Toldot is the only parsha in which the focus is on the middle Patriarch, Yitzchak. Yitzchak prays for Rivka, who was barren, to have children. His prayers are answered when she becomes pregnant with twins. The fact that these two would be different is evident even before they are born, and Rivka is told that two different nations would descend from her. Soon Esav is born, Yaakov following at his heels. (Literally.)
          Esav grows to be an outdoorsy type - an expert hunter, who brings back his killings to serve his father. Yitzchak eats well and loves Esav. Yaakov has a milder personality and prefers to remain in the tent. He is Rivka's favorite. Although Esav was technically born first, Yaakov gains the birthright from him by trading it for some red lentil stew.
          Famine strikes again, and Yitzchak goes to G'rar. G-d tells Yitzchak not to leave the Land, as He promises again that Yitzchak's descendants will inherit it. In G'rar, Yitzchak uses the "she's my sister" line on the locals when they ask about Rivka. Avimelech, king of G'rar, discovers otherwise, chides Yitzchak for the lie, and decrees that none in G'rar should harm either Yitzchak or Rivka.
          Yitzchak becomes very prosperous. The P'lishtim (Philistines) are jealous and stop up the wells that Avraham's servants had dug. Avimelech asks Yitzchak to leave. Yitzchak moves to Nachal G'rar, re-digs his wells, and argues with the local shepherds over some other wells. Avimelech makes peace with Yitzchak when he sees that G-d is on his side.
          Esav marries two Hittites, to his parents' chagrin.
          An aging Yitzchak tells Esav that he will receive a blessing after bringing Yitzchak some food from the field. Rivka overhears, and while Esav is out, she arranges for Yaakov to impersonate Esav in order to get the blessing himself. Rivka prepares a meal for Yaakov to bring his father and dresses him in goat's skin so he will feel hairy like Esav. Yitzchak is blind but he notices that something is fishy since "the voice is Yaakov's and the hands are Esav's." Anyway, he gives him a great blessing, including the fact that his descendants would dominate all other nations including his brother's descendants. Esav showed up soon after and was horrified to learn that "his" blessing had been taken. Yitzchak gives Esav a secondary blessing, but Esav is still furious at Yaakov and resolves to kill him as soon as their father dies. Rivka hears and sends Yaakov away to her brother Lavan's in Padan Aram. Yaakov leaves with Yitzchak's instructions not to marry a Canaanite. Since his parents don't like Canaanite daughters-in-law, Esav takes Yishmael's daughter as a wife.

          It is no mystery why Hashem chose Avraham Avinu to be an Av of our nation: since first grade, we've heard of Avraham's steadfast devotion to Hashem in spreading Hashem's teachings and passing the Ten Trials. Equally obvious is Yaakov's worthiness; he also proved his merit by enduring tremendous tests of suffering: fleeing for his life, wrestling with the angel, working for Lavan. However, one wonders exactly what Yitzchak did that merited him the title of an Av. We know that Chazal associate Yitzchak Avinu with gevurah, or strength, but where does Yitzchak demonstrate strength? Even in the one apparent achievement of Yitzchak, the Akeidah, Yitzchak only played a passive role; it was really Avraham's nisayon.
          Of all the Avot, we are told the least about Yitzchak. Indeed, the Torah devotes only a single Perek 26 exclusively to Yitzchak, and even in this Perek, which is supposed to be Yitzchak's "time to shine," the Torah constantly refers to Avraham Avinu. Not only does the Torah mention Avraham numerous times, nearly the entire story is a complete replica of what had happened to Avraham. Like Avraham, Yitzchak wanted descend to Egypt due to a famine. Like Avraham, he pretends that Rivka is his sister and the king gets upset. Yitzchak becomes wealthy like Avraham, and the Plishtim grow jealous and seal the wells of Avraham. Yitzchak re-digs Avraham's wells and names them again. The shepherds of Yitzchak fight with the other shepherds, just as Avraham's shepherds fought. Hashem tells Yitzchak that he will be blessed because of Avraham. Finally, Yitzchak makes a Brit, covenant, with Avimelech, just as Avraham did. This Perek is our sole opportunity to obtain insight about Yitzchak himself, yet Avraham Avinu permeates every part of the Perek. Yitzchak does not innovate but appears to be reliving Avraham's life.
          Rav Shimon Isaacson explains that this Perek reveals the gadlus of Yitzchak. Avraham Avinu was the quintessential man of action, a dominant and creative visionary who forged a new vision of what it means to live an enlightened existence devoted to one's Creator. Yitzchak, on the other hand, did not forge anything new; his gadlus stems from his ability to "stay the course." He took the yesodos of Avraham, deepened them, and transmitted them, as symbolized by the re-digging of Avraham's wells. Indeed, the Torah says, "Ei'leh Toldot Yitzchak," these are the chronicles of Yitzchak, "Avraham holid et Yitzchak" Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak. The gadlus of Yitzchak comes from the fact that "Avraham holid et Yitzchak" - that Yitzchak absorbed Avraham's mesorah and that he kept it intact. Therefore, Chazal associate Yitzchak with Gevurah which refers not only to physical strength, but strength of character.
          Humans seek to innovate, to make a unique contribution to the world; this is usually done with selfish aims in mind. When it comes to Avodas Hashem, one must be a follower, to preserve the Mesorah exactly as it has been handed down to him, rather than to attempt to "improve upon it." While there is room for creativity within the framework of Judaism, the ultimate goal is to transmit the Torah to future generations in precisely the same form that we received it. Rav Soloveitchik asks why an observant Jew is commonly called a "Shomer Torah u'Mitzvot." The Rav explains that a shomer (watchman) has done his job if he returns the pikadon (deposited object) in the exact form that it was given- he does not even improve upon it. This peirush fits well with our interpretation of Yitzchak Avinu. May we all learn from the example of Yitzchak Avinu to be true Shomrei Torah u'Mitzvot.

          Last week, we asked about a similarity between Abraham, Jacob, David, and Jeremiah.
          A similarity between these four men is that they all purchased land in Israel: Abraham purchased Me'arat HaMachpeilah (the Cave of Machpeilah) in Chevron (Genesis 23:16), Jacob purchased a plot of land near Shechem (33:19), David purchased the granary of Aravnah the Yevusite, which later became the site of the Temple Mount (II Samuel 24:24); and Jeremiah purchased the field of his cousin Chanam'el in the city of Anatot (Jeremiah 32:9).
          Yasher Ko'ach to JERRY FRANK for nailing this answer.

"And Isaac favored Esau because he had a taste for game, but Rebecca favored Jacob" (Genesis 25:28)
          The comments I present on Parshat Toldot are far from the traditional commentaries vilifying Esau. Biblical commentators vilify Esau to explain why Jacob was justified in his trickery: If Esau was so evil, he should have been tricked! However, I don't see a problem in Rebecca and Jacob's doings to begin with, for Hashem had told Rebecca that "Two nations are in your womb; two separate peoples shall issue from your body; the older shall serve the younger (25:22)," and she was just fulfilling this promise. Each time Esau is spoken to by Isaac he is referred to as "Isaac's son"; similarly, Jacob is always referred to as "Rebecca's son". I wonder why Isaac favored the wrong son?
          Here is a possible explanation for Isaac's misplaced love in light of the Akeda (the near slaughter of Isaac by Abraham): The parallels between Ishmael and Esau are numerous: Both were older sons who lost their inheritance to their younger brothers. While Ishmael is banished to the wilderness by Sarah, Esau is naturally "a man of the outdoors" (25:27). Later on, Esau takes Ishmael's daughter as his wife. The similarities between Isaac and Jacob are less clear. They make up the second and third generation of the Avot. Isaac is the object of Ishmael's "playing" (21:10) and Jacob "was a mild man who stayed in camp" (25:27). As more toned down characters, each is protected by his mother and has a difficult relationship with his father. We can only imagine that Isaac was somewhat traumatized by the Akeda. Perhaps from his point of view, his burly half-brother Ishmael was loved and sent away to be spared. Consequently, perhaps Isaac sees himself in Jacob and thinks that there is something stronger required of a forefather. This strength he sees in Esau; it is a physical prowess that Jacob, more of an academic, lacks. Noting this, Isaac actively shows affection to Esau, the son who reminds him of Ishmael, the loved one, the son he could never be. When Isaac uses affectionate language, he is trying to reproduce the relationship he never had with his own father: Here the verse says "And [Isaac] said to his son, 'My son,' and he answered 'Here I am'" (27:1), and at the Akeda, it said, "Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, 'Father!', and he answered, 'Here I am, son'" (22:7).
          However, it is important to note that Isaac must have been aware of his own being chosen as the next in line after Abraham. We cannot assume that Isaac simply dismissed the Akeda as pure torture. After all, when Hashem tells Isaac of his distinction as one of the forefathers (e.g., 26:3), Isaac does not appear surprised at all by the announcement. However, Isaac still may have seen a certain element of force in Esau's personality and hunting abilities that he thought might prove useful to the future nation.
          What we can learn from Isaac's choice then, in addition to Rebecca and Jacob's use of trickery, is that while sometimes a certain amount of strength and cunning is required to attain our goals, the core of a Jacob personality is favored over the core of an Esau personality.

          When Rivka expressed her concern about the children she was carrying in her womb, she received the following answer; "Two nations are in your womb and two regimes from your insides shall be separated. And one regime shall become strong from the other regime?" (Bereishis 25:23). Rashi makes two interesting points that deserve closer analysis.
          First, commenting on the words "two nations are in your womb," Rashi writes that these two nations are Rebbe (the redactor of the Mishna) and Antoninus (an affluent Roman individual), who both possessed so much wealth that they were able to afford to have seasonal products all year round. Second, Rashi understands the word "regimes" to mean malchus, kingdoms.
          Two simple problems arise based on Rashi's commentary; first, what is the relevance of Rebbe's and Antoninus' wealth? Does Rashi really think that Rivka was being told that ultimately two prosperous individuals such as Rebbe and Antoninus would descend from her? Second, what is the significance of regime meaning malchus? If we're told in the beginning of the pasuk that two nations will arise from Rivka, why can't we assume that they will be kingdoms as well? What is the pasuk coming to add by including the concept of malchus?
          Perhaps, with some insight into human personality, we can gain some understanding of Rashi's commentary. There are two ways in which a person can conduct himself; he can either be an "external conqueror" or an "internal conqueror." An external conqueror is one who devotes his energies to the conquest of external goods such as wealth, honor, and power. On the other hand, an internal conqueror is one who devotes his energies to the acquisition of Torah, metaphysical ideas, and a perfected soul. Both conquerors, however, have the power to mold the world surrounding them. Most people possess dependent personalities that hinder major progress and inhibit large-scale success. They operate on an infantile level that is essentially a protected state of dependency. It is a rare individual who has the courage to break the societal pattern in which he was raised.
          Eisav was an external conqueror, as we see in the pasuk, "Esau became a man who knows trapping, a man of the field (25:27)." A man of the field, 'ish sadeh', is someone who is willing to go out into the world and conquer what is out there. Symbolically, 'ish sadeh' represents a person whose goal is to acquire and conquer as many hedonistic pleasures as he can. Yaakov, on the other hand, was "A wholesome man, a dweller of tents (25:27)." Dweller of tents, 'yosheiv ohalim', represents an individual who concentrates on developing inner traits such as wisdom and proper conduct.
          Yitzchak Avinu admired Eisav's great energy. He respected Eisav's abilities to conquer, and that is why the Torah says that Yizchak loved Eisav. However, Yizchak made a grave miscalculation; his hope that Eisav would eventually use his talents for good was shattered. In fact, Eisav used his energy solely for the purpose of hedonistic pleasure and never for the right purposes. He sold his birthright, and he attempted to kill Yaakov, and according to many commentaries, was involved in murder and adultery.
          Perhaps now we can answer the questions that were raised in the beginning. The reason why Rashi says that "two nations in your womb" refers to Rebbe's and Antoninus' wealth is to demonstrate the concept we've been speaking about. Rebbe and Antoninus were both conquerors. While Rebbe focused his energy on both external conquests (wealth) and internal conquests (mastery of Torah), Antoninus focused solely on external conquests. In that way, they correspond to Yaakov and Eisav.
          We also can now understand why, according to Rashi, the pasuk included the notion of kingdom, malchus. Kingship is representative of conquering and ruling. Rivka was told that she would bear children that would be conquerors. Perhaps the internal struggle in her womb was indicative of the difficulty in maintaining a balance between external and internal conquering.
          It is very interesting to note that this concept of conquering finds expression in halacha as well; Chazal say that an ashir muflag, an extremely wealthy individual, can be called up to have an aliyah before a Kohain. The reason for this is because such an individual utilized his intellect and displayed the courage to go out into the world and conquer it. Although his focus may have been physical wealth, halacha still respects the ability to go out and conquer.
          From Yaakov and Eisav we learn that we must possess the courage to leave the security that our immediate environment offers and face the challenges of the world. We have the ability to channel this courage into one of two worlds, the world of the intellectual or the world of the physical. Let us hope we learn from the likes of Yaakov and Rebbe, and not Eisav and Antoninus.

23. Tofair - Sewing

          While sewing certainly implies stitching two separate pieces of fabric together, which was done for the cloth coverings of the mishkan, the melacha of tofair is more general and consists of combining any two separate objects into one single entity, by any means. One important concept in regards to tofair is that an action is not considered tofair if the connection is meant to be created and broken as part of the object's functional design. Therefore using buttons, zippers, safety pins, and Velcro is permitted. Gluing is considered tofair only when the gluing is meant to be permanent. As a result, the adhesive on disposable diapers can be used, while "Fun-tack", which is often left in its position indefinitely, is prohibited.