In this week’s Parsha, Parsha Toldot, Yitzchak and Rivkah's prayer for children is finally answered when they are blessed with two sons, Eisav and Yaakov. Rivkah’s pregnancy was rather a hard one. The reason for this, Hashem explained, is because there were two nations inside her womb and the youngest will overpower the elder.
Throughout his years, Eisav grows to be a devious hunter whereas Yaakov is a wholesome man and a dweller in the tents of learning. It is said that Yitzchak favored Eisav, while Rivkah favored Yaakov. After returning home one day, Eisav was utterly exhausted and hungry from the hunt that day and, consequently, he sold his firstborn rights to his brother Yaakov in exchange for a pot of red lentil stew.
Their father Yitzchak eventually grows old and goes blind. He is worried that he will die soon. Therefore, he would like to give his firstborn a notable blessing. While Eisav is out getting his father’s request for venison, Rivkah dresses Yaakov to look like Eisav by putting goatskin and fur on his hands and sends him to Yitzchak’s tent. Deceived, Yitzchak goes ahead and blesses Yaakov. Nonetheless, when Eisav returns, all Yitzchak can do for his weeping firstborn son is to predict that he will live by his sword and that when Yaakov starts to lose strength, he will forfeit his supremacy over Eisav.
Shabbat Shalom!
By: Miriam Cohen (9th Grade)
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