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Times: Shabbat starts on Friday at 8:02pm and ends on Saturday at 9:07pm. The weekly Torah portion is Toldot.
Mincha is 1.45pm: On Mon/Tue at ABL – 21/333 Collins, on Wed at Warlows Legal – 2/430 Lt Collins, and on Thurs at L1 Capital – 28/101 Collins. Join the WhatsApp group to stay across the latest details.
The weekly lunch & shiur continues on Wed at 1.20pm at Warlows Legal – 2/430 Lt Collins – and via zoom, followed by mincha at 1.45pm. Current topic: duty of care for a borrower. Details here and on the WhatsApp group.
Thought of the Week with thanks to Yehuda Gottleib.
In this weeks parsha we see the famous story of the brothers Yaakov and Esav fighting over who should receive the blessings from their father Yitzchak. From a simple reading of the pesukim (25:28) it seems that each of the brothers have their ‘support teams’ – advocates who are in their corner willing them to succeed. For Ya’akov it is his mother, Rivka, as she is the one who gives him the advice on how to ‘trick’ his father into giving him the bracha. On the other hand, there is Yitzchak who provides the preparation instructions to Esav who he believes still has the right of a firstborn son.
Where does this love and favouritism for a particular son over another come from? The Oznaim L’Torah states that the upbringing of both Yitzchak and Rivka can provide an insight as to why they acted as they did with regards to their children. Yitzhak was raised in the house of Avraham and he himself was almost offered as a sacrifice, therefore he reached a level of holiness that was very rare.
The Midrash states that his son, Esav, used to ask Yitzchak questions on halachic topics – such as the laws of separating tithes, in order to mock or fool his father. However, Yitzchak was on such a level of kedusha that he saw these questions as genuine interest from Esav and therefore his love for him grew. Rivka on the other hand, was raised in the home of Betuel and Lavan – a house known for trickery and deception. Therefore, her upbringing gave her a level of wisdom to understand the difference between truth and lies and therefore favoured Yaakov, who was pure in heart and mind.