Study Desk

Then they struck the men at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, so that they couldn't find the doorway.

Therefore, return the man's wife to him now. He is a prophet, and he will pray for you, so that you will live. But if you don't return her, know that you will certainly die — you and all who belong to you."

Avraham prayed to God, and God healed Avimelekh and his wife and slave-girls, so that they could have children.

"I am a foreigner living as an alien with you; let me have a burial site with you, so that I can bury my dead wife."

I will say to one of the girls, ‘Please lower your jug, so that I can drink.' If she answers, ‘Yes, drink; and I will water your camels as well,' then let her be the one you intend for your servant Yitz'chak. This is how I will know that you have shown grace to my master."

Adonai has greatly blessed my master, so that he has grown wealthy. He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.

"So now if you people intend to show grace and truth to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me, so that I can turn elsewhere."

In the course of time, after Yitz'chak had grown old and his eyes dim, so that he couldn't see, he called ‘Esav his older son and said to him, "My son?" and he answered, "Here I am."

and you will bring it to your father to eat; so that he will give his blessing to you before his death."

He said, "Bring it here to me, and I will eat my son's game, so that I can give you my blessing." So he brought it up to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine, and he drank.

He too had prepared a tasty meal and brought it to his father, and now he said to his father, "Let my father get up and eat from his son's game, so that you may give me your blessing."

And may he give you the blessing which he gave Avraham, you and your descendants with you, so that you will possess the land you will travel through, the land God gave to Avraham."

So ‘Esav went to Yishma‘el and took, in addition to the wives he already had, Machalat the daughter of Yishma‘el Avraham's son, the sister of N'vayot, to be his wife. Haftarah Tol'dot: Mal'akhi (Malachi) 1:1–2:7 B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Tol'dot: Romans 9:6–16; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 11:20; 12:14–17 Ya‘akov went out from Be'er-Sheva and traveled toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed the night there, because the sun had set. He took a stone from the place, put it under his head and lay down there to sleep. He dreamt that there before him was a ladder resting on the ground with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of Adonai were going up and down on it. Then suddenly Adonai was standing there next to him; and he said, "I am Adonai , the God of Avraham your [grand]father and the God of Yitz'chak. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the grains of dust on the earth. You will expand to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. By you and your descendants all the families of the earth will be blessed. Look, I am with you. I will guard you wherever you go, and I will bring you back into this land, because I won't leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Ya‘akov awoke from his sleep and said, "Truly, Adonai is in this place — and I didn't know it!" Then he became afraid and said, "This place is fearsome! This has to be the house of God! This is the gate of heaven!" Ya‘akov got up early in the morning, took the stone he had put under his head, set it up as a standing-stone, poured olive oil on its top and named the place Beit-El [house of God]; but the town had originally been called Luz. Ya‘akov took this vow: "If God will be with me and will guard me on this road that I am traveling, giving me bread to eat and clothes to wear, so that I return to my father's house in peace, then Adonai will be my God; and this stone, which I have set up as a standing-stone, will be God's house; and of everything you give me, I will faithfully return one-tenth to you."

so that I return to my father's house in peace, then Adonai will be my God;

Ya‘akov said to Lavan, "Give me my wife, since my time is finished, so that I can start living with her."

She said, "Here is my maid Bilhah. Go, sleep with her, and let her give birth to a child that will be laid on my knees, so that through her I too can build a family."

(iv) During the wheat harvest season Re'uven went and found mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Le'ah. Rachel said to Le'ah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes [so that I can be fertile]."

After Rachel had given birth to Yosef, Ya‘akov said to Lavan, "Send me on my way, so that I can return to my own place, to my own country.

Then he set the rods he had peeled upright in the watering troughs, so that the animals would see them when they came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink,

Whenever the hardier animals came into heat, Ya‘akov would set up the rods in the watering troughs; so that the animals would see them and conceive in front of them;