Genesis 25:19 - 28:9
Parashah Toldot

The moment that revealed the heart

What you value guides you; what you despise destroys you.
Guard your spiritual birthright before someone else takes it.

Ya'akov, focused on the transcendental, sought his father's blessing

Read the Story as Told in Scripture

TORAH | Genesis 25:19 - 28:9

19And these are the generations of Yitz’chak, Avraham’s son: Abraham begat Yitz’chak: 20and Yitz’chak  was forty years old when he took Rivkah, the daughter of B’tu’el the Syrian of Paddan-aram, the sister of Lavan the Syrian, to be his wife. 21And Yitz’chak entreated Yehovah for his wife, because she was barren: and Yehovah was entreated of him, and Rivkah his wife conceived. 22And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, wherefore do I live? And she went to inquire of Yehovah. 23And Yehovah said unto her, 

Two nations are in thy womb, 
and two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels: 
And the one people shall be stronger than the other people; 
and the elder shall serve the younger. 

24And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb. 25And the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they called his name Esav. 26And after that came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esav’s heel; and his name was called Ya’akov: and Yitz’chak was threescore years old when she bare them. 

27And the boys grew: and Esav was a skilful hunter, a man of the field; and Ya’akov was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28Now Yitz’chak loved Esav, because he did eat of his venison: and Rivkah loved Ya’akov. 29And Ya’akov boiled pottage: and Esav came in from the field, and he was faint: 30and Esav said to Ya’akov, ‘Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint’: therefore was his name called Edom. 31And Ya’akov said, Sell me first thy birthright. 32And Esav said, ‘behold, I am about to die: and what profit shall the birthright do to me? 33And Ya’akov said: ‘Swear to me first’; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Ya’akov. 34And Ya’akov gave Esav bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: so Esav despised his birthright. 

26 And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Yitz’chak went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. 2And Yehovah appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3sojourn 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 sware unto Avraham thy father; 4and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. 6And Yitz’chak dwelt in Gerar: 7and the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, My wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rivkah; because she was fair to look upon. 8And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Yitz’chak was sporting with Rivkah his wife. 9And Abimelech called Yitz’chak, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Yitz’chak said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die because of her. 10And Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us? one of the people might easily have lain with thy wife, and thou wouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 11And Abimelech charged all the people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. 

12And Yitz’chak sowed in that land, and found in the same year a hundredfold: and Yehovah blessed him. 13And the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he became very great: 14and he had possessions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great household: and the Philistines envied him. 15Now all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Avraham his father, the Philistines had stopped, and filled with earth. 16And Abimelech said unto Yitz’chak, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we. 17And Yitz’chak departed thence, and encamped in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there. 

18And Yitz’chak digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Avraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Avraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. 19And Yitz’chak’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 20And the herdsmen of Gerar strove with Yitz’chak’s herdsmen, saying, The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. 21And they digged another well, and they strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now Yehovah hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

23And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. 24And Yehovah appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Avraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Avraham’s sake. 25And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of Yehovah, and pitched his tent there: and there Yitz’chak’s servants digged a well. 

26Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host. 27And Yitz’chak said unto them, Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, and have sent me away from you? 28And they said, We saw plainly that Jehovah was with thee: and we said, Let there now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee, 29that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, and have sent thee away in peace: thou art now the blessed of Yehovah. 30And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 31And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 32And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac’s servants came, and told him concerning the well which they had digged, and said unto him, We have found water. 33And he called it Shibah: therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day. 

34And when Esav was forty years old he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35and they were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rivkah. 

27 And it came to pass, that when Yitz’chak was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esav his elder son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Here am I. 2And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death. 3Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me venison; 4and make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. 

5And Rivkah heard when Yitz’chak spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 6And Rivakah spake unto Ya’akov her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, 7Bring me venison, and make me savory food, that I may eat, and bless thee before Yehovah before my death. 8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 9Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of the goats; and I will make them savory food for thy father, such as he loveth: 10and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may eat, so that he may bless thee before his death. 11And Ya’akov said to Rivkah his mother, Behold, Esav my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. 12My father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not a blessing. 13And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse, my son; only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. 14And he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15And Rivkah took the goodly garments of Esav her elder son, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Ya’akov her younger son; 16and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: 17and she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Ya’akov. 

18And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? 19And Ya’akov said unto his father, I am Esav thy first-born; I have done according as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul may bless me. 20And Yitz’chak said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he said, Because Yehovah thy God sent me good speed. 21And Yitz’chak said unto Ya’akov, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esav or not. 22And Ya’akov went near unto Yitz’chak his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Ya’akov’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esav. 23And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esav’s hands: so he blessed him. 24And he said, Art thou my very son Esav? And he said, I am. 25And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26And his father Yitz’chak said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 27And he came near, and kissed him: and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said: 

See, the smell of my son
is as the smell of a field which Yehovah hath blessed:
28And God give thee of the dew of heaven, 
and of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine: 
29Let peoples serve thee,
and nations bow down to thee: 
Be lord over thy brethren, 
and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: 
Cursed be every one that curseth thee, 
and blessed be every one that blesseth thee. 

30And it came to pass, as soon as Yitz’chak had made an end of blessing Ya’akov, and Ya’akov was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Yitz’chak his father, that Esav his brother came in from his hunting. 31And he also made savory food, and brought it unto his father; and he said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy soul may bless me. 32And Yitz’chak his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born, Esav. 33And Yitz’chak trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. 34When Esav heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. 35And he said, Thy brother came with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing. 36And he said, Is not he rightly named Ya’akov? for he hath supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing for me? 37And Yitz’chak answered and said unto Esav, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with grain and new wine have I sustained him: and what then shall I do for thee, my son? 38And Esav said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esav lifted up his voice, and wept. 39And Yitz’chak his father answered and said unto him:

Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling,
and of the dew of heaven from above. 
40And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve thy brother; 
and it shall come to pass, when thou shalt break loose, 
that thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck. 

41And Esav hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esav said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Ya’akov. 42And the words of Esav her elder son were told to Rivkah; and she sent and called Ya’akov her younger son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esav, as touching thee, doth comfort himself, purposing to kill thee. 43Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; 45until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be bereaved of you both in one day? 

46And Rivkah said to Yitz’chak, I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth: if Ya’akov take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daughters of the land, what good shall my life do me? 

28 And Isaac called Ya’akov, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 2Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. 3And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples; 4and give thee the blessing of Avraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land of thy sojournings, which God gave unto Abraham. 5And Yitz’chak sent away Ya’akov: and he went to Paddan-aram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rivkah, Ya’akov’s and Esav’s mother. 

6Now Esav saw that Yitz’chak had blessed Ya’akov and sent him away to Paddan-aram, to take him a wife from thence; and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan; 7and that Ya’akov obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Paddan-aram: 8and Esav saw that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Yitz’chak his father; 9and Esav went unto Ishmael, and took, besides the wives that he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Avraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. 

PROPHETS | Mal 1:1 -2:7

1

A prophecy, the word of Yehovah to Isra’el through Mal’akhi: 

2 “I love you,” says Yehovah
But you ask, “How do you show us your love?” 
Yehovah answers, “ ‘Esav was Ya‘akov’s brother. 
Yet I loved Ya‘akov 3 but hated ‘Esav. 
I made his mountains desolate and gave his territory to desert jackals.” 
4 Edom says, “We are beaten down now, 
but we will come back and rebuild the ruins.” 

YehovahTzva’ot answers, “They can build, but I will demolish.
They will be called the Land of Wickedness, 
the people with whom Yehovah is permanently angry. 
5 You will see it and say, ‘Yehovah is great, even beyond the borders of Isra’el.’ ”

6 “A son honors his father and a servant his master. But if I’m a father, where is the honor due me? and if I’m a master, where is the respect due me?—says Yehovah-Tzva’ot to you cohanim who despise my name. You ask, ‘How are we despising your name?’ 

7 By offering polluted food on my altar! Now you ask, ‘How are we polluting you?’ By saying that the table of Yehovah doesn’t deserve respect;
8 so that there’s nothing wrong with offering a blind animal as a sacrifice, nothing wrong with offering an animal that’s lame or sick. Try offering such an animal to your governor, and see if he will be pleased with you! Would he even receive you?” asks Yehovah-Tzva’ot. 
9 So if you pray now that God will show us favor, what your actions have accomplished is that Yehovah-Tzva’ot asks, “Will he receive any of you? 
10 Why doesn’t even one of you shut the doors and thus stop this useless lighting of fires on my altar? I take no pleasure in you,” says Yehovah-Tzva’ot“, and I will not receive an offering from you. 

11 For from farthest east to farthest west my name is great among the nations. Offerings are presented to my name everywhere, pure gifts; for my name is great among the nations,” says Yehovah-Tzva’ot. 
12 “But you profane it by saying that the table of Yehovah is polluted, so that the fruit and food offered deserve contempt. 
13 You also say, ‘It’s all so tiresome!’ and sniff scornfully at it,” says YehovahTzva’ot. “Then you bring animals that were taken by violence, or they are lame or sick. This is the sort of offering you bring. Am I supposed to accept this from you?” asks Yehovah. 

14 “Moreover, cursed is the deceiver who has a male animal in his flock that is damaged, but vows and sacrifices to Yehovah anyway. For I am a great king,” says Yehovah-Tzva’ot, “and my name is respected among the nations. 

2:1 “Now, cohanim, this command is for you. 
2 If you won’t listen, if you won’t pay attention to honoring my name,” 
says Yehovah-Tzva’ot,
“then I will send the curse on you; I will turn your blessings into curses. 
Yes, I will curse them, because you pay no attention. 
3 I will reject your seed; I will throw dung in your faces, 
the dung from your festival offerings; and you will be carted off with it. 
4 Then you will know that I sent you this command to affirm my covenant with Levi,” says Yehovah-Tzva’ot. 

5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, 
and I gave him these things. 
It was also one of fear, and he feared me; he was in awe of my name. 
6 The true Torah was in his mouth, and no dishonesty was found on his lips; 
he walked with me in peace and uprightness and turned many away from sin. 

7 A cohen’s lips should safeguard knowledge,
and people should seek Torah from his mouth, 
because he is the messenger of Yehovah-Tzva’ot. 

GOSPEL | Mt. 10:21-38

16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. 17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you; 18yea and before governors and kings shall ye be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. 19But when they deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak. 20For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you. 21And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and the father his child: and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. 22And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. 23But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next: for verily I say unto you, Ye shall not have gone through the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come. 

24A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord. 25It is enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household! 26Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. 27What I tell you in the darkness, speak ye in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, proclaim upon the house-tops. 28And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your Father: 30but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32Every one therefore who shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven. 33But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven. 

34Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law: 36and a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. 37He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. 39He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. 

Are they Blind like Isaac?

Growth takes time. Vision becomes clearer with each step. When someone wants to see, we can walk alongside them. But when someone refuses, the old saying proves true: There is no worse blind person than the one who chooses not to see.

Jacob (Ya'akov), the Patriarch Who Transformed History

Mystical dreams and astonishing encounters marked Jacob’s life—a life full of trials, hardships, and challenges through which his faith was continually tested.

A Brief Insight

This portion recounts the birth of Esav and Ya’akov, sons of Itzjak and Rivka. From the womb, Yehovah reveals that two nations will come from them and that the older will serve the younger. Esav grows into an impulsive hunter; Ya’akov, into an upright and home-centered man. One day, Esav sells his birthright for a bowl of lentils, showing contempt for what is sacred. Later, Rivka helps Ya’akov receive Itzjak’s blessing, fulfilling the divine purpose announced beforehand. This provokes Esav’s anger and sends Ya’akov to the house of Laban, where a new chapter in Yehovah’s plan begins. Ya’akov leaves with nothing but the blessing—and Yehovah’s promise. Esav stays behind, but his bitterness shapes his future. Through imperfect people, Yehovah keeps advancing His unbreakable plan

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