Generations and Relationships

Toldot
Genesis 25:19-28:9

Précis: The introductory phrase to this parasha is “These are the generations (“toldot”) of Isaac.” What follows is the birth of the twins, Esau and Jacob. Their childhood is omitted from narrative. We learn that Jacob was a quiet man while Esau was a cunning hunter; that their mother Rebecca preferred Jacob, and that Isaac preferred Esau. We then have the story of the sale of the birthright by Esau to Jacob for a bowl of porridge (or lentils). A famine takes place, and Isaac visits the Philistines where he claims that his wife Rebecca is actually his sister (as Abraham did with Sarah in Lech Lecha) and again, the woman escapes unharmed. The story then turns to the “great deception” where Jacob pretends to be Esau in order to obtain the primary blessing from his father Isaac. Esau hates Jacob and threatens him; Rebecca urges Jacob to escape to her family in Haran, to where he sets off at the conclusion of the parasha.

Gen. 25:19-20 “And this is the lineage of Isaac, son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac. And Isaac was forty years old when he took as wife Rebecca, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean, sister of Laban.”

We begin this week’s reading with this verse, telling us that this is the lineage of Isaac.  The Hebrew word, “toldot” comes from the Hebrew root, yud-lamed-dalet, which is a root connected to childbirth, and is the same root for the word we usually translate as “begot.”
               
It is interesting to note that the same word “toldot” is used in the creation story, where we read in Genesis 2:4 “This is the chronicle (toldot) of heaven and earth . . .” Obviously, the heavens and the earth cannot be “giving birth” so our English uses a different translation. But something is lost in that translation. To the listeners (not necessarily readers) of the text, the Hebrew word “toldot” is a marker meant to tell us that we are about to hear a story: this is the story of Isaac, this is the story of the creation, etc.             

With this understanding, we might understand a link between humanity and the physical world. Our own stories are inexorably tied to the world in which we live. This implies that there is the need to recognize a connection between the spiritual and the material world, and to emphasize that it is our responsibility to make sure we see to the earth’s survival.
                
On another level, “begetting” in our text involves a personal, intimate human relationship; it is the basis for the “story” which ensues. It’s only when we have an intimate, personal relationship with other human beings that our own personal “stories” happen best. 

A Special Love

Chayye Sarah
Genesis 23:1-25:18

Précis: The parasha begins with the counting of the life of Sarah (Chayye Sarah), and with her death. It continues with a detailed description of the purchase of the cave of Machpela by Abraham for a family burial site. Abraham orders his servant to go to Abraham’s ancestral home to obtain a wife for Isaac, and after a series of fulfilled signs, the servant finds Rebecca. Rebecca returns with the servant; she and Isaac meet, fall in love at first sight, and become man and wife.  The parasha ends with the death of Abraham, and his burial by Isaac and Ishmael in the family burial cave.

Gen. 24:63-67 “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the afternoon and he raised up his eyes, and saw that camels were coming. And Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she got off the camel. She said to the servant, ‘What man is this that walks in the field to meet us?’ And the servant said, ‘It is my master;’ then she took a veil, and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done. And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebecca, and she became his wife; and he loved her, and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.”
                Do you remember the first time you glimpsed the love of your life? (I do, and it was not long after that I knew that she was the “one” for me. Happily, that moment occurred almost 43 years ago.)
               For those who think that our Torah text’s comments on romance are limited to the Song of Songs, we read this week of a remarkable story of love, between Rebecca and Isaac. Rebecca has been “found” by Abraham’s servant, and brought a distance to meet her intended. As the long (and probably uncomfortable) journey comes to an end, she spots Isaac, strolling through a field, and he notices the arrival of a caravan. Rebecca "looked up; seeing Isaac, she got off the camel" (24:64). The translation “got off” may in fact be more accurately translated as “fell off, “meaning she was physically “falling" for Isaac.
               She then asks the servant the man’s identity, asking who “this” man is. The Hebrew word used here for “this” (halazeh) is unusual. Because the text uses the same word to identify Joseph, who is described as handsome and fair of form, Midrash suggest that Rebecca felt Isaac to be a man of unusual good looks (Bereshit Rabbah 60:15). Learning that it is indeed Isaac, she covers herself in a veil, perhaps out of modesty or perhaps as a precursor to modern marriage ceremonies. The servant relays to Isaac “all that had transpired” in efforts to gain him a wife; Isaac takes her to his mother’s tent, where she comforts him; the text tells us “he loved her” (24:67), which is the first use of the word between a man and a woman in our Bible. As readers of “what happens next” we know that there would be strife and struggle between the two; years of barrenness, troublesome twins, and separation from their son Jacob for decades.
               But there must have been something special to their love: unlike Abraham his father and Jacob his son, Isaac stayed with a single wife throughout his life.
               In contrast to most of my weekly comments, this one is not intended to suggest ways in which a communal professional can work better, how we can connect more closely with the Divine, or how we might act better to our friend and families. The message here is simple: if you are blessed to find true love, cherish it.