Parashat Toldot
“The Deeds of the Ancestors–A Sign for Their Descendants”
A Dvar Torah for Toledot
by Rabbi Len Levin
Imagine the story of Isaac and Rebekah, Esau and Jacob, updated to our time.
Updating the characters is the easier part. We can imagine Isaac as the child of a super-observant, conflicted family, who bears the scars of his father’s life-endangering ascetic practices and the near-permanent estrangement from a half-brother consequent on a family rift. (The character of Danny Saunders in Chaim Potok’s The Chosen has some of these traits.) He has resolved never to inflict on another the trials he has witnessed and experienced.
Rebekah is a cousin, of mixed Jewish and non-Jewish heritage, possibly from the former Soviet Union. While growing up, she heard fantastic family tales about Jews and Judaism, to which she pledged fierce loyalty, but had no direct Jewish education. She has resolved to be forever faithful to this family Read More >