Toldot #5 Esav's Kibud Av v'Eim

כז. וַיִּגְדְּלוּ הַנְּעָרִים וַיְהִי עֵשָׂו אִישׁ יֹדֵעַ צַיִד אִישׁ שָׂדֶה וְיַעֲקֹב אִישׁ תָּם ישֵׁב אֹהָלִים:

Raban Shimon ben Gamliel says: I did not serve my father even a 100th as well as Eisav served Yitzchak. We learn in Parshat Toldot that Eisav is a bad person. He is a hunter instead of a learner like his father would have liked him to be and disobeyed his mother and father by marring two caaninite women. 

Why is  Eisav given the schar of kibud av va’am  if he disrespected them?

Toldot #4 Taking/Stealing?

Source:

ט. לֶךְ נָא אֶל הַצֹּאן וְקַח לִי מִשָּׁם שְׁנֵי גְּדָיֵי עִזִּים טֹבִים וְאֶעֱשֶׂה אֹתָם מַטְעַמִּים לְאָבִיךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר אָהֵב

Go now to the flock, and take for me from there two choice kids, and I will make them tasty foods for your father, as he likes

Question: 

Why does Rivka say "take for me" as opposed to just telling Yaakov to take the goats?

Answer: וקח לי: משלי הם ואינם גזל, שכך כתב לה יצחק בכתובתה ליטול שני גדיי עזים בכל יום: 

Rashi says: Rivka saying "take for me" indicates that she is not stealing from the flock of goats, and it was in her marriage license to be able to take 2 goats every day.  

Other Questions:

Why wouldn't Rivka be able to take them? What does this show about the relationship of Rivka and Yiztchak? Does the idea of stealing come up any other time in this parsha?

Toldot #3 prayer before plight?

In Parashat Toldot (25:21) the Pasuk says “And Yitzchak appealed to Hashem for his wife, for she was barren, and Hashem accepted his appeal, and his wife Rivka conceived.”

Questions:

The order of events seems to be reversed here. Why begin by telling us that Yitzchak prayed and only afterward that the reason for his prayers was Rivka’s barrenness? Wouldn’t it have made sense for the Torah to do it the other way? Shouldn’t it first tell us that Rachel was barren, then that he prayed?

Answer: Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried explains that this is in fact the correct order. The Talmud (Yevamos 64a) explains that Rivka was barren because Hashem savors the prayers of the righteous. Hashem knows that the righteous respond to aversity with prayer, and so He sends them such adversity. Therefore, Hashem wanted to hear Yitzchak’s prayer that was the cause of the barrenness. From here we can also learn the power of Tefillah and Hashem listening to our prayers.

Shabbat Shalom!

Toldot #2 Tefilla

And Isaac prayed to the Lord opposite his wife because she was barren, and the Lord accepted his prayer, and Rebecca his wife conceived.

כא. וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק לַיהֹוָה לְנֹכַח אִשְׁתּוֹ כִּי עֲקָרָה הִוא וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ יְהֹוָה וַתַּהַר רִבְקָה

Why did Hashem answer Yitzchak’s prayers and not Rivkah’s Prayers?

Rashi says: the prayer of a righteous man, the son of a righteous man, does not compare to the prayer of a righteous man, the son of a wicked man. Therefore, He accepted his prayer and not hers.

What are other reasons for why Hashem answered Yitzchak and not Rivkah? Does this mean if a person has wicked parents their tifillot are less likely to be answered? How is this a just way of answering people’s tifillot?  What is the other time in the torah that the word “Vayetear” is used to describe someone’s tifillot? Is there a reason the torah only uses this word for the two of them?

Toldot #1 Respecting the Birthright

And Eisav said, "Look, I am going to die, so of what use to me is the birthright?" ...And Eisav spurned the birthright. (Gen. 25:32)

Rashi says that Eisav looked at the birthright with disdain because he understood that with it came certain responsibilities (like working in the beit hamikdash) and if he did not perform adequately he would possibly be punished with death, which scared Eisav.

Could there be an alternate answer for why Eisav spurned the birthright?
Additionally, if Eisav had the knowledge to know that the birthright was so important should he not have treated it with more respect?

Chayei Sarah #4 127 Years

And the life of Sarah was one hundred years and twenty years and seven years; [these were] the years of the life of Sarah.

א. וַיִּהְיוּ חַיֵּי שָׂרָה מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָה:

Why does the pasuk repeat the word years so many times? isnt it a bit repetitive and unnecessary?

Rashi comments on this saying that the reason the word years is written after every digit is to compare them to each other. When sarah was 100 years old, she had not sinned like a 20 year old had not sinned. When she was 20 she was like a 7 year old in regards to beauty. 

Chayei Sarah #2 How to make a vow

In Parshat Chayai Sarah, Perek 24; Pasuk 3, while Avraham is telling Eliezer his mission of choosing a wife for Yitzchak, Avraham says;

 "And I will adjure you by the Lord, the God of the heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites..."

However, Later in Pasuk 7, Avraham says "The Lord, God of the heavens, Who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth..."

Why does Avraham first refer to Hashem as "God of the heaven and the God of the earth", and then refer to Hashem as the God of the heavens (only)???

 Rashi: 24;7

 ה' אלהי השמים אשר לקחני מבית אבי: ולא אמר ואלהי הארץ, ולמעלה אמר (פסוק ג) ואשביעך בה' אלהי השמים ואלהי הארץ. אמר לו עכשיו הוא אלהי השמים ואלהי הארץ, שהרגלתיו בפי הבריות, אבל כשלקחני מבית אבי היה אלהי השמים ולא אלהי הארץ, שלא היו באי עולם מכירים בו, ושמו לא היה רגיל בארץ

 Where else in the Torah are these different names of Hashem used, and why?  Is it necessary to describe Hashem while making a vow? Avraham also strengthens this vow by having Eliezer touch his thigh, is this another part of the format of the vow?  If so, what is the significance?

(EC: connect this Rashi to Rashi on Shema Yisrael. -Ms. Laufer)

Chayei Sarah #1 $$$$$$

 כט. וּלְרִבְקָה אָח וּשְׁמוֹ לָבָן וַיָּרָץ לָבָן אֶל הָאִישׁ הַחוּצָה אֶל הָעָיִן    

Now Rebecca had a brother whose name was Laban, and Laban ran to the man outside, to the fountain.

Why did Lavan run to the man? Rashi says that he noticed that the man had a nose ring, which signified that he was rich, so Lavan was running to greet the man that he thought would bring him wealth.

Are there other interpretations of why Lavan ran? Is there anywhere else in the Torah that strengthens Rashi’s idea and shows that Lavan was a money-oriented person? You may compare Lavan’s greeting here with his greeting towards Yaakov later in his life. How are they similar?