5 Kislev, 5781

Shabbat Shalom!

Welcome to Toldot (Generations), this week’s Parasha (Torah Portion).

Toldot (Generations)

· Genesis 25:19–28:9

· Malachi 1:1–2:7

· Romans 9:6–29

Genesis 25:19-28:9 New King James Version (NKJV)

19 This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abraham’s son. Abraham begot Isaac. 20 Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian. 21 Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. 22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said to her:

“Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”

24 So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb. 25 And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name [a]Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called [b]Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

27 So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a [c]mild man, dwelling in tents. 28 And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Esau Sells His Birthright

29 Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called [d]Edom.

31 But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.”

32 And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?”

33 Then Jacob said, [e]“Swear to me as of this day.”

So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. 34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Isaac and Abimelech

26 There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.

2 Then the Lord appeared to him and said: “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; for to you and your descendants I give all these lands, and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. 4 And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven; I will give to your descendants all these lands; and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

6 So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. 7 And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, “She is my sister”; for he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” because he thought, “lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah, because she is beautiful to behold.” 8 Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window, and saw, and there was Isaac, [f]showing endearment to Rebekah his wife. 9 Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “Quite obviously she is your wife; so how could you say, ‘She is my sister’?”

Isaac said to him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I die on account of her.’ ”

10 And Abimelech said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the people might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us.” 11 So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

12 Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. 13 The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth. 16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are much mightier than we.”

17 Then Isaac departed from there and [g]pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them.

19 Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. 20 But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well [h]Esek, because they quarreled with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name [i]Sitnah. 22 And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name [j]Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”

23 Then he went up from there to Beersheba. 24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” 25 So he built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord, and he pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

26 Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, one of his friends, and Phichol the commander of his army. 27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?”

28 But they said, “We have certainly seen that the Lord is with you. So we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, between you and us; and let us make a [k]covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, since we have not touched you, and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of the Lord.’ ”

30 So he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another; and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace.

32 It came to pass the same day that Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it [l]Shebah. Therefore the name of the city is [m]Beersheba to this day.

34 When Esau was forty years old, he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 35 And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

Isaac Blesses Jacob

27 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.”

And he answered him, “Here I am.”

2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me [n]savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make [o]savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.”

11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.”

13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made [p]savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.”

And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?”

19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.”

20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”

And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.”

21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him.

24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?”

He said, “I am.”

25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said:

“Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the Lord has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven, Of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!”

Esau’s Lost Hope

30 Now it happened, as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also had made [q]savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that your soul may bless me.”

32 And his father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?”

So he said, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”

33 Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.”

34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me—me also, O my father!”

35 But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.”

36 And Esau said, “Is he not rightly named [r]Jacob? For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing!” And he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”

37 Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, “Indeed I have made him your master, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have [s]sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?”

38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39 Then Isaac his father answered and said to him:

“Behold, your dwelling shall be of the [t]fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above. 40 By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

Jacob Escapes from Esau

41 So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father [u]are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”

42 And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah. So she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice: arise, flee to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”

46 And Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these who are the daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Jacob Sent to His Uncle Laban

28 Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and [v]charged him, and said to him: “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. 2 Arise, go to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother.

3 “May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples; 4 And give you the blessing of Abraham, To you and your descendants with you, That you may inherit the land In[w] which you are a stranger, Which God gave to Abraham.”

5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

Esau Marries Mahalath

6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,” 7 and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. 8 Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac. 9 So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife in addition to the wives he had.

Malachi 1:1-2:7 New King James Version (NKJV)

Polluted Offerings to God

1 The [a]burden of the word of the Lord to Israel [b]by Malachi.

Israel Beloved of God

2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved; 3 But Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the jackals of the wilderness.”

4 Even though Edom has said, “We have been impoverished, But we will return and build the desolate places,”

Thus says the Lord of hosts:

“They may build, but I will throw down; They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, And the people against whom the Lord will have indignation forever. 5 Your eyes shall see, And you shall say, ‘The Lord is magnified beyond the border of Israel.’

Polluted Offerings

6 “A son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’

7 “You offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is [c]contemptible.’ 8 And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept[d] you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts.

9 “But now entreat God’s favor, That He may be gracious to us. While this is being done by your hands, Will He accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts. 10 “Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you,” Says the Lord of hosts, “Nor will I accept an offering from your hands. 11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says the Lord of hosts.

12 “But you profane it, In that you say, ‘The table of the [e]Lord is defiled; And its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’ 13 You also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’ And you sneer at it,” Says the Lord of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?” Says the Lord. 14 “But cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And takes a vow, But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished— For I am a great King,” Says the Lord of hosts, “And My name is to be feared among the nations.

Corrupt Priests

2 “And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you will not hear, And if you will not take it to heart, To give glory to My name,” Says the Lord of hosts, “I will send a curse upon you, And I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, Because you do not take it to heart.

3 “Behold, I will rebuke your descendants And spread refuse on your faces, The refuse of your solemn feasts; And one will take you away [f]with it. 4 Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, That My covenant with Levi may continue,” Says the Lord of hosts. 5 “My covenant was with him, one of life and peace, And I gave them to him that he might fear Me; So he feared Me And was reverent before My name. 6 The[g] law of truth was in his mouth, And [h]injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, And turned many away from iniquity.

7 “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

Romans 9:6-29 New King James Version (NKJV)

Israel’s Rejection and God’s Purpose

6 But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise: “At this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son.”

10 And not only this, but when Rebecca also had conceived by one man, even by our father Isaac 11 (for the children not yet being born, nor having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works but of Him who calls), 12 it was said to her, “The older shall serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”

Israel’s Rejection and God’s Justice

14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to the Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I may show My power in you, and that My name may be declared in all the earth.” 18 Therefore He has mercy on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” 20 But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, 24 even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

25 As He says also in Hosea:

“I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved, who was not beloved.” 26 “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living God.”

27 Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, The remnant will be saved. 28 For [a]He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, Because the Lord will make a short work upon the earth.”

29 And as Isaiah said before:

“Unless the Lord of [b]Sabaoth had left us a seed, We would have become like Sodom, And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”

- Torah Teaching -

“And these are the generations /toldot of Yitzchak [Isaac], Avraham’s [Abraham] son: Avraham begat Yitzchak.” (Genesis 25:19)

In our last Parasha (Torah portion), Yitzchak (Isaac), the son of Sarah and Abraham, carried on the legacy of his parents’ faith and obedience to ELOHIM. After his mother died, Abraham sent his servant to bring home a wife for Yitzchak from among Abraham’s kinsmen.

At the well where the women of the town would soon appear, the servant prayed for ELOHIM’s help in locating the perfect wife for Yitzchak. Just then, Rivkah (Rebecca) arrived and provided water for him and his camels. Yitzchak was 40 when he married her.

Prayer Brings Blessings

“Isaac prayed to YAHUVEH on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. YAHUVEH answered his prayer [atar], and his wife Rebekah became pregnant." (Genesis 25:21)

In this week’s Parasha, we discover that Rivkah is barren. She is one of seven women in the Torah who have difficulty conceiving but finally come to bear children by the grace of YAHUVEH; in this case, in answer to her husband’s prayer.

It is traditionally believed that he prayed for 19 years. Moreover, it is also believed that he prayed in unity with Rivkah.

What a lesson for us today! Just because we pray once and do not receive an answer does not mean we should stop praying! YAHUVEH wants us to bring our requests to HIM in the unity of faith.

The Hebrew expression used in Genesis 25:21 for prayer, ‘atar’, which can also mean ‘to dig’, is related to the Hebrew word for ‘pitchfork’, ‘eter’.

“As a pitchfork turns the sheaves of grain from one position to another, so does the prayer of the righteous turn the dispensations of the Holy One, blessed YAHUVEH, from the attribute of anger to the attribute of mercy.”

Yitzchak’s prayer penetrated the foundation of heaven, and just as grain is turned over with a pitchfork, so too was YAHUVEH’s judgment of barrenness upon Rivkah “turned over” and reversed by YAHUVEH’s mercy because of prayer.

Of course, the Bible makes it clear that we are to be fruitful and multiply. However, though seed is sown, it is YAHUVEH who opens the womb.

“Behold, children are a heritage from YAHUVEH, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.” (Psalm 127:3–5)

Sarah, Abraham’s wife, came up with her own solution for her barrenness – she suggested a surrogate mother – Hagar. In her own efforts, she received Ishmael.

Hannah, another barren woman, went to the Temple and cried out to ELOHIM for a child and she received the prophet Samuel.

Rivkah did neither. Instead, she turned to her husband who was her spiritual covering to entreat ELOHIM on her behalf, and YAHUVEH answered Isaac’s prayers for the miraculous gift of new life. Rivkah found herself pregnant with not just one child – but twins – a double portion!

Birthright Brings Blessings

“And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.” (Genesis 25:27)

The twin boys grew up with distinctive character traits, which are reflected in their names.

Yaakov (Jacob’s Hebrew name) is related to the word ‘eikev’ and means the ‘heel’ of the foot. He was so named because he grabbed his brother’s heel at birth.

This shows Jacob’s tenacity to win the birthright and carry forward the spiritual blessings that YAHUVEH promised to his father Abraham.

Esau, however, was named Esav, from the Semitic root, ‘seir’, meaning ‘thick-haired’. He was also nicknamed ‘Adom’, the Hebrew word for ‘red’, since he was born “red and hairy.”

Adom is also related to adamah (land) and dam (blood), which conveys Esau’s love of living off the land, hunting, and thirst for blood.

While Jacob had a quiet and seemingly spiritual-minded nature, Esau had a carnal one, as shown in the way he so easily trades something of eternal spiritual value /his birthright for something that satisfies his physical hunger a bowl of lentils. To him, they were equal.

“'Look, I am about to die [of hunger],’ Esau said. ‘What good is the birthright to me?’” (Genesis 25:32)

Birthrights come with responsibilities as well as blessings.

Even though Jacob was not the firstborn, he receives great blessings bestowed upon him by his father Isaac, coupled with the responsibility to lead nations. Isaac blesses him this way:

“May YAHUVEH give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness – an abundance of grain and new wine. May nations serve you and peoples bow down to you.” (Genesis 27:28–29)

Esau, however, who is the firstborn son receives curses:

“Your dwelling will be away from the earth’s richness, away from the dew of heaven above. You will live by the sword and you will serve your brother.” (Genesis 27:39–40)

Jacob received his father’s firstborn blessing because it was pre-ordained according to the will of ELOHIM who said, “Jacob have I loved; but Esau I hated.” (Romans 9:13)

Descendants of Curses Bring More Curses

Just as Cain’s jealousy turned into a murderous plot to kill his brother Abel, so too did Esau plot to kill Jacob, but without success.

This struggle between the brothers did not suddenly appear. Even in Rivkah’s womb, the boys jostled with each other. Rivkah sought wisdom from ELOHIM, who revealed to her a truth that continues to this day:

“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.” (Genesis 25:23)

Over the centuries, jealous, hate-filled character of Esau has been compared to the perpetual struggle between the descendants of both brothers.

Jacob’s descendants were birthed out of obedience to his father Isaac, who told him not to marry a Canaanite woman, and he did not.

Esau, on the other hand, married two Canaanite women. One of Esau’s Canaanite offspring was Amalek, who became an archenemy of pre-state Israel by attacking Moses and the Israelites while in the wilderness (Exodus 17). They also invaded Israel during the time of the Judges:

“Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country.” (Judges 6:3)

Many try to link the genealogy of Esau and the Amalekites to the modern enemies of Israel. While this might be accurate to some degree, the truth is that the spirit of Esau and the Amalekites to destroy the heirs of blessing has remained alive among many nations.

We saw this hatred in modern pre-state Israel during the expulsion of Jews from England, the tortures of the Spanish Inquisition, and the genocide of six million Jews in the Holocaust.

We saw its vibrancy continue as surrounding nations invaded the newly-formed modern Israel in 1948, again in 1967, and most recently with terrorist groups that vow to claim the land “from the river to the sea” for their own birthright.

While half of the Jewish population has been wiped out in recent decades and specific plans to remove us from the land circulate today, ultimately YAHUVEH will uphold HIS vows to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their descendants:

“I am YAHUVEH, the GOD of your father Abraham and the GOD of Isaac. I will give you [Jacob] and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and ... all peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.” (Genesis 28:13–14)

Those who attack YAHUVEH’s everlasting plans through Jacob are, in fact, placing curses over their own land.

Isaac prayed over Jacob, “May those who curse you be cursed” (Genesis 27:29), and ELOHIM assures us through the Prophet Ezekiel that this curse continues to hold true.

“Because you have had an ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end, therefore, as I live,’ says YAHUVEH GOD, ‘I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated blood, therefore blood shall pursue you.’” (Ezekiel 35:5–6)

The focus of this Parasha is not really curses, but blessings.

The Hebrew word for ‘blessed’ (baruch) is significant in this Parasha: out of 106 verses, ‘baruch’ appears 34 times!

This word, ‘baruch’, comes from ‘brachah’ (blessing). But with a small change in vowel, it becomes ‘breicha’ — a ‘wellspring of water’ or even a ‘pool’.

Today, we see that YAHUVEH has kept HIS promise to turn the barren places of this land into wellsprings and pools of water:

“I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.” (Isaiah 41:18)

Inheriting the Blessing

During the saga of Jacob and Esau, a famine came over the Land. Although Abraham went down to Egypt for food at times of famine, ELOHIM instructed Isaac to stay.

“ELOHIM appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.’” (Genesis 26:2)

Like Abraham, Isaac obeyed ELOHIM and, indeed, was blessed by GOD for it.

“Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore unto Abraham thy father.” (Genesis 26:3)

This shows us the wisdom of seeking YAHUVEH for solutions to our problems and not necessarily repeating what our father before us did, or what seems the logical answer. YAHUVEH may ask us to stay in a situation when everything and everyone is telling us to get out – fast!

If YAHUVEH is instructing us to stay, then we can be a blessing even in dire situations by providing HIS Living Water.

As we watch jealousy and hate in the spirit of Esau rise up in Gaza through rocket attacks and border riots, there is a temptation for some in Israel to think we should escape and “go down to Egypt” or perhaps to the US or Canada.

But if the Spirit of YAHUVEH tells us to stay, then we can know that HE will protect us and establish the oath HE swore unto our forefathers to give us this Land.

"For MY thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways MY ways," declares YAHUVEH.” (Isaiah 55:8)

YAHUSHUA Brings the Ultimate Blessing to the Promised Land

“Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.” (Genesis 26:18)

As ELOHIM tested Abraham's faith, Isaac likely suffered some post-traumatic stress from being tied up by his father and almost sacrificed. But in this Parasha, we see that Isaac is a man of Godly character with Godly vision who continues to carry on his father’s business by re-digging the wells Abraham had dug on his way to Beer Sheva.

Why are these wells significant? They were vital sources of water in a harsh, dry desert land. But here we see that these life-giving water holes had been intentionally filled with dirt. This can only be interpreted as a barbaric act, done to discourage and even endanger life in order to prevent Isaac from accessing his father’s wells.

We see similar discouragement from lack of water when the children of Israel camped in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. When they finally came to a well, they sang praises to ELOHIM:

“From there they went to Beer, which is the well where YAHUVEH said to Moses, ‘Gather the people together, and I will give them water.’ Then Israel sang this song: ‘Spring up, o well!’” (Numbers 21:16–18)

Abraham had purposefully named these wells after GOD to remind people that HE is the source of all life. It is with joy today that we draw from deep wells of living water YAHUSHUA HAMASHIACH.

“With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3)

When YAHUSHUA ministered to the Samaritan woman at a well, HE made the bold claim of being the Jewish Messiah. There, HE proclaimed HIMSELF to be the source of living water that leads to eternal life.

“But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14)

The ultimate heirs of blessing are the heirs of the promised MESSIAH, YAHSUHUA HAMASHIACH, who became the final sacrifice for all who trust and believe that HE is that promise.

This salvation is a free gift that 99% of Jewish People do not yet know about because no one has explained to them how the Hebrew Scriptures reveal YAHUSHUA as their promised Messiah.

Nevertheless, the Bible promises that in these last days, as the Times of the Gentiles come to a close, all of Israel will be saved.

"I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, and in this way all of Israel will be saved." (Romans 11:25–26)

"YOU will again have compassion on us; YOU will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19)

SHABBAT SHALOM FROM TORAH KEEPER!