Shabbat Midrash (Teaching) Outlines

• This portion begins with the wedding of Yitzchak (Isaac) and Rivka (Rebecca).
• After twenty years of marriage, Yitzchak prays to Yahweh on behalf of Rivka that her womb would be opened. Isaac must have entertained the thought that perhaps this could be a generational curse! Nevertheless, Yah heard and answered Isaac’s prayer and Rebecca became pregnant.
• Rebecca; however, was having a pretty rough time with her pregnancy. She was at a point where she would have preferred death to her present condition. So much so that she called out to Yah for an explanation of what was happening inside. The answer she received must have been quite alarming.
• Yah tells Rebecca that not only are there two nations in her womb, but her physical distress is due to the fact that they are rivals. Oh yes, and by the way, the older will serve the younger. This is completely contrary to Jewish customs and beliefs.
• On delivery day, Rebecca gave birth to twins; the first to appear was reddish and covered with hair. They named him Esau (meaning already having hair).
• Esau’s brother then emerges gripping Esau by the heel. His name was Ya’akov (Jacob) meaning “to supplant”.
• Yitzchak was 60 years old when the twins were born. Their grandfather, Avraham, was still alive and would have seen his grandsons. He would have related stories to them about how it was before the flood, Noah and the Ark, and life after the flood.

In a Stew

• The boys grew; Esau was a skillful hunter (so was Nimrod), a man of the field or open country. Jacob was a mild man, dwelling or remaining in tents. Yitzchak loved Esau because he ate of his wild game, but Rebecca loved Ya’akov. When we look through Jewish glasses we see that “open country” is a reference to being without boundaries, in other words, outside the Torah, Yah’s teaching and instruction, dwelling in darkness. “Staying in tents” is a reference to being inside the Torah, dwelling and living in the Light and Spirit of Yah.
• As our story continues, we find Ya’akov preparing a pot of lentil stew; what we might call portage. He was preparing a traditional mourner’s meal as grandfather Avraham had just passed away. He was doing so in the absence of Esau, the eldest, whose duty this was supposed to be.
• Esau arrives in a famished state and demands that Ya’akov give him a bowl of the stew or else he will perish. We see here that Esau’s food source did not sustain him and he became weakened. On the other hand, Ya’akov’s food source remained strong and constant, demonstrating that there is no life sustaining power outside of Torah.
• Ya’akov tests his brother to see how important his birthright is to him. He asks Esau to sell him his birthright. Esau responds that he is about to die, so what good is the birthright?
• The Hebrew word for birthright is bikorah. It means “first from the womb; whether human or animal, and it also applies to a harvest of fruit, grain, or wine.
• In the case of the first born among the animals and the first of our harvest, we are reminded that even though we apply ourselves to being productive, it is ultimately Yah who blesses us with the fruit of our labors.
• In the case of the first born of our sons, it is taught that the man of the family is to minister as priest of his household. The first born is to walk in his father’s path and to eventually serve Yah in the time of his father’s demise. The responsibility can be passed on to another son by the father’s choice, by Yah’s command, or the first born can forfeit the office by choice.
• Up until the Golden Calf fiasco, the first-born son of each family followed in his father’s footsteps and fulfilled his duty before G-d. The office was then given to the descendents of Levi. Why the change?
• Remember when Moshe came down from the mountain and saw what was happening? He called out, “Whoever is for Yah, come to me!” The descendents of Levi rallied around him. He commanded the Levites to slay all those who were involved with worshipping the golden calf. By their actions, the Levites consecrated themselves to Yah. The zeal of the sons of Levi earned them the right to serve in place of the first born in the Tabernacle as a priesthood.
• Esau, in his statement regarding death and his birthright, found in Genesis 25:32, denied both G-d and the resurrection.
• We have been a people who have not appreciated our birthright the way we should. We have cut ourselves off from Torah because we are no longer under the “law” (true translation is Torah). We are no longer under the law of “sin and death”, but true believers are under the “law (Torah) of life”!! Amen!!!

Isaac and Abimelech

• When a famine comes to the land, Isaac follows in the footsteps of his father and journeys to the territory of Gerar, home to Abimelech, King of the Philistines.
• Isaac repeats the mistake of his father Avraham when he lies to the king and tells him that Rebecca is his sister. He is afraid of being killed on her account.
• Abimelech discovers the truth, but allows Isaac and his family to remain in Gerar and Isaac becomes a wealthy man with large flocks, herds, and lots of servants.
• Abimelech asks Isaac to take his family and possessions and move away. The king states that Isaac has grown too powerful. (Amazing what G-d can accomplish even in a wilderness experience!)
• Abimelech’s servants caused trouble by filling in the wells that Isaac and Avraham had dug. They quarreled about the ownership of the first two, but finally, after the third well, the quarrelling stopped.
• Wells sustain life, especially in the desert. They are also symbolic of the Living Spirit of Yah. The king’s servants wanted nothing to do with the “Living Water”. Yahweh gave Yitzchak enough room and he was able to flourish in the land.
• The first two wells are symbolic of the two temples that were destroyed by the enemies of Israel. The third well represents the Third Temple which will be built soon. Yahweh will then broaden the boundaries of Israel and all the nations will serve HIM with Yeshua as our King.

posted by Chris Phillips, Congregational Leader  # 12/02/2005