Rebecca's Role
D’var Torah on Parashat Toldot
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
November 29, 2024
This week's Torah portion, Toldot, Genesis 25:19--28:9, continues the saga of the First Family of the Jewish People. With Abraham and Sarah gone, it's Isaac and Rebecca who now will determine the future both of the Jewish people and of Jewish belief. Rebecca gives birth to twins--Esau and Jacob--whose struggles for control start even before they are born and continue even to this day. Recognizing that Jacob--the younger of the two--is the one who must carry on the family's traditions, Rebecca tricks Isaac into giving Jacob the Covenantal blessing, arousing Esau's rage and eternal hatred. As the portion ends, Jacob is forced to leave his home in search of his own future--and God's role in it.
The idea that our lives are--at least to some extent--controlled by God (or the gods) is at the basis of every religion. Human beings have always done their best to curry favor with the gods and at the same time to ward off their wiles and excesses, whether through prayer or sacrifice. Though in the long history of religions, Judaism is still relatively young ("only" 3,600 years old), its revolutionary ideas have never ceased to amaze people, or to arouse their curiosity or rage. We already find the first of these in the stories of the Patriarch Abraham, the first ancestor of the Jewish People. Abraham comes to understand that prayer and sacrifice are not enough; sometimes we must take matters into our own hands. Sarah--the first matriarch of our people--will offer yet another example of this innovative idea, as she first urges Abraham to father a child through her slave, Hagar, then, after the birth of Isaac, demands that he send both Hagar and the child (Ishmael) away. Ferociously protective of Isaac, Sarah will not put up with any competition from anywhere or anyone. Despite Abraham's objections, God approves of Sarah's demands, enabling Isaac to be the sole bearer of the blessings of the Covenant with God. Still, as he grows older, Isaac remains a somewhat passive actor in the Biblical stories. It will be Rebecca, the wife chosen for him, who will take the next steps in ensuring the continuity of the First Family of Judaism. First, troubled by a difficult pregnancy, Rebecca "goes to inquire of God" (and is thus credited by the Rabbis as the first Jew to understand the real power of prayer, not only to ask for something but to also seek answers and understanding). As the story unfolds, Rebecca goes further than Abraham and Sarah: she not only takes matters into her own hands; she actually manipulates and tricks both Isaac, her husband, and Jacob, her favorite son, into carrying out what she believes is God's intent. Possibly aware of Rebecca's intentions and actions (the text is intentionally ambiguous), Isaac nonetheless passes the Covenant blessings to Jacob rather than Esau.
From the start, we recognize in Rebecca a precocious child, one to be reckoned with. She is not only beautiful but also physically strong and of high principles. She is anything but passive. At this point in the story, she outdoes even herself. While setting up a struggle that will last forever, Rebecca also ensures that Jacob will receive God’s blessing and carry forward the future of the Jewish People. Not without her faults (who is?), Rebecca thus earns her place as the second Matriarch of the Jewish People.
© 2024 by Boaz D. Heilman
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