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Friday, November 1, 2013

Toldos

The parsha starts out telling us that יצחק got married & couldn't have children. He & his wife then davened , were answered & she became pregnant with twins.
As we know, there was constant struggle inside of her causing her to inquire of Hashem through Shem as to what was going on.
She was told שני גוים  בבטנך ושני לאמים ממעיך יפרדו  two nations are in your womb; two regimes from your insides shall be separated.

Ramban explains that Hashem was telling her since these two nations hate each other & will be at war with each other, they are already quarreling in the womb foreshadowing what will ultimately transpire between them as nations. But now, they will rest & she will find peace & tranquility.

It’s a little difficult to understand how, after being told that your children would be separate nations always fighting & hating each other, she should now find peace & tranquility?

The word גוים, nations, is written here as גיים proud ones. Rashi says that proud ones is referring to Antoninus, the Roman emperor, & Rebbi ,the prince, leader of the Jewish people, who were both so wealthy that they were able to have seasonal produce on their tables year round.
Again, it is difficult to understand why Hashem would be telling her about two people who would descend from her children generations later. How does that appease her?

The sefer אמרי שפר explains that Avraham sent Eliezer specifically to his family to find a wife for יצחק because he saw that only from his family would his son have good children; Rivka knew this too.

The midrash tells us that יעקב came from יצחק 's side that was holy & עשו came from Rivka's side that was impure. Once Rivka saw that when she walked by a church עשו tried to come out she thought to herself "what did they need me for if because of me, these kind of children will come to the world?" So Hashem said, "there are two nations in your womb, Rebbi & Antoninus. Despite the fact that Antoninus was from Eisav, he was still a Tzadik.

The gemara tells us that there was a tunnel that went from Antoninus's palace to Rebbi's home & that every day he would go & learn with Rebbi taking two slaves with him. One he would kill when he got to Rebbi's door while the other one would wait for him to go back. Then he would kill that one when he got home so that no one would know that he went to learn with Rebbi or he would have been killed. Not only did Antoninus go & learn with Rebbi but he would serve him as well, catering to his every need.

This is what was originally supposed to occur: Eisav serving Yaakov. Hashem was telling her that even though Eisav was bad, one of his descendants would be good. Only through Rivka could that have happened, for had יצחק married a girl from Canaan, there would have been no good goyim. Now that he married Rivka, there was Antoninus & others that followed him.

Perhaps this is why the Ramban said she could find peace; for even though there would be the fighting now, there would also be a time of rest during the time of Rebbi & Antoninus. Then, the descendant of Eisav & the descendant of Yaakov would finally be at peace & and serve as an example of how it was meant to be. This teaches us that no matter where a person comes from or where he's been, there is always the chance to turn around & know that all will turn out right. Even if it takes generations, it’s never too late!

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