Toldos: Don't act to impress

Chazal condemn Esav by making him ask misleading pious questions, such as how to take maasar on straw and salt. They make him into a villain thereby, but that wasn't the point, to make Esav and his descendants (Edom) bad.

The point was to take the tzayid befiv ("he hunted with his mouth") and direct it inward. The homiletic point is that we, Israelites, should take care not to project a false piety in our words and actions. If we think something is not halachically required or halachically efficacious, and doesn't add to our spirituality, we shouldn't do that thing in order to appear "frum". Our religious words and actions should be genuine, because they accomplish something spiritual, or moral in the world or in ourselves. Not to impress others.

(parked from a Facebook post.)

YUTorah on parashat Toledot

Download the YUTorah Parsha Reader for Toldot 5774  Audio Shiurim on Toldot Rabbi Elchanan Adler: Are Non-Jews obligated in kibbud av va'em? Rabbi Hanan Balk: The Greatness of Yitzchak Rabbi Eli Belizon: Financial Value in Halacha: Projections, Hedges & Futures Rabbi Dr. David Berger: Jacob/Israel, Esau/Edom, and the True Israel in the Jewish-Christian Debate Rabbi Yosef Blau: The Qualities of Yitzchak Rabbi Chaim Brovender: Yaakov and Esav Revisted Rabbi Avishai David: Chanoch Lna'ar Al Pi Darko Rabbi Solomon Drillman: Avraham Holid Es Yitzchak Rabbi Dovid Ebner: The Two Kolot of Yaacov Rabbi Ally Ehrman: Eisav Is Complete - Or So He Thinks Rabbi Chaim Eisenstein: The Secret of Klal Yisrael - The antidote to alcoholism Rabbi Aaron Feigenbaum: Maaser Avos Rabbi Joel Finkelstein: Rivka's Age Rabbi David Fohrman: A Conversation for the Ages Rabbi Ezra Frazer: Father Knows Best? Towards Understanding Yitzchak’s Love of Esav Rabbi Beinish Ginsburg: Yitzhak's role as one of the Avos Rabbi Efrem Goldberg: A Deceitful Truth Rabbi Yehuda Goldschmidt: Wake Up and Do Something Rabbi Ephraim Greene: Lessons from Eisav's Marriage Rabbi Alan Haber: Between Esav and Lavan: Our Enemies' Many Faces Rabbi Shalom Hammer: Strength of Conviction Rabbi Daniel Hartstein: What a Jew Smells Like Rabbi Herzl Hefter: Why did Yitzchak Love Esav? Rabbi Aryeh Hendler: The Theft of the Blessings as a Background to an Educational Dispute Rabbi Jesse Horn: Why Esuv got so mad when he lost the Bechora Rabbi Aharon Kahn: Holding Ourselves to a Higher Standard Rabbi Ari Kahn: The Prophecy of Rivka Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky: Yitzchak's Wells Rabbi Eliakim Koenigsberg: A Desire to Grow Rabbi Akiva Koenigsberg: Fasting on a Wedding Day Rabbi Binyamin Kwalwasser: Living in the Dark Rabbi David Lebor: Why is Yitzchak One of the Avot Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz: Bending For Ratzon Hashem Rabbi Aryeh Leibowitz: Are There "Type A" Personalities?: Free Will and Character Traits Rabbi Aaron Leibtag: The Master Plan Rabbi Eliezer Lerner: We, not Hashem, need Tefilla Rabbi Meir Lipschitz: The Sale of the Birthright Rabbi Shmuel Marcus: Yitzchak's Pachad Rabbi Dovid Miller: Why is Yitzchak's Blessing in the Merit of Avraham? Rabbi Judah Mischel: Digging Our Own Wells Rabbi Yaakov Neuburger: Did the Avos Keep the Torah Rabbi Michael Olshin: Will the Real Yaakov Please Stand Up Mrs. Nechama Price: Family Dynamic: Was Yitzchak Following in his Father's Footsteps? Rabbi Eli Reich: How Could Yitzchak Think Esav Should Get the Berachot Rabbi Zev Reichman: Why did Yitzchak love Esav? Professor Smadar Rosensweig: Interrelationship of Avot and Imahot Rabbi Michael Rosensweig: Yaakov and Avraham vs. Eisav - Leadership without Fanfare Mrs Ilana Saks: Black and White and Read Again Shay Schachter: Looking at a Rasha Rabbi Hershel Schachter: Following in the Steps of Our Forefathers Rabbi Avi Schneider: Twin Challenges Rabbi Ezra Schwartz: Permission to Deceive: Halachot of Lying Rabbi Avraham Shulman: Defining Truth - When is it a Mitzvah to Lie? Rabbi Baruch Simon: The Importance of Staying Structed, Which Esav was Not Mrs. Shira Smiles: Blindness and Brachos Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky: Torah is Eternal Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik: The Leitzanei Hador Rabbi Reuven Spolter: Rivka, Yaakov, Eisav, and Flying Missiles Rabbi Josh Strulowitz: Marriage of Yitchak and Rivka Rabbi Moshe Taragin: Act II Rabbi Michael Taubes: When Does One Become a Bar or Bas Mitzvah Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Weinberg: Kavod HaTorah: It's All About the Little Things Rabbi Moshe Weinberger: Digging Deep Inside Your Well and Writing a New Song Rabbi Mordechai Willig: Baruch Shepatrani Meionsho Shel Zeh Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Woolf: The Gevura of Isaac Rabbi Andi Yudin: Kibbud Av V'em to the Max Rabbi Benjamin Yudin: Why is Rebbe the chosen descendant of Yaacov? Rabbi Ari Zahtz: The Bechora for Beans Rabbi Eliezer Zwickler: Food for Thought Articles on Toldot Jed H. Abraham: A Literary Solution to the Name Variations of Esau's Wives Rebecca Benhaghnazar: An Insight Into the Twin Dynamic of Jacob and Esau Rabbi Etan Moshe Berman: I Thought Jacob was Supposed to be the One Who Told the Truth? Rabbi Shlomo Einhorn: How a Tzaddik Lies Sarah Friedman: Ya'akov and Esav: Identical Opposites Rabbi Ozer Glickman: Riding the Spanish Jitney with the Malbim Rabbi Shmuel Goldin: Another Covenant? Rabbi Meir Goldwicht: Eisav's Scent Rabbi Avraham Gordimer: The Meaning of the Miraculous Food Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb: Spiritual Continuity Rabbi Maury Grebenau: A Well Tread Path Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg: ריח בוגדיו Rabbi Josh Hoffman: A Grain of Salt Rabbi David Horwitz: The Divergent Paths of Yaakov and Esau Rabbi Chaim Jachter: A New Perspective on Yaakov’s Purchase of the Birthright Rabbi Avigdor Nebenzahl: Keeping Torah: Better in Olam Hazeh as Well as Olam Haba Leora Perlow: The “Warrior” Gene Exemplified in Esau Rabbi Zvi Shiloni : Letting Others Know We are Praying for Them Rabbi Moshe Stav: יעקב ועשו - פרץ וזרח Yehudit Weinberger: Yitzchak: A Man of Vision Parsha Sheets on Toldot HALB: D'Varim HaYotzim Min HaLev YULA Boys: Likutei Ohr Student Organization of Yeshiva (YU): Einayim L'Torah YU-Torah miTzion Toronto Beit Midrash: Toronto Torah Shiurim on the Haftorah of Toldot Rabbi Philip Moskowitz: Leadership - You’re Either In or You’re Out Rabbi Avraham Rivlin: מי גם בכם ויסגור דלתיים Rabbi Zvi Romm: Hashem's Love for Us Mrs. Shani Taragin: Malachi and Malachim: The Revival of Rhetoric Rabbi Jeremy Wieder: Laining for Parshat Toldot See all shiurim on YUTorah for Parshat Toldot

New This Week Iyyov - Elevating our Struggles Rabbi Hayyim Angel Halachos & Imperative of Outreach Rabbi Mordechai Becher Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism Professor Sarah Benor Taavah, Personal Kedusha, and Shemiras Einayim Rabbi Josh Blass Rabbi Shimon Shkop: Introduction to Shaarei Yosher Rabbi Reuven Brand Meditation-The Four Letter Name of Hashem Rabbi Uri Etigson The Songs of Shabbos: Intro & Yedid Nefesh Rabbi Ephraim Greene Be'inyan Amira L'nochri Rabbi David Hirsch Gemara Methodology: Two Similar Mitzvos Rabbi Jesse Horn There Are Two Types of Jews... Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky Divorce by Force: An Introduction Rabbi Shmuel Marcus Quick Guide to Halachos of Staying Up All Night Rabbi Ami Merzel Zachor Es Yom Hashabbos Lekadsho Rabbi Michael Rosensweig Doing the Mitzvos and Beyond  Rabbi Yonason Sacks Hilchos Krias Sh'ma Rabbi Noach Sauber Kedushat Beit Keneset Rabbi Hershel Schachter Polemics in Tehillim Rabbi Allen Schwartz Hilchot Brachot: Is Rice Mezonot? Rabbi Ezra Schwartz Yismichu V'Malchuscha - The Mitzvah of Simcha on Shabbos Rabbi Zvi Sobolofsky Hadlakas Neiros Shabbos - Who Should Light and Where to Light Rabbi Daniel Stein Zmanei HaYom Rabbi Mordechai Willig

Posts so far for parshat Toledot

2013

1. Eat this red lentil stew; it will put color in your cheeks!

2012

1.  Did Avraham call anyone 'My Master' besides Hashem?  According to Meshech Chochma, he did not, and so was of the select few to be called an eved Hashem. But it is not so simple, according to Rav Yechezkel Abramsky's son. According to one opinion, Adonay at the start of Vayera is chol. Then, I weigh in with what I think is an even stronger counter-example, עַל-עַבְדְּכֶם.

2. Even at three, Rivkah didn't absorb from her negative environment -- But we may derive from here, notes Rabbi Chaim Hirschenson, that one must be careful in the chinuch of children. I consider how much of this lesson is to be derived from Rashi and how much from the underlying midrashim.

3. Who named Yaakov? Rashi says it was either Hashem or Yaakov. What prompts the midrash, and how could one darshen this even as, contrariwise, one darshens the naming of Yishmael? The Levush HaOrah considers the question, and then I do too.

4. YUTorah for parashat Toledot

5. How to understand כַיּוֹם in Yaakov's request to purchase the birthright -- Shadal notes a girsological variation in Onkelos, and then points us to sefer Yud Aleph Resh, Savyonita, and Rashi and Ramban. Ramban discusses the meaning of the strange phrasing in Onkelos, זַבֵּין כְּיוֹם דִּלְהֵין.  I present and translate these sources.

6. The Torah Temimah on Esav's Five Sins Torah Temimah -- He explains the derashot in the gem
ara in Bava Batra, fixes a broken girsa in a way that turns out to correspond to manuscripts, and explains why Rashi goes to a distant location to explain an Aramaic word, rather than simply looking to Onkelos on our own pasuk. I weigh in on some of this at the end.

7. Is וְהֵבֵאתָ to be pronounced mile'eil or milera? Shadal points to an interesting comment in sefer Yaar, that good manuscripts and Rashi support it being mile'eil, against our present reading.

2011

1. What in the world does נַחְשִׁרְכָן mean? in all of its variants.
   .
2. Ibn Caspi on the Avos keeping the entire Torah -- He endorses the idea, kind-of. In one instance, as a restrained and coded rejection. In another, as a philosophical co-opting of the idea. Also, Chizkuni and my own approach to understanding the pasuk that sparks all this.
   .
3. Toldos sources -- further expanded and improved.
   .
4. YU Torah on parashat Toldot.
   .
5. Darshening pesiks in parashat Toledot -- One is indeed a pesik, and one should indeed be darshened. Though I argue on the details. There is a vertical bar after Machalat, and there is a derasha that has Esav's sins forgiven with his marriage. Does this bar indicate the need for distancing oneself from one's past actions? There is a vertical bar after the Shem Hashem in Avimelech's words to Yitzchak. Should this indicate that the wells ceased when Yitzchak left? Read on to find out!
   .
6. Rivkah darshens a pasuk -- An amusing remez from the Vilna Gaon.
   .
7. Did Avraham specifically keep eruv tavshilin or erev techumin? An analysis by the Gra.

2010

1. Why כי עקרה הוא is correct --  and how the Samaritan correction is a correction, rather than original.
   .
2. The meaning of Padan Aram -- Is the Aramaic or Arabic etymology better?
   .
3. Was Yaakov Avinu the first Askan? While reading over parashat Toledot, it struck me that, at least on a peshat level, there is ample precedent for what the various askanim are doing. It is simply maaseh avos siman labanim.
   .
4. How to spell 'goyim' -- and how I would justify the Masoretic reading. Plus the strange, counter-intuitive vowel pattern provided by the Masorah, and its significance.
   .
5. The mercha kfula in parshas Shmini -- How shall we account for it? There is also a mercha kefulah in parashat Toledot, and this post considers all five of them in the Torah.
   .
6. Esav the Deceiver, pt i -- I try to address why Yitzchak and Rivkah's displeasure over his choice in wives doesn't prove that Yitzchak was in the know.
   .

2009

1. My novel interpretation for the duplication of Betulah and veIsh lo yedaah, which I label ridiculous. Then it turns out that it is not so novel, as Maharal says a very similar thing. I have a post planned about just why I considered my own interpretation silly, which has to do with peshat in derash. {Update: See post #7, about how Rivkah was just big for her age.}
   .
2. The three-fold ambiguity of verav yaavod tzair -- syntactic, lexical, and spelling. And how this may be a deliberate ambiguity, such that the text is multivalent. Also, An earlier assertion of multivalence in verav yaavod tzair -- in Radak, alongside Ibn Caspi I mentioned earlier. Plus, some analysis.
   .
3. Did Hashem speak directly to Rivkah? For various commentators, it might depend on whether Hashem generally talks to women, as well as what doresh means and what vatelech means. Towards the end, I suggest that Rivkah prayed, and that Hashem responded to her in a direct revelation.
   .
4. Was the kiss on the mouth, or elsewhere? Trying to make sense of Ibn Ezra's assertion that neshika which is "to" someone is on the hand or cheek, while neshika directly is on the lips. I think it is more plausible, and grounded in sevara and dikduk, than some supercommentators give him credit for.
   .
5. Was Yitzchak poor? The dispute between Ibn Ezra and Ramban, and my thoughts on some elements of their dispute.
   .
6. Rivkah, just big for her age! My analysis of why I considered my suggestion (above) ridiculous, and an analysis of how my methodology in general differs from that of Maharal. I don't see the need to harmonize as much, and if the harmonization introduces surprising details which we would have therefore expected to see explicitly mentioned by Rashi, or the midrash, itself, then I would surmise that this was not the intent of the author of the midrash.
   .
7. The merits of a Baal Teshuva vs. those of an FFB -- based on Toledot, with Rivkah and Yitzchak's prayers.
   .
8. Did the Pilgrims wear tzitzis? Nope, it's Esav!

2008

1. In Shadal's Vikuach, he discusses how Ibn Ezra's interpretation of kulo kaaderet seiar goes against the trup.
   .
2. Cross-listed from Vayikra, Shadal's theory about small letters can help explain the small kuf in katzti bechayai -- it follows the word Yitzchak, which ends with a kuf. See inside.
   .
3. From Whence the 10 years before Yitzchak and Rivkah begin trying to have children? A discussion on how it comes from textual concerns, as opposed to imposed moral values.
   .
4. Two Whole Goats? Does Yitzchak really have that big an appetite? How are we then to understand the preparation of two goats for Yitzchak's meal, on a peshat level?
   .
5. Will that be one placenta or two? Rabbenu Bachya, vs. Ibn Ezra, vs. Rashi, on how many placentas there were, and whether Yaakov and Esav shared a single placenta. If they did, they would have to be identical twins, though I do not think Rabbenu Bachya necessarily realized that.
   .
6. Did Yaakov stray after his eyes in falling in love with Rachel, rather than just taking Leah and returning to his parents? I take issue with this explanation by Rabbenu Bachya, on a peshat level, but in the comment section, Rabbi Joshua Maroof (of Vesom Sechel) makes a compelling argument in his favor, on a peshat level, that the Biblical text does not look favorably on Rachel. Perhaps fodder for another post.
   .
7. Who or What Was Achuzat? The name of Avimelech's friend, or a group of people. I favor Rashi, even on the level of peshat.

2007

1. Is Esav the Bad Brother? Is Yaakov? The theme of sibling rivalry, and the danger of reading our own values into the text.
   .
2. Esav's mantle of hair, and its possible implications, such that it was worn by false prophets, or prophets in general, such that it might fit in with Esav's misleading nature.
   .
3. Is Edom equal to Rome and Christiandom? Shadal says no, and that the prophecies about Esav and Yaakov in this week's parsha have already been fulfilled. Plus a very large comment section. And then, in Is Obama a 'Dark Horse' Candidate to be Gog, I touch on this same topic, and discuss it with yaak of Yeranen Yaakov, in the comment section.

2005

• Further thoughts on the Sons of Ketura (2005)
• A continuation of a post on Chayyei Sarah, in considering whether genealogical sections happened right then or whether some high level ain mukdam in terms of tracts with different purposes (macro and micro zoom levels) is at play here. In terms of Toledot, even though the first pasuk mentions Yitzchak's birth, he was clearly born before.
• I Am | Esav (is) Your Firstborn (2005)
• I consider various motivations as input into the midrashic statement that Yaakov did not lie by making this statement. The obvious religious motivation (making Avot paragons of virtue), philosophical motivations (given philosophical requirements of a navi being absolutely truthful, syntactic motivation, accentual motivation (trup), thematic motivation, motivation of textual parallels, and literary motivation. Thus is not (simply) a case of whitewashing actions of the Avot. Read for more details.
• More Thoughts on "Anochi Esav Bechorecha" (2005)
• In terms of the parsing of "It is I | Esav is Your Firstborn," I note how Hebrew is a pro-drop language, how including the pronoun is done usually for emphasis, and how this emphasis is read into the midrash.
• The Parallelism of "Anochi Esav Bechorecha" (2005)
• Discussing the parallelism between Yitzchak's question and Yaakov's answer. After demonstrating the parallelism, I question whether beni in this case means literally "my son" or more generally a kind address to one younger than you. Parallel to Rut, where Boaz calls her biti in a near identical address and response.

2004

• A Neo-midrash on Yaakov and Esav's Sibling Rivalry (2004)
• Based on a Hebrew cognate in Amharic, on the word gadala, meaning to kill or fight.
• And the Older Shall Serve the Younger? (2004)
• or the younger shall serve the older? I think the former is what makes the only sense, on a peshat level, and argue on Rabbi Sacks' interpretation. Also, the meaning of rav and tzair.
• Making A Break For It (2004)
• The basis of Yaakov trying to get out to a bet midrash and Esav trying to get out to a house of idolatry, while yet in the womb.
• Towards a Theory of Drash (2004)
• That there is always a local, linguistic cause, as well as thematic reasons to choose a specific interpretation. The derash reinforces the message which is already present on the peshat level.
• The Near Miss (2004)
• Yaakov leaving the tent just as Esav arrives. And the midrash's textual basis.
• Fetal Fighting (2004)

2003

• וַתֵּלֶךְ לִדְרֹשׁ אֶת-ה - A drash of lidrosh to mean bet midrash (2003)
• How Rivka consults Hashem. A discussion and summary of several opinions
• Esav's Wife: Easy on the Eyes (2003)
• and the midrash linking Yitzchak's blindness to Esav's wife's idolatry. And how the new wife he took was a realization of this -- וַיַּרְא עֵשָׂו, כִּי רָעוֹת בְּנוֹת כְּנָעַן, בְּעֵינֵי, יִצְחָק אָבִיו. Check it out.

to be continued...

Eat this red lentil stew; it will put color in your cheeks!

In a comment on a recent post, a commenter pointed me to an interesting explanation of Seforno, and sought some clarification:

How to understand Sforno comment on Genesis 25.30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Pour into [me] some of this red, red [pottage], for I am faint"; he was therefore named Edom. It says, that he was named "red", because eat red food. Does food affect human color?

The pasuk in parashat Toledot reads:

ל  וַיֹּאמֶר עֵשָׂו אֶל-יַעֲקֹב, הַלְעִיטֵנִי נָא מִן-הָאָדֹם הָאָדֹם הַזֶּה--כִּי עָיֵף, אָנֹכִי; עַל-כֵּן קָרָא-שְׁמוֹ, אֱדוֹם.

30 And Esau said to Jacob: 'Let me swallow, I pray thee, some of this red, red pottage; for I am faint.' Therefore was his name called Edom.

And Seforno says on this:

פסוק לעַל כֵּן קָרָא שְׁמו אֱדום. כְּשֶׁרָאוּ שֶׁכָּל כָּךְ הִתְמַכֵּר לִמְלַאכְתּו הַנִּפְסֶדֶת אֲשֶׁר לא כְּתורַת הָאָדָם, עַד שֶׁלּא הִכִּיר בַּנָּזִיד כִּי אִם צִבְעו, קָרְאוּ אותו "אֱדום"! לְשׁון צִוּוּי, כְּלומַר: הִתְאַדֵּם! וֶהֱיֵה צָבוּעַ אָדם בְּהַלְעָטַת הָאָדם.

I think I understand this comment, but it gets a little unclear towards the end. Here is how I would translate it:

"Therefore was his named called Edom: When they saw that he was so sold over to his indecent work such that he was not in the manner of man, such that he was only able recognize the color of the stew [rather than that it was stew], that called him 'Edom!', in the language of command [an imperative]. That is to say, turn red! And your color will be red in the [matter of the] pouring of the red."

I do not think that Rav Ovadia Seforno was saying that his color would medically change as a result of the eating of the stew. He studied medicine and, while it is possible that medieval medicine might maintain that red foods turn a person red, I don't think that the words of Seforno's commentary merit that explanation. This is what people are telling him to turn, as a result of the red food.

I think he was saying that, while mocking him, people were instructing him to turn red. Perhaps to blush in embarrassment.

What do you think?

(Of course, there still stands the other parallel source for Edom identification, that he was already born ruddy:

כה  וַיֵּצֵא הָרִאשׁוֹן אַדְמוֹנִי, כֻּלּוֹ כְּאַדֶּרֶת שֵׂעָר; וַיִּקְרְאוּ שְׁמוֹ, עֵשָׂו.

)

Posts so far for parshat Toledot

2013

1. Eat this red lentil stew; it will put color in your cheeks!

2012

1.  Did Avraham call anyone 'My Master' besides Hashem?  According to Meshech Chochma, he did not, and so was of the select few to be called an eved Hashem. But it is not so simple, according to Rav Yechezkel Abramsky's son. According to one opinion, Adonay at the start of Vayera is chol. Then, I weigh in with what I think is an even stronger counter-example, עַל-עַבְדְּכֶם.

2. Even at three, Rivkah didn't absorb from her negative environment -- But we may derive from here, notes Rabbi Chaim Hirschenson, that one must be careful in the chinuch of children. I consider how much of this lesson is to be derived from Rashi and how much from the underlying midrashim.

3. Who named Yaakov? Rashi says it was either Hashem or Yaakov. What prompts the midrash, and how could one darshen this even as, contrariwise, one darshens the naming of Yishmael? The Levush HaOrah considers the question, and then I do too.

4. YUTorah for parashat Toledot

5. How to understand כַיּוֹם in Yaakov's request to purchase the birthright -- Shadal notes a girsological variation in Onkelos, and then points us to sefer Yud Aleph Resh, Savyonita, and Rashi and Ramban. Ramban discusses the meaning of the strange phrasing in Onkelos, זַבֵּין כְּיוֹם דִּלְהֵין.  I present and translate these sources.

6. The Torah Temimah on Esav's Five Sins Torah Temimah -- He explains the derashot in the gem
ara in Bava Batra, fixes a broken girsa in a way that turns out to correspond to manuscripts, and explains why Rashi goes to a distant location to explain an Aramaic word, rather than simply looking to Onkelos on our own pasuk. I weigh in on some of this at the end.

7. Is וְהֵבֵאתָ to be pronounced mile'eil or milera? Shadal points to an interesting comment in sefer Yaar, that good manuscripts and Rashi support it being mile'eil, against our present reading.

2011

1. What in the world does נַחְשִׁרְכָן mean? in all of its variants.
   .
2. Ibn Caspi on the Avos keeping the entire Torah -- He endorses the idea, kind-of. In one instance, as a restrained and coded rejection. In another, as a philosophical co-opting of the idea. Also, Chizkuni and my own approach to understanding the pasuk that sparks all this.
   .
3. Toldos sources -- further expanded and improved.
   .
4. YU Torah on parashat Toldot.
   .
5. Darshening pesiks in parashat Toledot -- One is indeed a pesik, and one should indeed be darshened. Though I argue on the details. There is a vertical bar after Machalat, and there is a derasha that has Esav's sins forgiven with his marriage. Does this bar indicate the need for distancing oneself from one's past actions? There is a vertical bar after the Shem Hashem in Avimelech's words to Yitzchak. Should this indicate that the wells ceased when Yitzchak left? Read on to find out!
   .
6. Rivkah darshens a pasuk -- An amusing remez from the Vilna Gaon.
   .
7. Did Avraham specifically keep eruv tavshilin or erev techumin? An analysis by the Gra.

2010

1. Why כי עקרה הוא is correct --  and how the Samaritan correction is a correction, rather than original.
   .
2. The meaning of Padan Aram -- Is the Aramaic or Arabic etymology better?
   .
3. Was Yaakov Avinu the first Askan? While reading over parashat Toledot, it struck me that, at least on a peshat level, there is ample precedent for what the various askanim are doing. It is simply maaseh avos siman labanim.
   .
4. How to spell 'goyim' -- and how I would justify the Masoretic reading. Plus the strange, counter-intuitive vowel pattern provided by the Masorah, and its significance.
   .
5. The mercha kfula in parshas Shmini -- How shall we account for it? There is also a mercha kefulah in parashat Toledot, and this post considers all five of them in the Torah.
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6. Esav the Deceiver, pt i -- I try to address why Yitzchak and Rivkah's displeasure over his choice in wives doesn't prove that Yitzchak was in the know.
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2009

1. My novel interpretation for the duplication of Betulah and veIsh lo yedaah, which I label ridiculous. Then it turns out that it is not so novel, as Maharal says a very similar thing. I have a post planned about just why I considered my own interpretation silly, which has to do with peshat in derash. {Update: See post #7, about how Rivkah was just big for her age.}
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2. The three-fold ambiguity of verav yaavod tzair -- syntactic, lexical, and spelling. And how this may be a deliberate ambiguity, such that the text is multivalent. Also, An earlier assertion of multivalence in verav yaavod tzair -- in Radak, alongside Ibn Caspi I mentioned earlier. Plus, some analysis.
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3. Did Hashem speak directly to Rivkah? For various commentators, it might depend on whether Hashem generally talks to women, as well as what doresh means and what vatelech means. Towards the end, I suggest that Rivkah prayed, and that Hashem responded to her in a direct revelation.
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4. Was the kiss on the mouth, or elsewhere? Trying to make sense of Ibn Ezra's assertion that neshika which is "to" someone is on the hand or cheek, while neshika directly is on the lips. I think it is more plausible, and grounded in sevara and dikduk, than some supercommentators give him credit for.
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5. Was Yitzchak poor? The dispute between Ibn Ezra and Ramban, and my thoughts on some elements of their dispute.
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6. Rivkah, just big for her age! My analysis of why I considered my suggestion (above) ridiculous, and an analysis of how my methodology in general differs from that of Maharal. I don't see the need to harmonize as much, and if the harmonization introduces surprising details which we would have therefore expected to see explicitly mentioned by Rashi, or the midrash, itself, then I would surmise that this was not the intent of the author of the midrash.
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7. The merits of a Baal Teshuva vs. those of an FFB -- based on Toledot, with Rivkah and Yitzchak's prayers.
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8. Did the Pilgrims wear tzitzis? Nope, it's Esav!

2008

1. In Shadal's Vikuach, he discusses how Ibn Ezra's interpretation of kulo kaaderet seiar goes against the trup.
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2. Cross-listed from Vayikra, Shadal's theory about small letters can help explain the small kuf in katzti bechayai -- it follows the word Yitzchak, which ends with a kuf. See inside.
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3. From Whence the 10 years before Yitzchak and Rivkah begin trying to have children? A discussion on how it comes from textual concerns, as opposed to imposed moral values.
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4. Two Whole Goats? Does Yitzchak really have that big an appetite? How are we then to understand the preparation of two goats for Yitzchak's meal, on a peshat level?
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5. Will that be one placenta or two? Rabbenu Bachya, vs. Ibn Ezra, vs. Rashi, on how many placentas there were, and whether Yaakov and Esav shared a single placenta. If they did, they would have to be identical twins, though I do not think Rabbenu Bachya necessarily realized that.
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6. Did Yaakov stray after his eyes in falling in love with Rachel, rather than just taking Leah and returning to his parents? I take issue with this explanation by Rabbenu Bachya, on a peshat level, but in the comment section, Rabbi Joshua Maroof (of Vesom Sechel) makes a compelling argument in his favor, on a peshat level, that the Biblical text does not look favorably on Rachel. Perhaps fodder for another post.
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7. Who or What Was Achuzat? The name of Avimelech's friend, or a group of people. I favor Rashi, even on the level of peshat.

2007

1. Is Esav the Bad Brother? Is Yaakov? The theme of sibling rivalry, and the danger of reading our own values into the text.
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2. Esav's mantle of hair, and its possible implications, such that it was worn by false prophets, or prophets in general, such that it might fit in with Esav's misleading nature.
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3. Is Edom equal to Rome and Christiandom? Shadal says no, and that the prophecies about Esav and Yaakov in this week's parsha have already been fulfilled. Plus a very large comment section. And then, in Is Obama a 'Dark Horse' Candidate to be Gog, I touch on this same topic, and discuss it with yaak of Yeranen Yaakov, in the comment section.

2005

• Further thoughts on the Sons of Ketura (2005)
• A continuation of a post on Chayyei Sarah, in considering whether genealogical sections happened right then or whether some high level ain mukdam in terms of tracts with different purposes (macro and micro zoom levels) is at play here. In terms of Toledot, even though the first pasuk mentions Yitzchak's birth, he was clearly born before.
• I Am | Esav (is) Your Firstborn (2005)
• I consider various motivations as input into the midrashic statement that Yaakov did not lie by making this statement. The obvious religious motivation (making Avot paragons of virtue), philosophical motivations (given philosophical requirements of a navi being absolutely truthful, syntactic motivation, accentual motivation (trup), thematic motivation, motivation of textual parallels, and literary motivation. Thus is not (simply) a case of whitewashing actions of the Avot. Read for more details.
• More Thoughts on "Anochi Esav Bechorecha" (2005)
• In terms of the parsing of "It is I | Esav is Your Firstborn," I note how Hebrew is a pro-drop language, how including the pronoun is done usually for emphasis, and how this emphasis is read into the midrash.
• The Parallelism of "Anochi Esav Bechorecha" (2005)
• Discussing the parallelism between Yitzchak's question and Yaakov's answer. After demonstrating the parallelism, I question whether beni in this case means literally "my son" or more generally a kind address to one younger than you. Parallel to Rut, where Boaz calls her biti in a near identical address and response.

2004

• A Neo-midrash on Yaakov and Esav's Sibling Rivalry (2004)
• Based on a Hebrew cognate in Amharic, on the word gadala, meaning to kill or fight.
• And the Older Shall Serve the Younger? (2004)
• or the younger shall serve the older? I think the former is what makes the only sense, on a peshat level, and argue on Rabbi Sacks' interpretation. Also, the meaning of rav and tzair.
• Making A Break For It (2004)
• The basis of Yaakov trying to get out to a bet midrash and Esav trying to get out to a house of idolatry, while yet in the womb.
• Towards a Theory of Drash (2004)
• That there is always a local, linguistic cause, as well as thematic reasons to choose a specific interpretation. The derash reinforces the message which is already present on the peshat level.
• The Near Miss (2004)
• Yaakov leaving the tent just as Esav arrives. And the midrash's textual basis.
• Fetal Fighting (2004)

2003

• וַתֵּלֶךְ לִדְרֹשׁ אֶת-ה - A drash of lidrosh to mean bet midrash (2003)
• How Rivka consults Hashem. A discussion and summary of several opinions
• Esav's Wife: Easy on the Eyes (2003)
• and the midrash linking Yitzchak's blindness to Esav's wife's idolatry. And how the new wife he took was a realization of this -- וַיַּרְא עֵשָׂו, כִּי רָעוֹת בְּנוֹת כְּנָעַן, בְּעֵינֵי, יִצְחָק אָבִיו. Check it out.

to be continued...