"I Loved Ya'aqov; And I Hated Eisav" (Malachi 1.2-3)

3 Kislev 5787
Erev Shabbat Kodesh
Parashat Toldot 

Parsha Summary by Rabbi Aron Tendler 

1st Aliya: Yitzchak is 40 years old (2088) when he marries Rivkah. After 20 years, Esav and Yakov are born. The Parsha jumps from their birth to Yakov’s purchase of the 1st born rights from Esav at the age of 15. (2123 – the day Avraham died)

2nd Aliya: The Parsha returns to the story of Yitzchak and Rivkah and the famine which forces them to settle among the Plishtim. Yitzchak, like his father before him, has a moral confrontation with Avimelech, after which his fields are uniquely prolific and financially successful.

3rd Aliya: Yitzchak’s financial success leads to jealousy with his Plishtim neighbors. He re-digs Avraham’s wells, resulting in a confrontation with the Plishtim over water rights. He moves back to Beer Sheva.

4th Aliya: Hashem (G-d), in a dream, confirms for Yitzchak the future of his children. Avimelech, the King of the Plishtim, and his General, Phicol, approach Yitzchak to make a peace treaty.

5th Aliya: The treaty between Yitzchak and the Plishtim is celebrated. The Parsha returns to the story of Yakov and Esav. Esav’s marriage to two Canaanite women at the age of 40 (2148) brings disappointment to Yitzchak and Rivkah. In 2171, when Yakov and Esav are 63 and Yitzchak is 123, Yitzchak blesses Yakov and Esav. The Parsha details the duplicity of Yakov and Rivkah in fooling Yitzchak.

6th Aliya: Yitzchak blesses Yakov with spiritual and material gain, after which Esav returns to discover Yakov’s plot. He receives his own blessing for material gain, and is determined to kill Yakov. Rivkah, fearful for Yakov’s life, convinces Yitzchak to send Yakov to her brother Lavan in search of a shiduch – a wife. Yitzchak confirms on Yakov the future of the Jewish nation before his departure to Lavan.

7th Aliya: Yakov departs for Padan Aram, and Esav marries the daughter of Yishmael. (his 1/2 1st cousin)

Teaching Redemption Teaching Truth: Parshas Toldos by Rabbi Aron Tendler

~ Shabbat Shalom ~

"The Moment After..."

2 Kislev 5787 

(H/T Shirat Devorah)

War with Iran? The Moment After -
The Messiah Will Be Revealed...

1 Kislev : The Countdown to Hanukkah Begins

 1 Kislev 5787
 Rosh Chodesh Bet

Final Judgment on Hanukkah: Last Day Before Book of Life is Sealed 

The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 16b) states that the judgment of the fully righteous and the fully wicked is decided on Rosh Hashanah, while the rest of mankind is given till Yom Kippur to merit a good judgment. The Zohar (Vayechi 220a, Tzav 31b), however, extends the deadline till Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day of the holiday of Sukkot, stating that although the judgment is sealed on Yom Kippur, it is not “concluded” or delivered until then.

The last day of Hanukkah is called Zot Hanukkah from the Torah verse read on this day, “Zot hanukat hamizbeach - this was the dedication of the altar.”

Hassidic masters quote from Kabbalistic sources that God’s mercy extends even further, giving the Children of Israel till the final day of Hanukkah to return to God and receive a favorable judgment.

They see several hints to this in different verses. One is Isaiah 27:9: “Through this (zot) will Jacob’s sin be forgiven” – i.e., on account of the holiness of Zot Hanukkah.

1. Once the High Holidays conclude, the “ordinary” year begins. This is a time in which we can put into practice the resolutions we made during the days of judgment. Thus, God gives us additional time to show God our commitment and devotion – that this year really is better – and if we do so, to earn a better judgment. This initiation period of the year concludes with the end of Hanukkah.

2. Some of us went through Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, a fall of daily life, and even the first seven days of Hanukkah hoping that something would change within us without us having to do much about it.  But now it’s the last day of Hanukkah, and what has changed? This last day of Hanukkah is a chance to return again to God, but this time out of pure love.  This time out of complete surrender to God’s compassion. This time turning to that place we have always known existed but never really wanted or needed to believe in. That place is the inner "light" that we can use to get thru the darkest part of the year.

“Zot” means something is clear (as if you could point to it with your finger, and say: “THIS” is Hanukkah)….I kindle Hanukkah lights at night, when it’s dark and everything is wrong. There is no light. Suddenly, I light Hanukkah lights and it becomes clear to me that I have the greatest lights in the world: my Jewish soul, my Jewish family, my Jewish Nation and Land, and once (and in the future, again) my Jewish Temple” – (from “The Soul of Hanukkah”, Teachings of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach) 

Maybe this is why we keep experiencing delay after delay after delay.  Perhaps it is the Heavenly response to our fervent prayers for redemption with rachamim.  The seemingly endless delays are the answer to our prayers.  But even the delays have their limit.  The mercy does not eradicate the judgment.  It won't be pushed off forever.  It won't be pushed off past Zot Hanukkah!

(Zot Hanukkah falls out on December 12, 2026, Shabbat - Parashat Miketz, when Yosef HaTzaddik reveals himself to his brothers!  Thirty-two days from today.)