Toledot, Toldos, or Tol'doth (תּוֹלְדֹת — Hebrew for “generations” or “descendants,” the second word and the first distinctive word in the parshah) is the sixth weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 25:19–28:9. Jews in the Diaspora read it the sixth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in November or early December.

Isaac Blessing Jacob (1637 painting by Giuseppe Ribera)

Summary[link]

Esau and Jacob Presented to Isaac (painting circa 1779–1801 by Benjamin West)

Esau and Jacob[link]

Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, and when she proved barren, Isaac pleaded with God on her behalf, and God allowed Rebekah to conceive. (Genesis 25:20–21) As twins struggled in her womb, she inquired of God, who answered her that two separate nations were in her womb, one mightier than the other, and the older would serve the younger. (Genesis 25:22–23) When Rebekah gave birth, the first twin emerged red and hairy, so they named him Esau, and his brother emerged holding Esau’s heel, so they named him Jacob. (Genesis 25:24–26) Isaac was 60 years old when they were born. (Genesis 25:26)

Esau Selling His Birthright (painting circa 1627 by Hendrick ter Brugghen)

Esau became a skillful hunter and outdoorsman, but Jacob remained a mild man and camp-bound. (Genesis 25:27) Isaac favored Esau for his game, but Rebekah favored Jacob. (Genesis 25:28) Once when Jacob was cooking, Esau returned to the camp famished and demanded some of Jacob’s red stew. (Genesis 25:29–30) Jacob demanded that Esau first sell him his birthright, and Esau did so with an oath, spurning his birthright. (Genesis 25:31–34)

Wife as sister[link]

Another famine struck the land, and Isaac went to the house of the Philistine King Abimelech in Gerar. (Genesis 26:1) God told Isaac not to go down to Egypt, but to stay in the land that God would show him, for God would remain with him, bless him, and assign the land to him and his numerous heirs, as God had sworn to Abraham, who had obeyed God and kept God’s commandments. (Genesis 26:2–5)

Isaac, A Lover of Peace (illustration from a Bible card published 1906 by the Providence Lithograph Company)

When the men of Gerar asked Isaac about his beautiful wife, he said that she was his sister out of fear that the men might kill him on account of her. (Genesis 26:7) But looking out of the window, Abimelech saw Isaac fondling Rebekah, and Abimelech summoned Isaac to complain that Isaac had called her his sister. (Genesis 26:8–9) Isaac explained that he had done so to save his life. (Genesis 26:9) Abimelech complained that one of the people might have lain with her, and Isaac would have brought guilt upon the Philistines, and Abimelech charged the people not to molest Isaac or Rebekah, on pain of death. (Genesis 26:10–11)

Isaac and Abimilech Swear an Oath of Friendship to Each Other (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)

God blessed Isaac, who reaped bountiful harvests and grew very wealthy, to the envy of the Philistines. (Genesis 26:12–14) The Philistines stopped up all the wells that Abraham’s servants had dug, and Abimelech sent Isaac away, for his household had become too big. (Genesis 26:15–16) So Isaac left to settle in the wadi of Gerar, where he dug anew the wells that Abraham’s servants had dug and called them by the same names that his father had. (Genesis 26:17–18) But when Isaac's servants dug two new wells, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and claimed them for their own, so Isaac named those wells Esek and Sitnah. (Genesis 26:19–21) Isaac moved on and dug a third well, and they did not quarrel over it, so he named it Rehoboth. (Genesis 26:22)

Isaac went to Beersheba, and that night God appeared to Isaac, telling Isaac not to fear, for God was with him, and would bless him and increase his offspring for Abraham’s sake. (Genesis 26:23–24) So Isaac built an altar and invoked the Lord by name. (Genesis 26:25) And Isaac pitched his tent there and his servants began digging a well. (Genesis 26:25)

Then Abimelech, Ahuzzath his councilor, and Phicol his general came to Isaac, and Isaac asked them why they had come, since they had driven Isaac away. (Genesis 26:26–27) They answered that they now recognized that God had been with Isaac, and sought a treaty that neither would harm the other. (Genesis 26:28–29) Isaac threw a feast for the Philistines, and the next morning, they exchanged oaths and the Philistines departed from him in peace. (Genesis 26:30–31) Later in the day, Isaac's servants told him that they had found water, and Isaac named the well Shibah, so that place became known as Beersheba. (Genesis 26:32–33)

When Esau was 40 years old, he married two Hittite women, Judith and Basemath, causing bitterness for Isaac and Rebekah. (Genesis 26:34–35)

Esau Going for Venison (illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible)

Isaac’s blessing[link]

When Isaac was old and his sight had dimmed, he called Esau and asked him to hunt some game and prepare a dish, so that Isaac might give him his innermost blessing before he died. (Genesis 27:1–4) Rebekah had been listening, and when Esau departed, she instructed Jacob to fetch her two choice kids so that she might prepare a dish that Jacob could take to Isaac and receive his blessing. (Genesis 27:5–10) Jacob complained to Rebekah that since Esau was hairy, Isaac might touch him, discover him to be a trickster, and curse him. (Genesis 27:11–12) But Rebekah called the curse upon herself, insisting that Jacob do as she directed. (Genesis 27:13) So Jacob got the kids, and Rebekah prepared a dish, had Jacob put on Esau’s best clothes, and covered Jacob’s hands and neck with the kid’s skins. (Genesis 27:14–17)

Isaac Blessing Jacob (engraving by Gustave Doré from the 1865 La Sainte Bible)

When Jacob went to Isaac, he asked which of his sons had arrived, and Jacob said that he was Esau and asked for Isaac’s blessing. (Genesis 27:18–19) Isaac asked him how he had succeeded so quickly, and he said that God had granted him good fortune. (Genesis 27:20) Isaac asked Jacob to come closer that Isaac might feel him to determine whether he was really Esau. (Genesis 27:21) Isaac felt him and wondered that the voice was Jacob’s, but the hands were Esau’s. (Genesis 27:22) Isaac questioned if it was really Esau, and when Jacob assured him, Isaac asked for the game and Jacob served him the kids and wine. (Genesis 27:24–25) Isaac bade his son to come close and kiss him, and Isaac smelled his clothes, remarking that he smelled like the fields. (Genesis 27:26–27) Isaac blessed Jacob, asking God to give him abundance, make peoples serve him, make him master over his brothers, curse those who cursed him, and bless those who blessed him. (Genesis 27:27–29)

Isaac upon Esau’s Return (fresco circa 1292–1294 by Giotto di Bondone)

Just as Jacob left, Esau returned from the hunt, prepared a dish for Isaac, and asked Isaac for his blessing. (Genesis 27:30–31) Isaac asked who he was, and Esau said that it was he. (Genesis 27:32) Isaac trembled and asked who it was then who had served him, received his blessing, and now must remain blessed. (Genesis 27:33) Esau burst into sobbing, and asked Isaac to bless him too, but Isaac answered that Jacob had taken Esau’s blessing with guile. (Genesis 27:34–35) Esau asked whether Jacob had been so named that he might supplant Esau twice, first taking his birthright and now his blessing. (Genesis 27:36) Esau asked Isaac whether he had not reserved a blessing for Esau, but Isaac answered that he had made Jacob master over him and sustained him with grain and wine, and asked what, then, he could still do for Esau. (Genesis 27:37) Esau wept and pressed Isaac to bless him, too, so Isaac blessed him to enjoy the fat of the earth and the dew of heaven, to live by his sword and to serve his brother, but also to break his yoke. (Genesis 27:38–40)

Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob, and told himself that he would kill Jacob upon Isaac’s death. (Genesis 27:41) When Esau’s words reached Rebekah, she told Jacob to flee to Haran and her brother Laban and remain there until Esau’s fury subsided and Rebekah fetched him from there, so that Rebekah would not lose both sons in one day. (Genesis 27:42–45) Rebekah told Isaac her disgust with the idea that Jacob might marry a Hittite woman, so Isaac sent for Jacob, blessed him, and instructed him not to take a Canaanite wife, but to go to Padan-aram and the house of Bethuel to take a wife from among Laban’s daughters. (Genesis 27:46–28:2) And Isaac blessed Jacob with fertility and the blessing of Abraham, that he might possess the land that God had assigned to Abraham. (Genesis 28:3–4)

When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and charged him not to take a Canaanite wife, Esau realized that the Canaanite women displeased Isaac, and Esau married Ishmael’s daughter Mahalath. (Genesis 28:5–9)

Birth of Esau and Jacob (illumination circa 1475–1480 by François Maitre from Augustine's La Cité de Dieu, at the Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum)

The Birth of Esau and Jacob (illumination by Master of Jean de Mandeville, Paris, from a Bible Historiale circa 1360–1370, at the J. Paul Getty Museum)

In classical rabbinic interpretation[link]

Genesis chapter 25[link]

Rava argued that one may deduce from Isaac’s example that a man may remain for 20 years with an infertile wife. For of Isaac, Genesis 25:20 says, “And Isaac was 40 years old when he took Rebecca . . . to be his wife,” and Genesis 25:26 says, “And Isaac was 60 years old when she bore them” (which shows that Isaac waited 20 years). Rav Nachman replied that Isaac was infertile (and he knew that the couple was childless because of him). Rabbi Isaac deduced that Isaac was infertile from Genesis 25:21, which says, “And Isaac entreated the Lord opposite his wife.” Rabbi Isaac taught that Genesis 25:21 does not say “for his wife” but “opposite his wife.” Rabbi Isaac deduced from this that both were barren (as he had to pray for himself as well as her). The Gemara countered that if this were so, then Genesis 25:21 should not read, “And the Lord let Himself be entreated by him,” but rather should read, “And the Lord let Himself be entreated by them” (as Isaac's prayer was on behalf of them both). But the Gemara explained that Genesis 25:21 reads, “And the Lord let Himself be entreated by him,” because the prayer of a righteous person who is the child of a righteous person (Isaac son of Abraham) is even more effective than the prayer of a righteous person who is the child of a wicked person (Rebekah daughter of Bethuel). Rabbi Isaac taught that the Patriarchs and Matriarchs were infertile because God longs to hear the prayer of the righteous. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 64a.)

Selling the Birthright (1640 painting by Matthias Stom)

Noting that the three-letter root עתר used in Genesis 25:21 can mean either “entreat” or “pitchfork,” Rabbi Eleazar (or others say Rabbi Isaac) taught that the prayers of the righteous are like a pitchfork. Just as the pitchfork turns the grain from place to place in the barn, so the prayers of the righteous turn the mind of God from the attribute of harshness to that of mercy. (Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 14a (Rabbi Eleazar), Yevamot 64a (Rabbi Isaac).)

The Mess of Pottage (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)

Reading the words, “and she went to inquire of the Lord,” in Genesis 25:22, a Midrash wondered how Rebekah asked God about her pregnancy, and whether there were synagogues and houses of study in those days. The Midrash concluded that Rebekah went to the school of Shem and Eber to inquire. The Midrash deduced that this teaches that to visit a Sage is like visiting the Divine Presence. (Genesis Rabbah 63:6.)

The Rabbis of the Talmud read Edom to stand for Rome. Thus, Rav Nahman bar Isaac interpreted the words, “and the one people shall be stronger than the other people,” in Genesis 25:23 to teach that at any one time, one of Israel and Rome will be ascendant, and the other will be subjugated. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 6a.)

Rabbi Haninah taught that Esau paid great attention to his parent (horo), his father, whom he supplied with meals, as Genesis 25:28 reports, “Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his venison.” Rabbi Samuel the son of Rabbi Gedaliah concluded that God decided to reward Esau for this. When Jacob offered Esau gifts, Esau answered Jacob in Genesis 33:9, “I have enough (רָב, rav); do not trouble yourself.” So God declared that with the same expression that Esau thus paid respect to Jacob, God would command Jacob’s descendants not to trouble Esau’s descendants, and thus God told the Israelites in Deuteronomy 2:3, “You have circled this mountain (הָר, har) long enough (רַב, rav).” (Deuteronomy Rabbah 1:17.)

Esau Sells His Birthright for Pottage of Lentils (illustration from the 1728 Figures de la Bible)

A Tanna taught in a Baraita that the day recounted in Genesis 25:29–34 on which Esau spurned his birthright was also the day on which Abraham died, and Jacob was cooking lentils to comfort Isaac. In the Land of Israel they taught in the name of Rabbah bar Mari that it was appropriate to cook lentils because just as the lentil has no mouth (no groove like other legumes), so the mourner has no mouth to talk but sits silently. Others explained that just as the lentil is round, so mourning comes round to all people. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 16b.)

Jacob Offers a Dish of Lentels to Esau for the Birthright (17th Century painting after Gioacchino Assereto)

Rabbi Johanan taught that Esau committed five sins on the day recounted in Genesis 25:29–34. Rabbi Johanan deduced from the similar use of the words “the field” in Genesis 25:29 and in connection with the betrothed maiden in Deuteronomy 22:27 that Esau dishonored a betrothed maiden. Rabbi Johanan deduced from the similar use of the word “faint” in Genesis 25:29 and in connection with murderers in Jeremiah 4:31 that Esau committed a murder. Rabbi Johanan deduced from the similar use of the word “this” in Genesis 25:32 and in the words “This is my God” in Exodus 15:2 that Esau denied belief in God. Rabbi Johanan deduced from Esau’s words, “Behold, I am on the way to die,” in Genesis 25:32 that Esau denied the resurrection of the dead. And for Esau’s fifth sin, Rabbi Johanan cited the report of Genesis 25:34 that “Esau despised his birthright.” (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 16b.)

Genesis chapter 26[link]

A Midrash cited Genesis 26:1 to show that there is double rejoicing in the case of a righteous one who is the child of a righteous one. (Genesis Rabbah 63:1.) The Mishnah and Tosefta deduced from Genesis 26:5 that Abraham kept the entire Torah even before it was revealed. (Mishnah Kiddushin 4:14; Tosefta Kiddushin 5:21; Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 82a.)

The Tosefta deduced from the contrast between the plenty indicated in Genesis 24:1 and the famine indicated in Genesis 26:1 that God gave the people food and drink and a glimpse of the world to come while the righteous Abraham was alive, so that the people might understand what they had lost when he was gone. (Tosefta Sotah 10:5.) The Tosefta reported that when Abraham was alive, the wells gushed forth water, but the Philistines filled the wells with earth (as reported in Genesis 26:15), for after Abraham died the wells no longer gushed forth water, and the Philistines filled them so that they would not pose a hazard to travelers. But when Isaac came along, the wells gushed water again (as indicated in Genesis 26:18–19) and there was plenty again (as indicated in Genesis 26:12) (Tosefta Sotah 10:6.)

Isaac and Rebecca Spied upon by Abimelech (fresco circa 1518–1519 by Raphael in the loggia on the second floor of the Palazzí Pontificí in Vatican City)

Interpreting God’s command to Isaac in Genesis 26:2 not to go to Egypt, Rabbi Hoshaya taught that God told Isaac that he was (by virtue of his near sacrifice in Genesis 22) a burnt-offering without blemish, and as a burnt offering became unfit if it was taken outside of the Temple grounds, so would Isaac become unfit if he went outside of the Promised Land. (Genesis Rabbah 64:3.)

Rabbi Dosetai ben Yannai said in the name of Rabbi Meir that when God told Isaac that God would bless him for Abraham’s sake (Genesis 26:24), Isaac interpreted that one earns a blessing only through one’s actions, and he arose and sowed, as reported in Genesis 26:12. (Tosefta Berakhot 6:8.)

Reading the verb “to see” repeated (רָאוֹ רָאִינוּ, ra’o ra’iynu) in the passage “We saw plainly” in Genesis 26:28, a Midrash taught that Abimelech and his party had seen two things — Isaac’s deeds and the deeds of his parents. (Genesis Rabbah 64:10.)

Reading the report of Esau’s marriage to two Hittite women in Genesis 26:34, a Midrash found signs of the duplicity of Esau and his spiritual descendants, the Romans. Rabbi Phinehas (and other say Rabbi Helkiah) taught in Rabbi Simon’s name that Moses and Asaph (author of Psalm 80) exposed the Romans’ deception. Asaph said in Psalm 80:14: “The boar of the wood ravages it.” While Moses said in Deuteronomy 14:7–8: “you shall not eat of . . . the swine, because he parts the hoof but does not chew the cud.” The Midrash explained that Scripture compares the Roman Empire to a swine, because when the swine lies down, it puts out its parted hoofs, as if to advertise that it is clean. And so the Midrash taught that the wicked Roman Empire robbed and oppressed, yet pretended to execute justice. So the Midrash taught that for 40 years, Esau would ensnare married women and violate them, yet when he reached the age of 40, he compared himself to his righteous father Isaac, telling himself that as his father Isaac was 40 years old when he married (as reported in Genesis 25:19), so he too would marry at the age of 40. (Genesis Rabbah 65:1.)

Genesis chapter 27[link]

Rabbi Hama ben Hanina taught that our ancestors were never without a scholars’ council. Abraham was an elder and a member of the scholars’ council, as Genesis 24:1 says, “And Abraham was an elder (זָקֵן, zaken) well stricken in age.” Eliezer, Abraham’s servant, was an elder and a member of the scholars’ council, as Genesis 24:2 says, “And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all he had,” which Rabbi Eleazar explained to mean that he ruled over — and thus knew and had control of — the Torah of his master. Isaac was an elder and a member of the scholars’ council, as Genesis 27:1 says: “And it came to pass when Isaac was an elder (זָקֵן, zaken).” Jacob was an elder and a member of the scholars’ council, as Genesis 48:10 says, “Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age (זֹּקֶן, zoken).” In Egypt they had the scholars’ council, as Exodus 3:16 says, “Go and gather the elders of Israel together.” And in the Wilderness, they had the scholars’ council, as in Numbers 11:16, God directed Moses to “Gather . . . 70 men of the elders of Israel.” (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 28b.)

Jacob and Rebekah (illustration from a Bible card published 1906 by the Providence Lithograph Company)

Jacob Deceives Isaac (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)

Rabbi Eleazar taught that Isaac’s blindness, reported in Genesis 27:1, was caused by his looking at the wicked Esau. But Rabbi Isaac taught that Abimelech’s curse of Sarah caused her son Isaac’s blindness. Rabbi Isaac read the words, “it is for you a covering (kesut) of the eyes,” in Genesis 20:16 not as kesut, “covering,” but as kesiyat, “blinding.” Rabbi Isaac concluded that one should not consider a small matter the curse of even an ordinary person. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 28a; see also Babylonian Talmud Bava Kamma 93a.) Alternatively, a Midrash interpreted the words “his eyes were dim from seeing” in Genesis 27:1 to teach that Isaac’s eyesight dimmed as a result of his near sacrifice in Genesis 22, for when Abraham bound Isaac, the ministering angels wept, as Isaiah 33:7 says, “Behold, their valiant ones cry without, the angels of peace weep bitterly,” and tears dropped from the angels’ eyes into Isaac’s, leaving their mark and causing Isaac’s eyes to dim when he became old. (Genesis Rabbah 65:10.)

Rabbi Eleazar taught that deceptive speech is like idolatry. Rabbi Eleazar deduced the similarity from the common use of the word “deceiver” to describe Jacob’s deception his father in Genesis 27:12, where Jacob says, “I shall seem to him as a deceiver,” and to describe idols in Jeremiah 10:15, where idols are described as “the work of deceivers.” (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 92a.)

But the Gemara cited Jacob as the exemplar of one who, in the words of Psalm 15:3, “has no slander on his tongue,” as Jacob’s protest to Rebekah in Genesis 27:12, “I shall seem to him as a deceiver,” demonstrated that Jacob did not take readily to deception. (Babylonian Talmud Makkot 24a.)

Isaac Is Deceived by Jacob (woodcut by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld from the 1860 Die Bibel in Bildern)

Rabbi Johanan taught that when Jacob explained his rapid success in obtaining the meat by saying in Genesis 27:20 that it was “because the Lord your God sent me good speed,” he was like a raven bringing fire to his nest, courting disaster. For when Jacob said “the Lord your God sent me good speed,” Isaac thought to himself that he knew that Esau did not customarily mention the name of God, and if the person before him did so, he must not have been Esau but Jacob. Consequently, Isaac told him in Genesis 27:21, “Come near, I pray, that I may feel you, my son.” (Genesis Rabbah 65:19.)

Isaac Blessing Jacob (1638 painting by Govert Flinck)

Reading Isaac’s observation in Genesis 27:27, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed,” Rav Judah the son of Rav Samuel bar Shilat said in the name of Rav that Jacob smelled like an apple orchard. (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 29b.)

Rabbi Judah ben Pazi interpreted Isaac’s blessing of Jacob with dew in Genesis 27:28 merely to pass along to his son what God had deeded to his father Abraham for all time. (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 55b.) And Rabbi Ishmael deduced from Isaac’s curse of those who cursed Jacob and blessing of those who blessed Jacob in Genesis 27:29 that Jews need not respond to those who curse or bless them, for the Torah has already decreed the response. (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 85b.)

Interpreting why in Genesis 27:33 “Isaac trembled very exceedingly,” Rabbi Johanan observed that it was surely unusual for a man who has two sons to tremble when one goes out and the other comes in. Rabbi Johanan taught that Isaac trembled because when Esau came in, Gehenna came in with him. Rabbi Aha said that the walls of the house began to seethe from the heat of Gehenna. Hence Genesis 27:33 asks, “who then (אֵפוֹא, eifo)?” for Isaac asked who would be roast (leafot) in Gehenna, him or Jacob? (Genesis Rabbah 77:2.)

Rabbi Hama ben Hanina interpreted the question “who then?” in Genesis 27:33 to ask who then intervened between Isaac and God that Jacob should receive the blessings. Rabbi Hama ben Hanina taught that Isaac thereby hinted at Rebekah’s intervention. (Genesis Rabbah 77:2.)

Reading Genesis 27:41, Rabbi Eleazar contrasted Esau’s jealousy with Reuben’s magnanimity. As Genesis 25:33 reports, Esau voluntarily sold his birthright, but as Genesis 27:41 says, “Esau hated Jacob,” and as Genesis 27:36 says, “And he said, ‘Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he has supplanted me these two times.’” In Reuben’s case, Joseph took Reuben’s birthright from him against his will, as 1 Chronicles 5:1 reports, “for as much as he defiled his father’s couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph.” Nonetheless, Reuben was not jealous of Joseph, as Genesis 37:21 reports, “And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand.” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 7b.)

Genesis chapter 28[link]

A Tanna taught in a Baraita that the exalted position of a groom atones for his sins. The Gemara cited Genesis 28:9 as a proof text. The Gemara noted that Genesis 28:9 reports that “Esau went to Ishmael, and took Machalat the daughter of Ishmael, as a wife,” but Genesis 36:3 identifies Esau’s wife as “Basemat, Ishmael's daughter.” The Gemara explained that the name Machalat is cognate with the Hebrew word for forgiveness, mechilah, and thus deduced that Genesis 28:9 teaches that Esau’s sins were forgiven upon his marriage. (Jerusalem Talmud Bikkurim 23b.)

In the liturgy[link]

In the Blessing after Meals (Birkat Hamazon), at the close of the fourth blessing (of thanks for God’s goodness), Jews allude to God’s blessing of the Patriarchs described in Gensis 24:1, 27:33, and 33:11. (Menachem Davis. The Schottenstein Edition Siddur for the Sabbath and Festivals with an Interlinear Translation, 172. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2002. ISBN 1-57819-697-3. Reuven Hammer. Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals, 342. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. ISBN 0-916219-20-8.)

The Weekly Maqam[link]

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parsha. For Parsha Toledot, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Mahour, the maqam that portrays emotional instability and anger. This maqam is similar to Maqam Rast in tone. It is appropriate, because in this parsha, Esau portrays these character traits as he loses out on the major blessings.

Commandments[link]

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are no commandments in the parshah. (Maimonides. Mishneh Torah. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:87. 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)

Malachi (Greek Orthodox icon)

Haftarah[link]

The haftarah for the parshah is:

• for Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardi Jews: Malachi 1:1–2:7
• for Karaite Jews: Isaiah 65:23–66:18

Further reading[link]

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Biblical[link]

• Genesis 15:5 (numerous as stars); 22:17 (numerous as stars).
• Deuteronomy 1:10 (numerous as stars); 17:16 (not to go to Egypt).
• Joshua 24:4.
• Jeremiah 42:13-22 (not to go to Egypt).
• Malachi 1:2–3.

Josephus

Early nonrabbinic[link]

• Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews 1:18:1–2, 4–8, 19:1; 2:1:1.
• Romans 9:6–13.
• Hebrews 11:20; 12:16–17.

Classical rabbinic[link]

• Mishnah: Mishnah Kiddushin 4:14. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 499. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
• Tosefta: Berakhot 6:8; Sotah 10:5–6; Kiddushin 5:21. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:39, 876, 947. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2.
• Sifre to Deuteronomy 2:3. Land of Israel, circa 250–350 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifre to Deuteronomy: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:26. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-145-7.

Talmud

• Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 55b, 85b; Bikkurim 23b; Sukkah 21a. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 2, 12, 22. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006–2008.
• Genesis Rabbah 63:1–67:13. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
• Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 5b, 56b, 57b; Eruvin 104b; Pesachim 5a, 42b; Yoma 28b; Sukkah 5b, 14a; Taanit 29b; Megillah 6a, 28a; Moed Katan 2a; Yevamot 64a; Ketubot 112a; Nedarim 32a; Sotah 11a, 12b, 13a, 41b; Gittin 57b; Bava Kamma 92b–93a; Bava Batra 15a, 16b, 123a; Sanhedrin 12a, 37a, 69a, 92a, 105a; Makkot 10a, 24a; Avodah Zarah 2b, 11a. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

Rashi

Medieval[link]

• Rashi. Commentary. Genesis 25–28. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:271–307. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9.
• Judah Halevi. Kuzari. 2:80. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 128. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
• Zohar 1:134a–46b. Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.

Hobbes

Modern[link]

• Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 3:36. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 460. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0-14-043195-0.
• Abraham Isaac Kook. The Moral Principles. Early 20th Century. Reprinted in Abraham Isaac Kook: the Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems. Translated by Ben Zion Bokser, 142, 162. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press 1978. ISBN 0-8091-2159-X.
• Irving Fineman. Jacob, An Autobiograhical Novel, 11–13, 16–18. New York: Random House, 1941.

Mann

• Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 37, 91, 97–100, 103–08, 113–14, 116–17, 134, 150, 153–73, 192–94, 242, 257, 298-99, 335, 340–41, 404, 414, 417, 428–30, 449, 524, 538, 669–70, 693, 806, 809. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
• Roland de Vaux. “The Separate Traditions of Abraham and Jacob.” Biblical Archaeology Review. 6 (4) (July/Aug. 1980).
• Katherine Paterson. Jacob Have I Loved. New York: HarperCollins, 1980. ISBN 0-690-04078-4.
• Carl D. Evans. “The Jacob Cycle in Genesis: The Patriarch Jacob — An ‘Innocent Man’: Moral ambiguity in the biblical portrayal.” Bible Review. 2 (1) (Spring 1986).
• Marc Gellman. “The Strong Man Who Cried.” In Does God Have a Big Toe? Stories About Stories in the Bible, 57–59. New York: HarperCollins, 1989. ISBN 0-06-022432-0.
• Susan Ackerman. “Child Sacrifice: Returning God’s Gift: Barren women give birth to exceptional children.” Bible Review. 9 (3) (June 1993).

Wiesel

• Aaron Wildavsky. Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel, 5–6, 8, 13, 15, 17–29. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. ISBN 1-56000-081-3.
• Savina J. Teubal. “Naming is Creating: Biblical women hold the power.” Bible Review. 11 (4) (Aug. 1995).
• Marc Gellman. “Bless Me, Too!” In God’s Mailbox: More Stories About Stories in the Bible, 75–79. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1996. ISBN 0-688-13169-7.
• Elie Wiesel. “Supporting Roles: Esau.” Bible Review. 14 (2) (Apr. 1998).
• Jack Miles. “Supporting Roles: Jacob’s Wrestling Match: Was it an angel or Esau?” Bible Review. 14 (5) (Oct. 1998).
• Suzanne A. Brody. “Esau’s Prediction.” In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 67. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.

Goldstein

• Jonathan Goldstein. “Jacob and Esau.” In Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bible! 79–114. New York: Riverhead Books, 2009. ISBN 978-1-59448-367-7.
• Raymond Westbrook. “Good as His Word: Jacob Manipulates Justice.” Biblical Archaeology Review. 35 (3) (May/June 2009): 50–55, 64.

External links[link]

Texts[link]

• Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation
• Hear the parshah chanted
• Hear the parshah read in Hebrew

Commentaries[link]

• Academy for Jewish Religion, California
• Academy for Jewish Religion, New York
• Aish.com
• American Jewish University
• Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles
• Bar-Ilan University
• Chabad.org
• eparsha.com
• Jewish Agency for Israel
• Jewish Theological Seminary
• G-dcast
• The Israel Koschitzky Virtual Beit Midrash
• Miriam Aflalo
• MyJewishLearning.com
• Ohr Sameach
• Orthodox Union
• OzTorah - Torah from Australia
• Oz Ve Shalom — Netivot Shalom
• Pardes from Jerusalem
• Parshah Parts
• Rabbi Dov Linzer
• RabbiShimon.com
• Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
• Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
• Reconstructionist Judaism
• Sephardic Institute
• Shiur.com
• 613.org Jewish Torah Audio
• Tanach Study Center
• Teach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry Hill
• Torah from Dixie
• Torah.org
• TorahVort.com
• Union for Reform Judaism
• United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
• United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
• What’s Bothering Rashi?
• Yeshivat Chovevei Torah
• Yeshiva University

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