לזכות רפואה שלימה אחינו כל בית ישראל הנתונים בצרה ובשביה
This week’s Parshah, Parshat Toldot, primarily highlights the story of Yitzchak and his initial selection of Esav to receive the Berachot, only for Rivkah to initiate the process whereby Yaakov in apparently deceitful fashion is able to receive the Berachot in place of Esav. Before this takes place however, we find that the Possuk writes [Bereishit 26’ 1’-3’]:
“There was a famine in the land—aside from the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham—and Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
Hashem had appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land which I point out to you. Reside in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; I will assign all these lands to you and to your heirs, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham.”
Although when faced with a similar circumstance, Avraham elected to travel to Mitzrayim, Yitzchak is told not to, for as Rashi points out, Yitzchak had the Halachic status of a pure sacrifice, and a sacrifice cannot leave the holy confines of Eretz Yisrael.
The Possuk continues and says [Bereishit 26’ 4’-5’]:
“I will make your heirs as numerous as the stars of heaven, and assign to your heirs all these lands, so that all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your heir - because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge: My commandments, My laws, and My teachings.”
Here we see that G-d lets Yitzchak know that the land of Israel will belong to the incredibly numerous heirs of Avraham and Yitzchak [and eventually Yaakov]---because of the fact that Avraham followed the entirety of G-d’s commandments. [Interestingly, the Possuk seems to be saying straight out that although the Torah had not yet been given, Avraham still kept it in its totality; see Rashi on the verse].
Astoundingly, the Hebrew word for “because” used in verse 5 is “Eikev”. The Paaneach Raza points out the numerical value of the word “Eikev” is 172, which is exactly the amount of words that the Jews would hear when accepting the 10 commandments—for the 10 commandments contain 172 words!
This allusion is referenced earlier in the Torah as well, when Eliezer offers the Rivkah, the bride to be of Yitzchak [Bereishit 24’ 22’]:
“...the man [Eliezer] took [for Rivkah] a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel, and two gold bands for her arms, ten shekels in weight…”
Here as well the term used by the Torah for half-Shekel is “Beka”, which is also numerically equivalent to 172; hence Eliezer was alluding to Rivkah about the eventual “face-to-face” meeting with G-d the Jews would have hundreds of years later to accept the Torah and the 10 commandments, an occasion that would form the backbone and underpinning foundation of our belief in Hashem.
It would seem that as part of G-d’s commandment to Yitzchak not to leave Israel, Hashem saw fit to hint to the reason why the land is ours–because our ancestors saw and heard Hashem’s voice when the 10 commandments were given, and we accepted on ourselves a commitment to those ideals and the ways of the Torah.
Dedicated in memory of all those who have perished and sacrificed for Am Yisrael.
Have a Great Shabbas.