Toldot:

Genesis 25:19-28:9.

OVERVIEW

After twenty years of marriage without children, Isaac's prayers are answered and Rebecca conceives twins. The pregnancy is extremely painful. Hashem reveals to Rebecca that the suffering is a microcosmic prelude to the world-wide conflict that will rage between the two great nations descended from these twins -- Rome and Israel. Esau is born first, and then Jacob holding onto Esau's heel. As they grow, the contrast between the twins becomes apparent: Esau is a hunter, a man of the field, of the physical world, whereas Jacob sits in the tents of Torah developing his soul. On the day of their grandfather Abraham's funeral, Jacob is cooking lentils, the traditional mourner's meal. Esau rushes in, ravenous from a hard day's hunting, and sells his birthright (and its concomitant spiritual responsibilities) for a bowl of lentils, clearly demonstrating his unworthiness for the position of the firstborn. Isaac tries to escape to Egypt when a famine strikes Canaan, but Hashem tells him that because of the akeida (where he was offered as a sacrifice) he has become holy and must remain in the Holy Land. He relocates to Gerar in the land of the Plishtim, where, to protect Rebecca, he has to say that she is his sister. Isaac arouses jealousy when he becomes immensely wealthy, and Avimelech the king asks him to leave. Isaac re-digs three wells dug by his father, prophetically alluding to the three future Temples. Avimelech, seeing the blessings Hashem has bestowed on Isaac, makes a treaty with him. When Isaac senses the end of his days approaching, he summons Esau to give Esau his blessings. Rebecca, acting on a prophetic command that the blessings must go to Jacob, arranges for Jacob to impersonate his brother and receive the blessings. When Esau in a rage of frustration complains to his father that his brother has bought his birthright, Isaac realizes that the birthright has been bestowed correctly on Jacob who has valued its responsibilities rather than its privileges, and confirms the blessings he has given. Esau vows to kill his brother, so Rebecca sends Jacob to her brother Lavan where he may find a suitable wife.

Overview courtesy of Rabbis Newman and Sinclair, Ohr Somayach