Toldot
Genesis 25:19 – 28:9
Rebekah, barren for twenty years, conceives twins after Isaac's prayer. Esau and Jacob struggle in the womb, and their rivalry defines the parasha: Esau sells his birthright for lentil stew, and Jacob, guided by Rebekah, obtains Isaac's blessing through deception. Isaac re-digs his father's wells and makes a covenant with Abimelech at Beer-sheba. Esau's marriage to Hittite women grieves his parents, and Jacob is sent away to find a wife among Rebekah's family.
Key figures
- Isaac (Yitzchak) — Patriarch who prays for Rebekah, deceived into blessing Jacob
- Rebekah (Rivkah) — Mother of the twins, orchestrates Jacob's receipt of the blessing
- Jacob (Yaakov) — Younger twin, acquires the birthright and the paternal blessing
- Esau (Esav) — Elder twin, sells his birthright, loses his father's blessing
- Abimelech — Philistine king who makes a covenant with Isaac
Famous verses
- 25:27 And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a wholesome man, dwelling in tents.
- 27:22 And Jacob went near to Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said: "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
- 25:34 And Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. So Esau despised his birthright.
Haftarah: Malachi 1:1-2:7 — Malachi opens with God's declaration 'I loved Jacob but rejected Esau,' directly reflecting the parasha's theme of divine election between the two brothers.
Total gematria 346,079 is a prime number.