Parshas Toldos for Kids
פרשת תולדות
Twins are born who could not be less alike. Yitzchak digs his father's wells again, Yaakov buys the birthright for a pot of lentils, and Rivka sends her son to receive the brachos - and then to run.
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What happens in Parshas Toldos
Yitzchak and Rivka daven for many years for a child, and Hashem answers with twins: Eisav, who grows up a hunter in the fields, and Yaakov, who sits and learns in the tents. Rashi explains that Yaakov learned in the yeshivos of Shem and Ever. One day Eisav comes home tired and sells his rights as the firstborn to Yaakov for a bowl of red lentil stew. Rashi teaches that Yaakov had cooked lentils for his father, because that was the day Avraham Avinu passed away.
During a famine Yitzchak lives among the Pelishtim, where Hashem blesses him greatly. He digs out the wells his father had dug, which the Pelishtim had filled with dirt, and Rashi says he gave them the very same names his father had used. When Yitzchak grows old, Rivka Imeinu guides Yaakov to receive his father's brachos. Afterward, to keep Yaakov safe from Eisav's anger, his parents send him away to Lavan's house in Charan to find a wife.
Lessons and middos for children
Kibbud av va'em
Yitzchak honored his father by keeping the names of the wells his father had dug. We honor our parents by remembering what they teach us.Tefillah
Yitzchak and Rivka davened for many years and never gave up. We keep davening even when the answer takes time.Valuing what matters
Eisav traded something precious for a bowl of soup. We think carefully about what is truly important before we choose.
Questions for the Shabbos table
- How were Yaakov and Eisav different from each other?
- Why do you think Yitzchak gave the wells the same names his father had used?
- Rashi says Yaakov cooked lentils for his father on a sad day. How can we help someone who is feeling sad?
- What is something our family does that came from your grandparents?
How your child steps into the story
Your child helps Yitzchak's servants dig out his father's old wells and is there to cheer when fresh water bubbles up again. The story ends as Yaakov sets out alone on the road to Charan, with a long journey ahead of him.