim sham. We learned from that pasuk, right? In the הגדה Haggadah. Only in the midst of Egypt were the descendants of Avraham able to develop into a great nation. In another context, the change would not have taken place. To develop the qualities that characterize our nation, mercy, modesty, and loving-kindness, we had to be thrust into the vortex of power, might, and brutal force, and experience the antithesis of our ethos. Only through exposure to these adverse character traits could we achieve our true essence as a people. You know, sometimes it's by being exposed to a virus that you build up the immunity to it. You know which country in the entire world has the least bordering on no peanut allergies at all? Israel. Why is that? Because every baby eats Bamba. I'm not joking. There's actual studies about this. There's virtually no peanut allergy in Israel because every little baby is eating Bamba even before they nurse. So, says the Rov, says the Rov, sometimes to develop the immunity, to build up the antibody, to develop the strong sense of self, it's by maximum exposure to that which is antithetical. That's what was happening in the כור ברזל kur barzel, when we became a people in Egypt, hardened by the fiery furnace of Egypt. And in the same way, Yosef had to be sold to an executioner, otherwise he would not have been able to appreciate Yaakov's greatness. The pasuk in שיר השירים Shir Hashirim writes, כשושנים בין החוחים k'shoshanim bein ha'chochim, like a rose among the thorns, so is my beloved among the young women. The rose, a soft-pedaled flower, flourishes specifically among thorns. The nation's greatness was due to its suffering among the Egyptians, the recognition that its moral heritage was entirely different. For the same reason, the Torah emphasized Rivka's genealogical background. Only by growing up in such an adverse environment could she truly appreciate the greatness of the world of Avraham. So she is the rose among the thorns, a thorn named named Lavan, a thorn named Besuel. She grows up among among the thorns. The ספורנו Sforno says, why is the Torah reiterating this? אחות לבן הארמי, וממנה נולד עשו האדום הדומה לאחי האם achos Lavan ha'Arami, u'mimena nolad Eisav ha'Edom ha'domeh l'achi ha'em. Because you say, where could an Eisav come from? Rivka's a צדקת tzadekes. Yitzchak's a צדיק tzaddik. No, where did this where did this Eisav come from? It's like the Gemara in בבא בתרא Bava Basra tells us that when you get married, if you want to know what your children will look like, look at your brother-in-law. That's what the Gemara says. From the woman's brother, you could already learn a lot and anticipate what your children will be like. Where did the Gemara learn that from? From here. Says the ספורנו Sforno, וממנה נולד עשו האדום הדומה לאחי האם u'mimena nolad Eisav ha'Edom ha'domeh l'achi ha'em. Where did Eisav come from? He was a chip off the old block of his uncle Lavan. Lest you think, because sometimes, you know, we don't know someone's family. They move to our community and you see these children you're like where could they who look at these parents. I'm not talking about they're a רשע חס ושלום rasha, chas v'shalom like Eisav. You know I have dear friends who are the most quiet and respectful and mellow and sedate and their children are like bouncing off the walls. Say where could they pop, where could they have come from? You know, there's DNA mixed in from the part of the whole family. So that's why it's telling us Rivka's whole background, so that we're not shocked and surprised later and to ask where could Eisav possibly have come from. Why did it tell us that Yitzchak was 40 years old? Says the Rashbam, כתיב בן ששים שנה בלדת אותם, משני פסוקים הללו למדנו שהייתה עקרה עשרים שנה k'tiv ben shishim shana b'ledet osam, mishnei psukim halalu lamadnu shehayta akara esrim shana. From these psukim we can ourselves calculate that they had been she had been she had struggled with infertility for 20 for 20 years. What happens? ויעתר און פסוק כ\"א vayetar on pasuk kaf aleph. Verse 21. ויעתר יצחק לה' לנוכח אשתו כי עקרה היא, ויעתר לו ה' ותהר רבקה אשתו Vayetar Yitzchak l'Hashem l'nochach ishto ki akara hi, vaye'aser lo Hashem v'tahar Rivka ishto. Yitzchak davens to Hashem. Now this is an unusual verb to describe davening to Hashem, ויעתר vayetar. The ילקוט שמעוני Yalkut Shimoni, the Medrash quotes 13 synonyms for davening. רינה, ביטוי, צעקה, זעקה, איתור, פילול rina, bitui, tzaaka, ze'aka, itur, pilul. 13 synonyms the Torah uses for davening. They all mean davening, but yet they're 13 different words. We know there are no absolute synonyms in Hebrew. Whenever two words seem to mean the same thing, there must at least be a subtle difference between them. So there's a beautiful sefer, which we have just concluded learning on Wednesday mornings, it's called שערי תפילה Sha'arei Tefilah of Rav Pinkus, where he gives a chapter for every single one of those 13 synonyms to explain that unique form of davening. It's an incredible sefer, it's been translated into English. If you want to listen to the whole series of classes online, it's on YU Torah, שערי תפילה Sha'arei Tefilah. Look up my name and שערי תפילה Sha'arei Tefilah. It's I don't know 50 maybe more, a hundred classes on שערי תפילה Sha'arei Tefilah that we went through the book. So he has a whole chapter on איתור itur. What is this language of איתור itur? The Gemara in סוכה Sukkah says an עתר eiter and עתר eiter, עין תף ריש ayin taf reish, is a pitchfork. Just like a pitchfork flips over the hay, so too our davening flips over Hashem's opinion. Until now Hashem said no child for you. Now through this תפילה tefilah, it sought to train change Hashem's opinion. Look at Rashi, הירבה והפציר בתפילה hirbah v'hif'tzir b'tefilah. Rashi, and this is what the of Pinkus develops on that chapter of איתור itur. איתור itur, that form of davening is to be a נודניק nudnik and relentlessly daven to Hashem not taking no for an answer. That's איתור itur. I have some children like that. Just they were they will not take no for an answer. Relentless, ruthless, just they won't take no for an answer. They won't take no for an answer. Over and over and over and over and over again. That's what's going on over here. That's what this form of תפילה tefilah says. The Rashbam says similarly, ריבוי דברים ribui devarim. This means over and over and over and over again. How did Yitzchak daven? He davened לנוכח אשתו l'nochach ishto. כי עקרה היא ki akara hi. on behalf of his wife because she was barren. ויעתר לו ה' ותהר רבקה אשתו Vaye'aser lo Hashem v'tahar Rivka ishto. Hashem was in fact entreated. It worked. Being that נודניק nudnik worked. And Rivka conceived. Now a few comments here. What does it mean לנוכח אשתו l'nochach ishto he davened for her? Why wasn't he davening for himself? What does it mean he's davening for her? So Rashi says לנוכח אשתו l'nochach ishto, זה עומד בזוית זו ומתפלל, וזו עומדת בזוית זו ze omed b'zavit zo u'mispallel, v'zo omedes b'zavit zo. God forbid it wasn't a mixed davening. They each had a separate corner, and they davened, and they davened separately. And what who did Hashem listen to? ויעתר לו לא ולא לה Vaye'aser lo, lo v'lo la. Hashem listens to Yitzchak. שאין דומה תפילת צדיק בן צדיק לתפילת צדיק בן רשע. לפיכך לו ולא לה She'ein domeh tefilas tzaddik ben tzaddik l'tefilas tzaddik ben rasha. Lefichach lo v'lo la. Because the prayer of the child of a righteous is greater than the prayer of the tzaddik of a rasha. Is that make sense to you? I would have thought the reverse. It's counterintuitive. We just praised Rivka, the rose among the thorns. I would think the one who's the צדקת tzadekes from רשעים reshaim, wow, that בעלת תשובה ba'alas teshuva so to say, her prayer should be more more beloved by God because it's more special. Where it says, he's a צדיק בן צדיק tzaddik ben tzaddik. So I once saw an explanation I forgot from whom, I'm so sorry, but I once saw the explanation which I think resonates greatly. You know, when you're the צדיק בן רשע tzaddik ben rasha, and you've discovered this beautiful thing, so you're motivated internally. You're driven by your own passion, by your own discovery, and your righteousness is is self-generated. But when you're the צדיק בן צדיק tzaddik ben tzaddik, you know, it's not easy to be a בן צדיק ben tzaddik. Most tzadikim do not have children who are tzadikim. Because they live in the shadow of their father. They can't measure up to their mother. They'll never be able to accomplish what they did. They'll never be able to have that name, that reputation. They'll never be on that level. To be a צדיק בן צדיק tzaddik ben tzaddik is even harder than being a צדיק בן רשע tzaddik ben rasha. If you're a normal person with a normal moral compass and you're the child of a רשע rasha, you should be driven to want to build a different life. But if you grow up with a tzaddik, what's left for you? That's the pinnacle, that's the peak, that's the highest. How can you be a tzaddik? Say, nonetheless, I'm going to walk in that footstep, I'm going to do my best, I'm going to be a צדיק tzaddik in my own way, a צדיק בן צדיק tzaddik ben tzaddik? Ooh, that's special. Somebody who's committed to that, that תפילה tefilah is even greater, is even more beloved, is even more readily is even more readily accepted.What does it mean לנוכח l'nochach? We said he davened opposite. Why isn't he davening for himself? So the answer is Hashem promised him he was going to have a child. We alluded to this earlier. He was confident he was going to have a child. That was the promise Hashem made him. But he was worried for his, he was worried for his wife. What else can לנוכח l'nochach mean? So that that's how that's how the משך חכמה Meshech Chochma understands it. The משך חכמה Meshech Chochma understands it, לנוכח אשתו l'nochach ishto, בשביל אשתו bishvil ishto. The משך חכמה Meshech Chochma says Yitzchak was confident because it says וקראת את שמו יצחק, והקימותי את בריתי אתו לזרעו אחריו ukaraso es shmo Yitzchak, v'hakimosi es brisi ito l'zar'o acharov. Yitzchak's gonna have זרע אחריו zaro acharov, he's gonna have descendants. But he was worried, what if my descendants will come through the equivalent of a Hagar? My half-brother's mother. He wanted it to be through Rivka, so it's לנוכח אשתו l'nochach ishto, what he's davening is that the that the his promise that he's going to have children, let it be through through davka through Rivka. This is what the Sforno says. I can't find the Sforno. But this is what the I lost the Sforno. Where did he go? Oh, לנוכח אשתו l'nochach ishto. אף על פי שהובטח על הזרע שיורש, התפלל עליה ככל יכולתו שיולד לו זרע מזו הצנועה הראויה והניצבת נוכחו af al pi she'huvtach al ha'zera she'yoresh, hispalel aleha k'chol yecholto sheyivaled lo zera m'zo ha'tznuah ha're'uyah v'hanitzeves nochacho. He says, basically what Yitzchak was davening was, Hashem, you promised me I was going to have children. I don't want them from out there. לנוכח אשתו L'nochach ishto means this one right here in the other corner. This one. לנוכח אשתו L'nochach ishto, the one opposite of me, that's the one I want the children for. Don't make me look elsewhere for it. I'll leave you with that, but Rebbe Moshe Weiss says, what does it mean לנוכח אשתו l'nochach ishto? If I could find it. Here it is. Rebbe Moshe Weiss says, לנוכח אשתו l'nochach ishto. Sorry. He said the Mishna says that a father passes on to his son the physical properties of נוי, כח, וחכמה noi, koach, v'chochma. It's a Mishna in עדיות Ediyos. The father gives the properties of beauty, strength, and wisdom. Some explained that when Yitzchak prayed for children, לנוכח l'nochach, he was really playing for a child who would have all three of these properties, the first letters of which spelled the word נוכח nochach. נוי, כח, וחכמה noi, koach, v'chochma. The Mishna says, נון, כף, וחית nun, kaf, v'ches. נוכח nochach. However, when Rivka passed by the entrance to the idolaters temples and felt her unborn child struggling to escape, she said, למה כן אנכי lama kein anochi. למה כן lama kein, what was she sensing? למה כן lama kein. The נון nun and the כף kaf, what's missing? The חית ches. The first letter כאן kein are כח ונוי koach v'noi. Nice, this child's gonna have strength and beauty, but I don't want a strong beautiful baby if he doesn't have חכמה chochma. So Yitzchak had davened for לנוכח l'nochach that this baby have נוי, כח וחכמה noi, koach v'chochma. When she walks by and davens, she says למה כן אנכי lama kein anochi. I I sense that the the כף kaf and the נון nun, the נוי noi and the כח koach's there. But where's the חכמה chochma? I want the חכמה chochma as well and that's what she was davening for למה כן אנכי lama kein anochi to be able to have it all within her.The um the last thing I'll leave you with. ויעתר לו ה' Vaye'aser lo Hashem. The רפשיץ רבי Ropshitzer Rebbe. ויעתר לו ה' Vaye'aser lo Hashem. So the the simple understanding is that Hashem answered him, right? The pasuk says ויעתר יצחק לנוכח אשתו vayetar Yitzchak l'nochach ishto. ויעתר לו ה' Vaye'aser lo Hashem. Ever occurred to you, why is it the same word? Yitzchak davened to Hashem and it should be and Hashem answered him. Why is he using the same word for davening? ויעתר לו *vaye'aser lo*. So the רפשיץ רבי *Ropshitzer Rebbe* says, ויעתר לו ה' *vaye'aser lo Hashem* means Yitzchak's praying for children was so strong that even God began praying that Yitzchak should have children. ויעתר לו ה' *Vaye'aser lo Hashem*, Yitzchak's tefilah was so strong, he won God over that God also picked up a Tehillim. He made God pray. It's a beautiful, beautiful image. Obviously it's a paradoxical image. God's the one who can answer the prayer. But it means his prayer was so intense, it was so potent and powerful, ויעתר לו ה' *vaye'aser lo Hashem*. Hashem heard the prayer so much that Hashem prayed for him too. It's like עמו אנכי בצרה *imo anochi b'tzara*. That Hashem embraced and started praying and davening for Hashem as well. Mitz Hashem we'll pick up from here next week.
