Parsha Toldot: Torah Tricks

This week our Torah portion (parsha) is called Generations (Toldot in Hebrew) because the parsha starts out by saying that these are the generations of Yitzhak (Isaac) son of Abraham.  It tells us of the difficult pregnancy Rivka (Rebecca) had and her giving berth to twins:  Asov (Esau) and Yakov (Jacob).  It quickly hints at the character of the two, and then tells the tale of how Yakov bought the birthright of the firstborn from a tired Asov for a … Continue reading

Parsha v’Zot haBrachah (and Simchat Torah): The Birth-Blessing Torah

Hello and welcome to the end…or is it really the beginning? I’m not really sure. Last Shabbat was the Shabbat of Succot and we read a special parsha (Torah portion). Then on Thursday in Israel (or Friday if you are outside of Israel) we read the final parsha of the Torah and also the beginning of the first parsha. Then, this coming Shabbat we will read the first parsha in its entirety. The end result of all this is that … Continue reading