This Shabbat, we read Parshat Toldot, which focuses on Yitzchak Avinu. Each of the Avot receives specific Parshiot in the Torah that highlight their unique roles. Avraham Avinu's legacy is captured in Lech Lecha, Vayeira, and part of Chayei Sarah. Yitzchak Avinu is prominently featured in the second half of Chayei Sarah – his marriage to Rivka – and here in Toldot. B’ezrat Hashem, we’ll dive deep into the opening Pasuk of our Parsha, particularly focusing on the commentary of Rashi, based on Midrash Aggadat Bereshit.
Chazal pose an intriguing question: Why is this Parsha named Toldot? There’s another parsha in the Torah that begins with the exact same words, אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדוֹת נֹחַ, and if the Parsha of Noach is named after him, why is this Parsha called Toldot rather than Parshat Yitzchak?
Another noteworthy question concerns the opening letter of the Parsha. The Parsha begins with וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדוֹת יִצְחָק – where the letter vav serves as a conjunction. As Rashi explains in Parshat Mishpatim, whenever the Torah uses אֵלֶּה, it dismisses what preceded it, while וְאֵלֶּה adds to what came before. In the case of וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים, it signals continuity from earlier divine revelation, meaning, just as the Aseret HaDibrot just prior in Parshat Yitro were given at Sinai, so too Mishpatim’s commandments were given at Sinai.
Use of the conjunction וְאֵלֶּה here suggests that Parshat Toldot connects directly to the section preceding it, but what is being linked to at the end of the prior Parsha? At the end of Parshat Chayei Sarah, the Torah discusses the burial of Avraham Avinu, who was buried by his sons, Yitzchak and Yishmael. To understand the idea of connecting to this section, we’ll focus on just one aspect of it.
First and foremost, the Kli Yakar and Oznaim LaTorah, and the Rashbam before them, point out that nowhere in the Torah do we find the format of this opening Pasuk. If the Torah said וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדוֹת יִצְחָק בֶּן אַבְרָהָם, it is clear that Yitzchak is the son of Avraham. Why does the Torah need to repeat the statement of אַבְרָהָם הוֹלִיד אֶת יִצְחָק?
In contrast, Yishmael’s family and descendants are presented towards the end of last week’s Parsha as: וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדוֹת יִשְׁמָעֵאל בֶּן־אַבְרָהָם אֲשֶׁר יָלְדָה הָגָר הַמִּצְרִית שִׁפְחַת שָׂרָה לְאַבְרָהָם. These are the descendants of Yishmael son of Avraham, whom Hagar, the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Avraham. We’re told that Yishmael's mother was Hagar, but in our Parsha, the Torah makes no mention at all of Sarah. Only Avraham is brought up with regards to Yitzchak. The question is: Why does the Torah not use in the same format as it just did with Yishmael, and list Yitzchak’s mother too?
The Siftei Chachamim explains that the Torah opens our Parsha with וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדוֹת יִצְחָק, with the vav hachibur (conjunction vav), because it wants to teach that just as Avraham Avinu had one righteous son and one wicked son, so too Yitzchak Avinu had the same: Eisav and Yaakov. Along those lines, on the words וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדוֹת יִצְחָק, Rashi comments:
יַעֲקֹב וְעֵשָׂו הָאֲמוּרִים בַּפָּרָשָׁה – These are Yaakov and Eisav as mentioned in the Parsha [a few Pesukim later].
The Kli Yakar offers an interesting insight, found in the book of Divrei HaYamim. The genealogy of Bnei Yisrael, and all mankind, is found in that opening Perek of Divrei HaYamim I, beginning with Adam HaRishon and eventually reaching Avraham Avinu in the 28th Pasuk: ... After stating that Avraham had two sons, Yitzchak and Yishmael, it repeats this fact in Pasuk 34. The Rashbam asks why the Torah needs to repeat itself and mention once more that Avraham fathered Yitzchak. It seems that the repetition in the text is meant to emphasize that Yitzchak is indeed the son of Avraham, even though this is already clear, but what is the deeper significance of this repetition?
The concept of "son" in the Torah is not always biological. A "son" in the Torah can refer to someone who is not the biological child of the person, but someone raised or adopted by them. For example, when Batya, the daughter of Pharaoh, took in Moshe Rabbeinu, the Torah says וַיְהִי־לָהּ לְבֵן. Obviously, Moshe Rabbeinu was not her actual son. Similarly, Megillat Esther refers to Mordechai having raised a orphaned Esther, saying he took her as a daughter: לְקָחָהּ מָרְדֳּכַי לוֹ לְבַת.
The Kli Yakar explains, even though it was stated that Yitzchak was the son of Avraham, it was necessary to repeat "Avraham fathered Yitzchak" because in the case of Yishmael, it was stated "Yishmael, the son of Avraham, whom Hagar the Egyptian bore to Avraham" – the term "son" was used but lineage was attributed to Hagar. Therefore, to avoid any misconceptions, the Torah emphasizes that the term "son" (בֵּן) and "descendant" (תוֹלָדָה) in relation to Yitzchak are attributed solely to Avraham.
The distinction between "son" (בֵּן) and "descendant" (תוֹלָדָה) in Hebrew is significant. Son can refer to someone who is not biologically related, as in the case of students being called "sons" of their teachers – a term used by Moshe Rabbeinu in reference to Bnei Yisrael. Yishmael is only called the son of Avraham because he received his nature only from Avraham's teachings; but it was a changeable nature. This is unlike the descendant Yitzchak, who inherited Avraham's nature inherently. Yishmael's actions later reflected a change, as he deviated from Avraham's ways, but Yitzchak’s nature remained true to Avraham, including his restraint in matters of morality, to the point that he waited until he was 40 years old to marry Rivka, refusing to marry the Canaanites, who were known for their immoral behavior. Thus, the Torah highlights that Yitzchak received Avraham's nature entirely, both in terms of "son" and "descendant" (וֹלֶד).
If so, Rabbotai, we can understand a beautiful principle here. This is why there is the vav hachibur in the Parsha’s opening Pasuk; to distinguish between Yishmael and Yitzchak – Yishmael came from Avraham, but he inherited bad traits from Hagar. Avraham Avinu also fathered Yitzchak, but he inherited all of Avraham's good traits. This is the explanation of the Oznaim LaTorah and Kli Yakar. Now, let’s turn to Rashi's explanation.
Rashi had difficulty with the Torah’s earlier language of: וְאַבְרָהָם זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַה' בֵּרַךְ אֶת־אַבְרָהָם בַּכֹּל. He asks why it says "Avraham" twice, instead of simply saying “Avraham grew old, and Hakadosh Baruch Hu blessed him with everything"? The answer Rashi provides is that only after Hakadosh Baruch Hu changed his name from Avram to Avraham, did he father Yitzchak. The newly named Avraham was blessed בַּכֹּל (with all), a word whose numerical value equals that of בֵּן (52).
וַיּוֹצֵא אֹתוֹ הַחוּצָה וַיֹּאמֶר הַבֶּט־נָא הַשָּׁמַיְמָה וּסְפֹר הַכּוֹכָבִים אִם־תּוּכַל לִסְפֹּר אֹתָם וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ כֹּה יִהְיֶה זַרְעֶךָ
He then took him outside and said: Look towards the heavens and count the stars if you are able to count them. He then said to him: So numerous will your descendants be.
Rashi, on this Pasuk describing Avraham’s bracha, explains that Hakadosh Baruch Hu told Avraham to leave his astrological conclusions behind, as the constellations showed that he would not have a son. Avram will have no son, but Avraham will, just as Sarai will not give birth, but Sarah will. Hakadosh Baruch Hu shifted the constellations for them by changing their names. Rashi then provides another explanation, based on the Midrash (Tanchuma, Toldot 1):
עַל יְדֵי שֶׁכָּתַב הַכָּתוּב יִצְחָק בֶּן אַבְרָהָם הֻזְקַק לוֹמַר אַבְרָהָם הוֹלִיד אֶת יִצְחָק; לְפִי שֶׁהָיוּ לֵיצָנֵי הַדּוֹר אוֹמְרִים מֵאֲבִימֶלֶךְ נִתְעַבְּרָה שָׂרָה, שֶׁהֲרֵי כַּמָּה שָׁנִים שָׁהֲתָה עִם אַבְרָהָם וְלֹא נִתְעַבְּרָה הֵימֶנּוּ; מֶה עָשָׂה הַקָּבָּ"ה? צָר קְלַסְתֵּר פָּנָיו שֶׁל יִצְחָק דּוֹמֶה לְאַבְרָהָם, וְהֵעִידוּ הַכֹּל אַבְרָהָם הוֹלִיד אֶת יִצְחָק, וְזֶהוּ שֶׁכָּתוּב כָּאן יִצְחָק בֶּן אַבְרָהָם, שֶׁהֲרֵי עֵדוּת יֵשׁ שֶׁאַבְרָהָם הוֹלִיד אֶת יִצְחָק:
Since the Torah writes that Yitzchak is the son of Avraham, it is necessary to also emphasize Avraham fathered Yitzchak, because the לֵיצָנֵי הַדּוֹר – the cynics and scoffers of the generation, would say that Sarah conceived through Avimelech. After all, she had been with Avraham for many years and had not conceived, and then suddenly after Avimelech’s palace she conceived? What did Hakadosh Baruch Hu do as a result of these scoffers? He made Yitzchak's appearance resemble Avraham's, and everyone then knew that Avraham fathered Yitzchak. This is why the Pasuk repeats אַבְרָהָם הוֹלִיד אֶת־יִצְחָק; it is evidence and acknowledgement that Avraham fathered Yitzchak.
