Toldot tells the story of Isaac and Rebecca’s twin sons, Jacob and Esau, who struggle in the womb and seem destined to clash throughout their lives and those of their descendants.

This pivotal parsha contains two great passages: the birth and childhood of the boys, and the scene in which Jacob, at Rebecca’s behest, dresses in Esau’s clothes and takes his blessing from their father Isaac, now blind. Between them is a narrative about Isaac and Rebecca going to Gerar because of famine, which is very reminiscent of the journey Abraham and Sarah take in Genesis 20.

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