5784/2023
In this week’s Parashah, Parashat Toledot, the first Passuk
states:
ְוֵ֛אֶּלה ּתֹו ְל֥דֹת יִ ְצָ֖חק ֶּבן־ַא ְבָרָ֑הם ַא ְבָרָ֖הם הֹו ִ֥ליד ֶאת־יִ ְצָחֽק׃
Why does the Passuk need to state that Avraham gave birth to Yitzchak twice? Why not just say it once?!
Rashi answers, quoting the Midrash Tanchuma saying that the doubters at the time were saying that Avraham wasn’t the father of Yitzchak, and rather, it was Avimelech. So Hashem made Yitzchak’s facial features similar to those of Avraham’s, so no one would doubt that Yitzchak was Avraham’s son. That is what the passuk is trying to convey; that Yitzchak is Avraham’s son undoubtedly, as there is evidence that Avraham gave birth to him.
Rabbeinu Bachaya further expands on this, giving the example of Kilav in Shmuel II. After Naval treated Dovid disrespectfully, he died. Afterwards, Dovid marries his widowed wife, Avigayil. When Avigayil gave birth, some people doubted that this was Dovid’s kid, and rather was Naval’s kid. Therefore, Hashem made his features resemble Dovid’s, and they named him Kilav, a contraction of Kulu Av, meaning that Dovid is fully the father.
The Ramban gives a beautiful answer that I think we can all learn something from. He says that the reason the passuk states Avraham twice is that when listing generations, it always starts with the founding father, especially for renowned people. This is the start of the Jewish people, and you can’t possibly have that discussion without Avraham being the first mentioned. So one time is saying he is the father of Yitzchak, and one time it is that he is the forefather of this genealogy. He elaborates by saying that the reason it doesn’t say ותֹולדֹת אלה
אברהם״ “is because the Torah doesn’t want to mention Yishmael in this lineage. The message we can learn from this is to appreciate the impact and importance of our parents, grandparents, and ancestors transmitting the Mesora M’dor L’dor. Just like how Avraham, the father of our lineage, had Emunah in Hashem despite having doubters, our ancestors, despite being in terrible situations throughout history, continued to have Emunah in Hashem and teach their kids to have the same Emunah and Bitachon. We should always look back at our ancestors, learn from them, and try to emulate their Middos. Good Shabbos