התחלהStart herethree to begin with
Mend the Divine Presence's lack first, and your own need follows
Yitzchak prayed opposite Rivkah, who was barren, and her barrenness was remedied too.
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Why did Rivkah send Yaakov after material blessings?
Because every material thing holds holy sparks from the upper worlds, so Rivkah aimed for the spiritual within the physical.
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Why did Rivkah's painful pregnancy make her feel unworthy?
The Ari taught that righteous women are spared that pain; G-d told her it came from the two nations within her.
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קריאהThe readingGenesis 25:19-28:9 · all of it in the booklet
What each aliyah says, with its page in the booklet. The text itself is on Sefaria.
First Aliyah
Yitzchak, at forty, married Rivkah, who was barren; after he prayed, G-d answered and she conceived twins who struggled within her, and G-d told her that two nations would come from her and the elder would serve the younger. When Esav was born first and Yaakov followed holding his heel, Esav grew into a skilled hunter favored by Yitzchak, while Yaakov, a mild man who stayed in camp, was favored by Rivkah, and later Yaakov obtained Esav's birthright in exchange for stew when Esav came home famished and despised it. During a famine, G-d told Yitzchak not to go down to Egypt but to stay in the land, promising blessing and numerous descendants because Avraham had obeyed G-d's charge.
Second Aliyah
Yitzchak settles in Gerar and, when the men of the place ask about his wife, tells them Rivkah is his sister out of fear that they will kill him for her beauty. After Avimelech king of the Philistines sees Yitzchak fondling Rivkah, he rebukes Yitzchak, orders the people not to touch them on pain of death, and Yitzchak sows in that land and reaps a hundredfold that year, as G-d blesses him.
Third Aliyah
Yitzchak grows very wealthy in Gerar, and the Philistines, envious of him, stop up the wells his father's servants dug in Avraham's days, so Avimelech tells him to leave. Yitzchak then redigs those wells, gives them their old names, and after quarrels over two more wells (named Esek and Sitnah) he digs a third, Rechovot, where no one contends with him, and declares that G-d has made room for them in the land.
Fourth Aliyah
Yitzchak goes up to Be'er Sheva, where G-d appears to him that night and promises to bless him and multiply his descendants for the sake of His servant Avraham. Yitzchak builds an altar there and calls on G-d by name, and his servants dig a well. Avimelech comes from Gerar with his adviser and his general, admits that G-d is with Yitzchak, and proposes a sworn pact: Yitzchak will do them no harm, just as they did him none and sent him away in peace.
Fifth Aliyah
The Torah tells how, after a feast and an exchange of oaths, Yitzchak sends his visitors away in peace. The same day his servants report finding water in the well they dug, which is why the city is called Be'er Sheva. Esav's Hittite wives are a source of bitterness to Yitzchak and Rivkah, and when the blind, aging Yitzchak asks Esav to hunt and prepare food for his blessing, Rivkah has Yaakov disguise himself as Esav with goatskins and bring the food, and Yitzchak, after feeling him and eating, blesses Yaakov.
Sixth Aliyah
Esav comes back from his hunt with a dish of his own, and Yitzchak, trembling, realizes he has already blessed Yaakov and says the blessing must stand. Esav cries out bitterly and begs to be blessed too, and Yitzchak tells him he will live by his sword and serve his brother until he throws off his yoke. When Esav resolves in his heart to kill Yaakov once their father's mourning is over (27:41), Rivkah sends Yaakov to her brother Lavan, and Yitzchak blesses him with the blessing of Avraham and sends him to take a wife from his mother's family.
Seventh Aliyah
Yitzchak sends Yaakov to Paddan-aram to take a wife from the family of Lavan, and Esav, seeing that the Canaanite women displease his father, goes to Yishmael and takes Mahalath, Yishmael's daughter, as an additional wife.
Maftir
Maftir repeats the closing verses of the Seventh Aliyah.
Haftarah
Malachi declares G-d's word to Israel: G-d says He has loved them, though they ask how, and reminds them that He chose Yaakov over Esav, whose land He made a desolation. He then rebukes the priests for offering defiled and blemished sacrifices on His altar, warns that He will curse their blessings and send them out with dung on their faces unless they honor His name, and affirms His covenant with Levi, whose lips guarded knowledge and who walked with Him in peace and uprightness.
מדרשMidrash5 teachings · 2 in the booklet
The classic midrashim on the reading.
Why did two brothers raised together turn out so differently?
Both attended school until thirteen; then one chose study halls, the other idol worship houses.
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Why did Rivkah's twins struggle within her womb?
When Rivkah passed study halls, Yaakov strained to emerge; near idol houses, Esav did.
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Why did aging and illness first appear with the patriarchs?
Avraham asked for old age so people would know whom to honor; Yitzchak asked for suffering.
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Why Esav's marriage at forty was not a fresh start
Esav ensnared and violated married women for forty years before marrying.
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Does G-d punish wrongdoing, or does He wait and collect later?
Esav's bitter cry is repaid when Mordechai cries out in Shushan (Esther 4:1), showing the wrong is collected.
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מפרשיםClassical Commentaries4 teachings
The comments on Toldot that teachers cite most, each beside a voice that reads the verse differently.
Why does the Torah dwell on Yitzchak's three wells?
Esek and Sitnah stand for the First and Second Temples; Rechovot for a peaceful future one.
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Why did Rivkah wish she had never been born?
Ramban says her cry, "Why do I exist?" expresses a wish for non-existence, tied to the verse "I should have been as though I had not been."
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Why Yitzchak favored Esav but Rivkah favored Yaakov
Yitzchak's favor rested on Esav's venison, while Rivkah saw Esav's wickedness and loved only Yaakov.
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Did Avraham keep the Torah before it was given at Sinai?
Ramban holds Avraham learned the Torah by holy spirit and kept it only in the Land.
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חסידותFrom the Chassidic Courts24 teachings · 5 in the booklet
One teaching from each court with something to say on Toldot, many not otherwise available in free English translation.
Mend the Divine Presence's lack first, and your own need follows
Yitzchak prayed opposite Rivkah, who was barren, and her barrenness was remedied too.
AI translationAI summary
Why did Rivkah send Yaakov after material blessings?
Because every material thing holds holy sparks from the upper worlds, so Rivkah aimed for the spiritual within the physical.
AI translationAI summary
Why did Rivkah's painful pregnancy make her feel unworthy?
The Ari taught that righteous women are spared that pain; G-d told her it came from the two nations within her.
AI summary
Why did G-d answer Yitzchak's prayer for a child rather than Rivkah's?
Bat Ayin says Yitzchak could pray on his forefathers' merit, while Rivkah, daughter of a wicked man, relied mainly on her own deeds.
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Why did Yitzchak have to dig his own wells?
Each patriarch was worthy on his own, so Yitzchak could not inherit Avraham's illuminations and had to clear the straight path himself.
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How can everyday actions and inner thoughts both be repaired?
The author links Shlomo's white garments and oil to tzitzit and tefillin, pairing deed-repair with thought-repair.
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Why was Rivkah's pregnancy so painful?
Her early prayer pressed the End before its time, so the twins' conflict within her womb brought suffering.
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Why a personal lack is really a lack in G-d's presence
Yitzchak's prayer opposite his wife fills the lack, and birth follows once union is made.
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Why Yitzchak's prayer for children was answered first
Yitzchak prayed for the Divine Presence's repair, so his own prayer was answered first.
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How can we humble ourselves and still stand tall in prayer?
Coals kept alive under ashes show that the fire of devotion lies hidden in us, as Avraham called himself dust and ashes.
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Why must good and evil grow side by side?
Yaakov strained at Torah's entrances, Esav at idolatry's, each in a real contest.
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How does a person who has drifted from G-d return?
By digging through faith to the living source, the way the Patriarchs taught and Yitzchak restored after the wells were stopped.
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Why does G-d give twice?
Rashi's 'give again' means G-d first gives to the unworthy, then repays their service, like a lost item's owner searching for it.
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Why Yitzchak's greatness came from his father, not himself
At the binding, Yitzchak calls Avraham 'my father,' showing his service flows from Avraham.
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How Yitzchak's well-digging lifts hidden light upward forever
Avraham fed Arabs so they would know Whom they bless; Yitzchak dug wells, revealing hidden water.
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Can fear of G-d lead a person to love Him?
Turning from evil out of fear of punishment still leads a person to love G-d.
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Rivkah's plan was sound, and Yitzchak's words praised Yaakov
The author reads 'mirmah' as 'height,' so Yitzchak praised Yaakov for drawing the blessing from a lofty source.
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Why did Yitzchak's humility bring blessings beyond mazal?
Yitzchak's lowliness at Be'er Sheva drew children, life, and sustenance, since Israel has no mazal of its own.
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Why was Yitzchak able to bear constant awe of G-d?
Avraham's chesed was included in the Akeidah, joining fire with water so Yitzchak could have children.
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Why does Yitzchak ask his son for a kiss?
The kiss is a hint: Israel's good deeds cause an aspect of kisses above, receiving illumination from a higher level.
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Why did Esav ask about tithing salt and straw?
Esav wanted to be the principal purpose of creation rather than secondary to Yaakov.
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How the prayer of the righteous turns anger into mercy
Beit Aharon links that mercy to Rabbi Yishmael's thirteen principles, the Oral Torah joined to G-d.
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Why did Yitzchak go back to digging his father's wells?
After Avimelech told him to leave, Yitzchak saw his own lack of love for Torah and renewed his longing for it.
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Why did Yaakov credit G-d for his blessing so quickly?
Yaakov credited his father's merit, since Yitzchak ate in holiness and made yichudim (unifications) through his meals.
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בני זמננוModern Commentaries2 teachings
Rabbi Sacks's essay on Toldot, and the Netziv on its verses.
Should children be exact copies of their parents?
Yitzchak looked exactly like Avraham, yet each person is unique, never a copy of a parent.
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Why Yitzchak and Rivkah loved their sons differently
Esav served Yitzchak, who enjoyed it, while Rivkah's love for Yaakov deepened day by day.
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הלכה יומיתDaily HalachaKitzur Shulchan Aruch Yomi · Sunday to Shabbat
A few paragraphs of practical law a day: the whole Kitzur in a year, with each festival’s laws learned before it.
The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch was written in 19th-century Hungary. Times and directions of prayer reflect the author's location; ask your rabbi for local practice.
Laws Dealing With Additions to Shemoneh Esrei
There are seasons of the year when special prayers are added to the Shemoneh Esrei. This chapter deals with three such additions: Mashiv haruach, tal u'motor, and yaaleh v'yovoh. It also deals with the laws of Aneinu which is said on Fast days. During the winter we add mashiv haruach (Causer of the wind to blow) umorid hageshem (and the rain to fall) to the second berachah of Shemoneh Esrei. We begin (this addition) with the Musaf prayer of Shemini Atzeres. The shamash (sexton) announces before [Musaf:] Mashiv haruach umorid hageshem. If he did not announce it it is not said then at the silent Musaf prayer. An ill person who prays at home privately, likewise the villagers who have no minyan, should wait with [their] Musaf prayers until the hour of which it is certain that the city synagogues have completed Musaf prayers, and then they, too, can pray Musaf and say mashiv haruach umorid hageshem. It (mashiv haruach…) is said until Musaf of the first day of Pesach (Passover). The congregation as well as the chazzan still say it during the silent prayer. When the chazzan repeats [the Musaf prayer], he (the chazzan) discontinues saying it, and after that the congregation does not say it at the Minchah prayer, because they have already heard that the chazzan has discontinued saying it. A person praying privately, should say the Musaf prayer early enough, in order [to be sure] that the chazzan has not yet discontinued saying it in the city synagogues, because whoever prays [Musaf on the first day of Pesach] after the chazzan has discontinued saying [mashiv haruach] at Musaf, no longer says it [himself]. There are congregations that add, mashiv haruach umorid hatal during the summer. [In those places] the shamash should announce it before Musaf on the first day of Pesach, and then the [congregation] begins to say it in the silent [Shemoneh Esrei of Musaf,] and they discontinue saying umorid hageshem.
Laws Dealing With Additions to Shemoneh Esrei
If you are in doubt [about] whether you added mashiv haruach or not, [then] if thirty days have passed, [meaning:] you already said Shemoneh Esrei ninety times properly, it can be assumed that now, too, you prayed [and added mashiv haruach] by virtue of habit. But [if the doubt arose] within [or before] thirty days [elapsed], you are required to repeat Shemoneh Esrei. The same [rule applies] to tal umatar. If the doubt arose after you already prayed ninety Shemoneh Esreis properly, we presume that now, too, you prayed properly. But before that (before 30 days), you must repeat the Shemoneh Esrei.
Review
No new reading today: a day to review the week.
Laws Dealing With Additions to Shemoneh Esrei · The Laws Pertaining to the Repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei by the Chazzan
On fast days, whether a communal fast day or a private fast day, we add aneinu to the Minchah prayer in the berachah Shema koleinu. After reciting the words: bechol eis tzarah vetzukah, we conclude: ki atah shomea … If you forgot to say aneinu, and you did not remember until after you said: [Baruch Atah] Hashem of the berachah Shomea tefillah, you do not repeat [the berachah] to say [aneinu.] But rather after completing the entire Shemoneh Esrei, after Elokai netzor, before you move your feet, you say it (the aneinu prayer) until [the closing words]: bechol eis tzarah vetzukah and [then] conclude [with the usual] Yihyu le'ratzon …. If you did not remember until after you moved your feet [back] you no longer say it (aneinu).
The Laws Pertaining to the Repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei by the Chazzan · Laws of Compensation When a Prayer is Omitted
If there are ten [men, a minyan], in the synagogue, on a communal fast day who are fasting and completing [the fast], the chazzan adds the prayer aneinu before Refa'einu at Shacharis and Minchah. If he erred and did not say it, if he realized [his omission] before he said "Hashem" of the berachah: Rofei cholei amo Yisrael, he goes back and says aneinu and [then] Refa'einu. But, if he did not realize [his omission] until after he said "Hashem," he completes the berachah Rofei cholei amo Yisrael, and says aneinu in the midst of the berachah Shomea tefillah, and closes the berachah [with] [Baruch atah Hashem] shomea tefillah, as would an individual. If he also forgot there, he adds it after completing Shemoneh Esrei but without a closing berachah.
Laws of Compensation When a Prayer is Omitted
Compensation for [an omitted] prayer is valid only at the very next tefillah, but if the delay was greater, [compensation] is no longer possible. For example: if you did not pray Shacharis and Minchah, then compensation for Minchah is possible [immediately] after Maariv, but for Shacharis, compensation is not possible, since two periods of prayer have passed [and] you failed to pray [Shacharis], neither at its (Shacharis') designated time nor at the time of Minchah.
Laws of Compensation When a Prayer is Omitted · Laws of Tachanun
If you require two Shacharis tefillos or two Minchah tefillos, and you are the chazzan, you fulfill your obligation with the repeating of Shemoneh Esrei aloud.
ארכיוןBack issues8 to date
Sources & translations
| Bereshit Rabbah | The Sefaria Midrash Rabbah, 2022 |
| Ibn Ezra | Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004 |
| Kedushat Levi | Kedushat Levi translated by Rb. Eliyahu Munk |
| Mei HaShiloach | Living waters, the Mei HaShiloach. Trans. and edited by Betsalel Philip Edwards, Jerusalem, J. Aronson 2001 [Revised digital edition, 2021] |
| Radak | Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash |
| Ramban | Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976 |
| Rashbam | Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash |
| Rashi | Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934 |
| Sforno | Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash |
| Steinsaltz | The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English |
| Torah and Haftarah | Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, published by JPS |
| Woodcut illustrations | drawn by AI in the style of a woodcut |
| Kitzur Shulchan Aruch | Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, trans. Rabbi Avrohom Davis, Metsudah Pub., 1996 (CC-BY), via Sefaria |
| Translated by AI | Arvei Nachal, Avodat Yisrael, Bat Ayin, Beit Aharon, Beit Yisrael (Ruzhin), Chiddushei HaRim on Torah, Degel Machaneh Ephraim, Divrei Emet, Esh Kodesh, Maor VaShemesh, Mareh Yechezkel on Torah, Me'or Einayim, Noam Elimelekh, Ohev Yisrael, Ohr HaMeir, Peri Tzadik, Sefat Emet, Shem MiShmuel, Tiferet Shlomo, Torah Ohr, Yismach Moshe, Zera Kodesh (how) |