{"id":1684,"date":"2017-11-14T07:24:50","date_gmt":"2017-11-14T07:24:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=1684"},"modified":"2017-11-14T07:24:50","modified_gmt":"2017-11-14T07:24:50","slug":"parashat-toledot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2017\/11\/14\/parashat-toledot\/","title":{"rendered":"Parashat Toledot"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shabbat Table Talk<\/p>\n

Parashat\u00a0 Toledot\u2013 \u00a0Erev Shabbat \u00a0\u00a017th of November 2017<\/p>\n

Week of 12th-18th of November 2017<\/p>\n

Torah portion: \u00a0\u00a0Genesis 25:19-28:9\u00a0 \u00a0Haftarah: Malachi 1:1-2:7<\/p>\n

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Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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Parashat Toledot is the sixth parashah into the Torah as we begin the new cycle of readings.\u00a0 The word, \u201cToledot,\u201d means \u201cgenerations.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It contains the story of the lineage of Isaac and Rebekah with them serving as a link between Abraham and Jacob, who would later become the father of the Twelve Tribes which is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham and Sarah.\u00a0 The most prominent content of the parashah is the story of the twins, Esau and Jacob.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Since Jacob will later enjoy a good number of chapters and verses, I would like to expound on Esau and his characterization in the parashah.\u00a0 Esau, as we already know, came out first from the womb of Rebekah.\u00a0 He was described as reddish and hairy, thus, the origin of his name. He was also called \u201cEdom\u201d associating him with the red stew which he exchanged with his birthright. [Gen. 25:30] Esau and Jacob were fathers of two nations, Edom and Israel.\u00a0 So, we might also regard the story as an etiology of the enmity of Israel and Edom.\u00a0 This enmity is expressed in Malachi 1:2-5 where God showed preference to Israel over Edom.\u00a0 Edom, the descendants of Esau, is an archenemy of Israel, the descendants of Jacob.\u00a0 It is indeed a wonder why this turned out to be so considering that there were no violence that happened between the twins when they met each other later.\u00a0 They even buried their father Isaac together. [Gen. 35:29]\u00a0 Esau\u2019s lineage was even recounted in Gen. 36:1-40!\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Now, let\u2019s deal closely with Esau, the character in the parashah.\u00a0 He was described as an adult as \u201ca skillful hunter, man of the field\u201d in contrast with Jacob who was a \u201cquiet man, living in tents.\u201d [Gen. 25:27 NRSV]\u00a0 In the description alone, one can surmise the raw, masculine and wild energy of Esau.\u00a0 One is not surprised with his action of exchanging his birthright with a bowl of stew and some bread.\u00a0 The narrator comments, \u201cThus Esau despised his birthright.\u201d [Gen. 25:34]\u00a0 The next time we hear again of Esau was when he took as wives two Hittite women which caused life to be bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.\u00a0 If he was to be the clan leader, he was supposed to be a bit choosy regarding the mothers of his children.\u00a0 We are reminded of the concern of Abraham in finding a wife for Isaac; that she should not be from Canaan.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0We note that Esau realized his mistakes after he witnessed Isaac blessing and instructing Jacob when he was about to leave for Paddan-aram. [Gen. 28:6] He realized that Isaac \u201clooked with disfavor at the daughters of Canaan,\u201d so, Esau then went to take as his wife the daughter of Ishmael, Mahalath.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Generally, there was really no sympathy for Esau in the parashah.\u00a0 The most gut-wrenching scene was when he begged his father for blessings, \u201cHave you only one blessing, father?\u201d\u00a0 Esau turned out to be the unfavored child due to his characterization in the parashah.\u00a0 One is repulsed by him immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Although there was no explicit condemnation of what Jacob did, the succeeding events in his life seem to indicate that he reaped what he had sown beginning with enmity with his twin, Esau.\u00a0 He was deceived by his uncle by giving him Leah instead of Rachel and he was also deceived by his sons regarding Joseph. [Plaut, 182]\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The characterization of Esau is similar to how we, at times, demonize the ones we consider as \u2018the other.\u2019\u00a0 The story that we carry in our minds color our perception of others.\u00a0 A non-dualistic thinking leads us to respect the opposites without judgment but embracing both with the eyes of compassion.<\/p>\n

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Reflection and Discussion: \u00a0\u00a0In what ways can we cultivate compassion in our hearts that would make us capable of embracing the opposites?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography:\u00a0 Plaut, The Torah, Modern Commentary (UAHC New York 1981)\u00a0<\/p>\n

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s teaching commentary was prepared by<\/p>\n

Sr. Petite Lao, RNDM, Bat Kol alum 2010, 2014<\/p>\n

petitelao@gmail.com<\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2017]<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Parashah commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol.\u00a0\u00a0 The commentaries, along with all materials published on the Bat Kol website, are copyrighted by the writers, and are made available for personal and group study, and local church purposes. Permission needed for other purposes.\u00a0 Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.<\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

1983-2017<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Website: www.batkol.info; Parashah Admin: gill@batkol.info<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Shabbat Table Talk Parashat\u00a0 Toledot\u2013 \u00a0Erev Shabbat \u00a0\u00a017th of November 2017 Week of 12th-18th of November 2017 Torah portion: \u00a0\u00a0Genesis 25:19-28:9\u00a0 \u00a0Haftarah: Malachi 1:1-2:7 \u00a0 Download \u00a0 Parashat Toledot is the sixth parashah into the Torah as we begin the new cycle of readings.\u00a0 The word, \u201cToledot,\u201d means \u201cgenerations.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It contains the story of the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1684"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}