Parsha Talk Toldot 5784 2023

Parsha Talk with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. Parashat Toldot [Genesis 25:19–28:9] is the sixth of the weekly parashiyot in the Book of Genesis. The toldot, or generations, from which the parashah takes its name, belong to Isaac. Eilleh toldot yitzhaq ben avraham, avraham holid et yitzhaq: this is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham; Abraham begot Isaac. After a couple stories about Isaac, one of which concerns the birth of Jacob and Esau, the narrative frame shifts to Jacob and Esau. Part of our conversation is devoted to an evaluation of Isaac as patriarch. Does he have what it takes? We began outside the box, so to speak, taking note of the passing of three teachers at the Seminary when we were students: Dr. Sam Klagsbrun, Dr. Israel Francus, and Dr. Avraham Holtz. We shared some memories of each of them. We also reflected on the Rally for Israel on Tuesday. Each of us went, but we did not manage to see each other. Apparently it is not so easy to find people in a crowd of nearly 300,000 with spotty cell service! Finally, we got to the parashah! We hope you enjoy the conversation. Shabbat Shalom!