Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Discusses Parshas Toldos on JM in the AM (5786)

Good morning. Good shabus everybody. Tomorrow we have the privilege of reading paras to paras to is an incredibly challenging para. Remember everybody there's no such thing as a Bible story. There are only Bible lessons. I really think that at first glance when one takes a look at paras to really in its entirety one is challenged and says wait a minute only God could have wrote this history only God could have written this story. It seems at first glance whether you want to call it topsyturvy, you want to call it ironic, you want to say that literally it's all you know Henry's story. Nothing that we would expect. So let's just take a quick peek in the para. Let's start. The para begins. Lifka is pregnant. Wonderful. So she's having pains. Clearly she senses a little bit more than the average woman. So instead of going to the gynecologist, who does she go to? The Drosis Hashem, she goes to the prophet to shame Ben Noah. And he tells her, "Well, I got news for you. You've got twins." Okay. and he tells her about the nature of these two twins. So instead of saying you've got two boys, two nations, and they're going to get along, no, just the opposite. It's going to be what does that mean? It means that their might and strength is going to go from one to the other and ultimately ra the elder will serve the younger. The idea is as we find in the Torah of the two, what does Hashem say through the mala? I love Jacob and this son, the h word, the hate word. Okay, it's not okay. Like, what's going on here? All right, let's move on. As comes from the field, he's hungry. He says to his brother, "Give me." Maybe he doesn't say it so nicely, but basically one brother is asking another brother for some food. So you would have thought that one brother would give. No. What are you going to give me? Doesn't really look to be the most shining example of brotherly love. Okay. as sells the birthright. The whole idea of selling abra buying and selling. I give you, you give me what did Yakov acquire tangibly. Ask yourself that question. All right. But Yakov knows that in another 60 years he's going to need this being a few mo moments older than his brother. Come on, what's going on here and go further? The Torah tells us something about Yok's personal life. Okay, like what does he do? So the Torah tells us that there was a famine in the land and the Torah tells us in 2612 that just that year is plants and what does he get? Hundfold even though there was a famine 100 times what normally would have been produced. And what does the Torah say? And the man became great and he kept becoming greater until he was very great. That's a lot of words to tell us that he's a very rich man. Okay? And immediately after that, what does the Torah tell us? Oso pushed him. And the envied him. Okay. So because the envied him, what do they do? needs water. So, who the Torah tells us has redug the wells that his father dug. He redugs redigs them and he calls them by the same names. Wonderful. That his father had called them. Okay. What do they pushed him do? They pushed him by. What does that mean? They close them up and they filled them with earth. They stopped them up. Wait a second. Who needs water? So needs water for his animals. But how about pushim? Don't they need water? Don't they drink coffee and tea? Don't they have to boil their eggs? And the answer is yes. So what does the Torah tell us? that pleased him have such enmity to Yitzk that they are willing to spite their uh cut their nose to spite their face. They're willing to deprive themselves of water as long as Yitzk doesn't have water. Let's move on. Wherever you go, there's challenges throughout the parasa. Okay, is blind and Rashi tells us well in order for Jacob to get the bra. So has to be blind. So he doesn't see to whom he's giving the brah. Now wait a second. Let's talk about this one for a moment. By the way, refresh my memory. At graduation, what prize, what award did Yakov get? And the answer is he got the honesty award. We say it every morning in our prayer ms. The prophet tells us that Yakov was outstanding and renowned for his telling the truth, his being honest Yakov. Now what is honest Yakov asked to do? Father wants to bless Asov. mother wants to bless Yakob and she says to Yakob, "Go put on your brother's clothes and let's deceive your father." So the man of absolute truth is to go and deceive. Wait a second. Something doesn't sound right. Is this the only way that Jacob can get the bra? Even though his mommy says, "Don't worry, Yakov. I was told in prophecy, but come on. There's got to be a better way. There's got to be another way." So, as you can hear, there are a lot of perhaps questions, and there's many more as to strange things are happening here. I'd like to suggest one answer. I'm sure there are many, but I believe this answer is very significant. Why was man put in this world in the first place? So if you take a look at the first chapter of Msilas Yesharim. So interesting at the very end of the first chapter we are taught that the primary purpose function of man in this world is number one you have a job you have to listen to the rules of Torah. And to serve. Here come the key words everybody. Amode bene. And to weather the storms to stand firm against the challenges are tests. Everybody has a test. Everybody. you as we find man was put in this world to work. Unlike the American culture that weekends were made for Michelob which is a beer meaning the purpose of weekends is to quote take it easy. It's the idea of that's what I work hard all week so I can relax and take it easy. We say no. We say that I work all week to have Shabas. And the greatest gift that I have on Shabus is that Talmud Torah, which I am obligated and enjoy all week long. There's nothing sweeter than the study of Talmud on Shabas study of Torah. In other words, we pray every day after Don't challenge us. Don't test us, please. No surprise tests. So even though we don't ask for tests, guess what? Hashem gives it to us all of us. And the message of Paras told us is we were put here to pass the tests. And even though they seem to come one after the other after the other, we grow ideally through our tests and therefore look at and look at his parents. Tell me about his mother. Well, last week in paras we were taught night 7 years, 20 years, 100 years. These were the composite years of surah, says Rashi. They were all good. Give me a break. They're all good. Unbelievable. Just look at the hardships that Sora has to go through. She has to faint. She is Abraham's sister because Aparo takes her. Abi Melik takes her and come on. She has difficulties in personal matters, fertility, having a child. She has she has challenges from Hagar. Unbelievable. So she has challenge after challenge. How can Rashi tell us kon shove him tova? They're all for good. And the answer is yes. She had many challenges but she passed them and she became a better person through the challenge. And so too, listen carefully, Abramino, as we're taught in chapter 5 of he had 10 tests and he passed them all. Now watch what's going on in this week's para says and his he says so powerfully the following idea. What's Abraham's Abraham preached? And the very man who taught now is ready to go and sacrifice his one and only son when he spent all his life telling people God doesn't want human sacrifice. And what's he doing? If God tells him to sacrifice, he doesn't care. He's going to be the laughing stock. He is going to carry out the word of God. He passes the test. Does it make sense? No. Yakov has his Aedo. What does a mommy says? Yakov, go and deceive your father. Not in exactly those words, but watch. So, what does Yakov do? He comes and when his father asks, "Who are you?" He says, "Yakov and he clears his throat 10 times." Right? Again what does he say? Father asks who are you? And he says oh no I am. Okay. He hasn't told a lie. I am. And then after coughing and sneezing and clearing his throat 10 times. Asov is your firstborn. Did he lie? He certainly gave the impression that he's Asov. This is his going against his nature. Delicious Gamorra everybody in Shabis 89B. Time does not allow me to go through the entire piece of Gomorrah. But the Gomorrah says 89b in Shabas that in the future God is going to tell Abraham Abraham your progedy have sinned and Abraham's going to say Hashem get rid of him. Yakov is going to say to the same accusation Yakov too will say get rid of them. And is the only one that says when God says your children says my children, they're not your children. When they said, then they were your children. And when they sin, they're my children. Amazing. Go on and on. Is the one who pleads for God's mercy. What's my friend? Is den is stands for strict justice. The very one who is den his aada his challenge is to exercise and plead for mercy. Don't get me wrong none of us could have written the script in parasto. But what's the answer? In our own lives, we too don't write the script. And just as the OOS, the IMOS grew from their nonos, we too should grow from our tests. And finally, let's remember one very important lesson from the and that is the Ramban teaches that Hashem only tests us with tests that we can pass. Shabbat. Shalom to all.