Questions — Toldot
Chapter 25:19-29
Why is Sarah omitted when the verse states, “...som of Abraham, Abraham begot (Holid) Isaac.”? Abraham had children with three women. Isn’t it important to clarify who Isaac’s mother is? Is the story going forward only a story of fathers, or is a story of mothers as well? Isaac’s story is immediately entwined with the story of Rebekah. She has taken over the tent of Sarah. Does the present of Rebekah mitigate the need to discuss Sarah as she has become the matriarch already and Isaac is still the son?
Why the emphasis on Rebekah’s origin as an Aramean?
Isaac was forty years old when he married. Is this a sign, since forty is a number of wholeness, that Isaac married at a time when he was ready and suited for marriage? Of the Imahot Rebekah has the only true love marriage. Is this the reason?
The order of verse 25:21 is interesting. We learn that Isaac pleaded with God on behalf of his wife and then learn that the reason is that she was barren. Can we understand from this that Isaac pleaded with God before Rebekah became upset enough to speak out herself? Is this a sign of their closeness? Unlike Sarah, Rebekah does not have to wait long enough to become overwhelmed by the question of her fertility.
The pregnancy is difficult. She has twins who move around a lot. The verb is the hitpael of the shoresh R”TsTs - they crushed each other. This is usually translated as fought or contended. However, this is an extrapolation of the situation. They are in a tight space that grows tighter as they mature. Just to find space for themselves they need to move about. Does this have to imply conflict? It could imply cooperation. Does this view that they fought in the womb, which is interpretational, prejudice our view of Isaac and Esau? Even if they fought (or struggled) who is to say that one or the other was blameworthy?
Sarah responds to her discomfort and to her perception of the conflict between the twins by speaking to God, “If so, why do I exist?” God answers quite clearly, which is a kindness of a sort. God does not always supply a practical answer. However, the answer is that she is a means to an end. Apparently she is God’s means. Is God a sexist here? Can God only see a value in a woman’s body? Is this reading unfair to God? But, even if Rebekah is a means for God, why is she chosen to play that role over all other women?
Sarah speaks to God and God answers. This is not framed as something that happens in a dream or a vision. She speaks directly and is responded to immediately, just as Hagar was. Can she be considered a prophet? She is certainly receiving a prophecy from God, whose reply is reproduced as poetry.
Why do we need to be told in verse 25:24 that there are twins, before they are born when we already know that? Was there a doubt? Why is the awareness noted at the time when Rebekah is ready to deliver?
Esau is born with what looks like an Aderet Se’ar “ a cloak of hair (or fur). He is born looking like Jacob will look when he pretends to Esau. Is the identity that Esau shows to the world also a form of costume?
Heels are a symbolic locus of human weakness. (See Homer’s Iliad) Jewish texts from the story of the snake in the garden onwards note that this is where snakes often bite. Snake bite is a form of Divine punishment in cases where the human administration of justice is frustrated. How much of this would we read into the relationship between Jacob and Esau.
Only after we hear of the birth of the twins do we learn that Isaac was sixty years old when they were born. This means that it took twenty years of marriage before Rebekah became pregnant
