בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹקינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה הפוך בה והפוך בה לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרָה.
Barukh Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melekh HaOlam
Asher Kidshanu B'Mitzvotav V'Tzivanu
La'asok B'divrei Torah
La'asok B'divrei Torah
Hafokh Bah V'Hafokh Bah
La'asok B'divrei Torah.
(כא) וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר יִצְחָ֤ק לַֽיהֹוָה֙ לְנֹ֣כַח אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י עֲקָרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וַיֵּעָ֤תֶר לוֹ֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה וַתַּ֖הַר רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃ (כב) וַיִּתְרֹֽצְצ֤וּ הַבָּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔הּ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִם־כֵּ֔ן לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה אָנֹ֑כִי וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ לִדְרֹ֥שׁ אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה׃ (כג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה לָ֗הּ שְׁנֵ֤י (גיים) [גוֹיִם֙] בְּבִטְנֵ֔ךְ וּשְׁנֵ֣י לְאֻמִּ֔ים מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְ יִפָּרֵ֑דוּ וּלְאֹם֙ מִלְאֹ֣ם יֶֽאֱמָ֔ץ וְרַ֖ב יַעֲבֹ֥ד צָעִֽיר׃
(21) Yitzhak pleaded with יהוה on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and יהוה responded to his plea, and his wife Rivkah conceived.
(22) But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” She went to inquire of יהוה,
(23) and יהוה answered her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
Two separate peoples shall issue from your body;
One people shall be mightier than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”
(כא) וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר יִצְחָ֤ק לַֽיהֹוָה֙ לְנֹ֣כַח אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ כִּ֥י עֲקָרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וַיֵּעָ֤תֶר לוֹ֙ יְהֹוָ֔ה וַתַּ֖הַר רִבְקָ֥ה אִשְׁתּֽוֹ׃
(21) Yitzhak pleaded/entreated with יהוה on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and יהוה responded to his plea/was entreated of him, and his wife Rivkah conceived.
Leading Questions
ויעתר
What is Yitzhak doing?
+
לנכח אשתו
What is the significance of this physicality of Yitzhak?
ויעתר. הִרְבָּה וְהִפְצִיר בִּתְפִלָּה:
ויעתר לו. נִתְפַּצֵּר וְנִתְפַּיֵּס וְנִתְפַּתָּה לוֹ. וְאוֹמֵר אֲנִי, כָּל לְשׁוֹן עֶתֶר לְשׁוֹן הַפְצָרָה וְרִבּוּי הוּא, וְכֵן וַעֲתַר עֲנַן הַקְּטֹרֶת (יחז' ח') – מַרְבִּית עֲלִיַּת הֶעָשָׁן, וְכֵן וְהַעְתַּרְתֶּם עָלַי דִּבְרֵיכֶם (שם ל"ה), וְכֵן וְנַעְתָּרוֹת נְשִׁיקוֹת שׂוֹנֵא (משלי כ"ז) – דּוֹמוֹת לִמְרֻבּוֹת וְהִנָּם לְמַשָּׂא; אנקרי"שרא בלע"ז:
וַיֶּעְתַּר AND YITZHAK ENTREATED —He prayed much and urgently.
וַיֵּעָתֶר לו GOD WAS ENTREATED OF HIM — God let Godself be urged, conciliated and influenced by him. I say that wherever this root עתר occurs it has the meaning of heaping up and increasing. E. g., (Ezekiel 8:11) “And a thick (עתר) cloud of incense” which means an abundance of ascending smoke; (Ezekiel 35:13) “You have multiplied (העתרתם) your words against me”; (Proverbs 27:6) “The kisses of an enemy are importunate (נעתרות)”—they appear to be too many and therefore they are burdensome. Old French—encresser (English—to increase).
Nothing is Lost by Rabbi Noa Kushner
"The Hebrew word for Isaac's praying is a strange one / וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר
Typically translated as he pleaded or he prayed
But that word can also mean a shovel
And my teacher Avivah Zornberg taught me that they say in Midrash Rabbah
that the prayers of the righteous
Are like a shovel because
Just like a shovel turns over the earth
Real prayers change the acts of God
Now I don’t know
I have prayed for a lot of things, good and righteous things and they didn’t happen
But I do know that praying changed something in me
Not unlike a shovel turning earth over and over
And so I was very interested to learn that when Torah says Isaac finally prays
(Not sure what he was doing for the first twenty years)
Pirke D’Rebbe Eliezer it says Isaac took Rebecca up to Mount Moriah..."
(יא) רבי יהודה אומר, עשרים שנה היתה רבקה עקרה, לאחר עשרים שנה לקחה יצחק והלך עמה להר המוריה למקום שנעקד שם, והתפלל על ההריון ונעתר לו, שנאמ׳ ויעתר לו ה׳ וגו׳. ...
(11) Rabbi Yehudah said: Rivkah was barren for twenty years. After twenty years Yitzhak took Rivkah and went with her to Mount Moriah, to the place where he had been bound, and he prayed on her behalf concerning the conception of the womb; and the Holy One, blessed be He, was entreated of him, as it is said, "And Yitzhak intreated the Lord" (ibid. xxv. 21). ...
לנכח אשתו. זֶה עוֹמֵד בְּזָוִית זוֹ וּמִתְפַּלֵּל וְזוֹ עוֹמֶדֶת בְּזָוִית זוֹ וּמִתְפַּלֶּלֶת:
לנכח אשתו FACING HIS WIFE — He stood in one corner and prayed whilst she stood in the other corner and prayed (Genesis Rabbah 63:5).
לנכח אשתו. אף על פי שהובטח על הזרע שיירש התפלל לאל ית' שיתן לו אותו הזרע מזאת ההגונה הנצבת נכחו:
לנכח אשתו, even though he had been given an assurance from God that he would produce seed, he prayed to God that the mother of this child or children should be someone who was meritorious, someone of the calibre of Rivkah who was present and standing opposite him.
Questions for Reflection
Which of these explanations of what Yitzhak is doing speaks to you the most?
Maybe you have your own explanation?
And why?
(כב) וַיִּתְרֹֽצְצ֤וּ הַבָּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔הּ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִם־כֵּ֔ן לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה אָנֹ֑כִי וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ לִדְרֹ֥שׁ אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה׃
(22) But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” She went to inquire of יהוה,
Leading Questions
לדרוש
What is Rivkah doing?
+
ותלך
Where is Rivkah going?
ותלך לדרוש את ה' לשון רש"י (רש"י על בראשית כ״ה:כ״ב) להגיד מה יהא בסופה ולא מצאתי דרישה אצל ה' רק להתפלל כטעם דרשתי את ה' וענני (תהלים לד ה) דרשוני וחיו (עמוס ה ד) חי אני אם אדרש לכם (יחזקאל כ ג):
AND SHE WENT ‘LIDROSH’ (TO INQUIRE) OF THE ETERNAL. Rashi comments: “To tell what her outcome will be.” Now I have not discovered the word drishah [lidrosh, to inquire] in relation to God except in the context of prayer, as in the verses: I sought (‘darashti’) the Eternal and He answered me; seek ye Me, (‘dirshuni’) and live; As I live, saith G-d the Eternal, I will not be inquired of (‘edareish’) by you.
ותאמר אם כן. גָּדוֹל צַעַר הָעִבּוּר, למה זה אנכי. מִתְאַוָּה וּמִתְפַּלֶּלֶת עַל הֵרָיוֹן: ותלך לדרוש. לְבֵית מִדְרָשׁוֹ שֶׁל שֵׁם: לדרוש את ה'. שֶׁיַּגִּיד לָהּ מַה תְּהֵא בְּסוֹפָהּ:
ותאמר אם כן means AND SHE SAID, “IF the pain of pregnancy be so great, למה זה אנכי WHY IS IT that I longed and prayed to become pregnant?” (Genesis Rabbah 63:6). ותלך לדרש AND SHE WENT TO ENQUIRE at the school of Shem (Genesis Rabbah 63:6). 'לדרש את ה, TO ENQUIRE OF THE LORD, that God might tell her what would happen to her at the end.
(יא) ... באה ללדת ומחבליה הגיעה נפשה למות, והלכה להתפלל במקום טהור, שנאמר ותלך לדרוש את ה׳.
(11) ...The time of her confinement came round, and her soul was nigh unto death owing to her pains. And she went to pray in the place whither she and Yitzhak had gone, as it is said, "And she went to inquire of the Lord" (ibid.).
Sarna on Genesis 25:22
SHE WENT TO INQUIRE OF THE LORD -- The idiom employed means to seek divine guidance in a moment of great perplexity and anguish. Generally one would go to a specific sanctuary or to some charismatic personage of recognized authority. In this case the narrative is tantalizingly short on details. According to Genesis 25:11, the couple is living at Be'er-lahai-roi at this time, the place where Hagar had received the divine announcement concerning the birth and destiny of a son, as told in Genesis 16:7-14. This may have influenced Rivkah to go to the same site. It is to be noted that the divine name YHVH is carefully employed in both inquiry and response, as though to dissociate her action from any pagan cultic rite.
Questions for Reflection
Which of these three answers to the question of where Rivkah went to pray/inquire do you find most compelling?
Or maybe you have another suggestion?
And why?
(כג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה לָ֗הּ שְׁנֵ֤י (גיים) [גוֹיִם֙] בְּבִטְנֵ֔ךְ וּשְׁנֵ֣י לְאֻמִּ֔ים מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְ יִפָּרֵ֑דוּ וּלְאֹם֙ מִלְאֹ֣ם יֶֽאֱמָ֔ץ וְרַ֖ב יַעֲבֹ֥ד צָעִֽיר׃
“Two nations are in your womb,
Two separate peoples shall issue from your body;
One people shall be mightier than the other,
And the older shall serve the younger.”
Leading Question
ויאמר יהוה לה
What is God doing here?
ויאמר ה' לה. עַל יְדֵי שָׁלִיחַ; לְשֵׁם נֶאֱמַר בְּרוּחַ הַקֹּדֶשׁ וְהוּא אָמַר לָהּ (בראשית רבה):
ויאמר ה' לה AND THE ETERNAL SAID UNTO HER through a messenger: it was told to Shem by holy inspiration and he told it to her (Genesis Rabbah 63:7).
ויאמר ה' לה. על ידי נביא או אברהם בעצמו כי לא מת עד שהיו בניה בני ט"ו שנה:
AND THE LORD SAID UNTO HER. Via a prophet, or through Avraham himself, for Avraham did not pass away until her sons were fifteen years of age.
(א) ויאמר ה' לה, ע"י הנביא, היה אברהם או שם.
ויאמר ה' לה, by means of the prophet who was either Shem or Avraham.
Questions for Reflection
Do you understand this verse as God speaking to Rivkah through a messenger prophet? Shem? Avraham?
What about the possibility of understanding this verse as a description of direct communication between God and Rivkah?
Reflections
- Compare God's response to Rivkah's prayer to God's response to Yitzhak's prayer.
- When you pray, how do you pray? Is it more in line with Yitzhak's prayer or Rivkah's prayer? Both? Neither? And what are your hopes in terms of a response from God--do you hope for a response from God? Directly? Through messenger or prophet? Through action?