dsc@mtgzz.UUCP (d.s.chechik) (11/13/85)
DVAR Torah - Parashas Toldos
Our Parasha contains the story of the birth of Yaackov Avinu
and his brother Eysav. The torah says that the children
fought within her. The medrash brought down by Rashi says
that when she passed the door of a beis medrash, Yaackov
wanted to go out and when she passed the door of idol
worshipers, Aisav tried to leave. Rivkah then says "Im
kayn, lama ze anochi. Vataylech lidrosh es Hashem, Vayan
hashem vayomar shnei goyim bevitneich ushnei goyim mimayayim
yiporaidu", (literally, "if so, what am i. And she went to
'lidrosh' G-d and he answered "Two nations are in your bosom
and two nations from you bosom shall depart") Rashi takes
this to mean that she went to the Yeshiva of Shem and Ever
to ask them what was going on inside her. And she received
the answer to her questions.
There are several questions that can be asked on this story.
Why did Rivka have to go ask Shem what was happening within
her? Was not she, in her own right, a Neviya (prophetess)?
What does "LEDROSH es Hashem" mean? (The work LEDROSH can
mean to claim, to ask, to demand, to investigate, to
require, to request, to enquire, to lecture, to preach, to
explain, to expound, to interpret, to discourse, or to
consult. Should it not say "LISHOL" (to ask)? Finally, G-d
answers Rivka himself, he does not relay the message through
Shem? Why is Rivka Imaynu suddenly a neviya?
The Grah explains most of these questions, "all derech remez"
(they are hinted at in the torah but not stated explicitly)
The talmud tells that Shimon Ha'amusi interpreted all the
occurrences of the word "es" in the torah. Generally, "es"
is a "ribbuy", i.e., it comes to generalize on something.
He stopped at "Es Hashem Elokecha Tira", (You are to Fear
G-d), Since ES must come to include something other than the
specified subject, he reasoned that this "ES" must come to
include some other deity. Clearly a contradiction to one of
the basic tenets of Judaism. Rabbi Akiva explained that
this ES comes to include Talmidei Chachamim.
Similarly, Rivkah had a serious problem, she was getting
mixed signals. She knew she was sterile and had only
conceived through prayer. Yet the child within her was
moving both toward our religion and others. And so she said
"im kayn, lama ze anochi", which can be translated as "What
is this Anochi" where anochi is the first of the Ten
Commandments, which is that there is one G-d. Clearly, I
(Rivka) have physical evidence that there must be more than
one deity. However, despite her moral quandary, Vateylech
lidrosh ES HASHEM. She went to the yeshiva of Shem and
Ayver to explain that the verse ES HASHEM Elokecha Tira,
did not imply two deities. And so, having passed a great
test in believing the truth despite seemingly physical
concrete evidence, she is rewarded by Nevuah, which is why
she was answered directly by G-d. Who said, do not even
think that there are two deities or that one child is
leaning in two directions. There are TWO children within
you, one will be a tzaddik, the other a rasha.
Shabbus Shalom
Dovid Chechik
AT&T Information Systems Labs
Middletown, NJ
(201)957-5677
mtgzc!dscam@vilya.UUCP (MALEK) (11/14/85)
I must apologize for misquoting a pasuk in my dvar torah. "devarim she-bichsav ee ata rashai le-omram be-al pe"; I'll use a chumash next time. > DVAR Torah - Parashas Toldos >Corrected psukim : > "...Im kayn, lama ze anochi, vataylech lidrosh es Ad*n*. Vayomer > Ad*n* la shnei goyim bevitneich ushnei le-umim mimayayich yiporaidu.." > Shabbus Shalom > Dovid Chechik > mtgzc!dsc --