TCv3 on Toldot and Vayetze

Isaac bless Jacob

Shalom Aleichem, we are now into the study of the Haftarah portion for Parashah Toldot and that is Malachi l:l-2:7. Now the first five verses of the prophecy state God’s love for Jacob and hatred for Esau, referring to the children of Jacob (Israel) and the children of Esau (Edom) respectively. Those five verses of Jacob and Esau material provide the connection to this week’s Torah portion which tells the story of the birth of Jacob and Esau and their subsequent competition for the covenant blessings. The rest of the Haftarah portion addresses the priesthood. By reminding Israel of God’s love for them and His covenant choice of their nation, the prophet hopes to remind a lax and seemingly despondent priesthood of their covenant obligations and responsibilities. From here, we can see that HaShem would not tolerate laxity in worship and demands sincere praise offerings from His people. As it is written in John 4:23, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.”

Ending on a positive note, the traditional Haftarah reading concludes with an exhortation to emulate Aaron the priest who practiced peace and taught Torah. A true priest of God is a messenger of the LORD: For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 2:7) The prophecies of Malachi are further explored in the Haftarah portion for Shabbat HaGadol. I will not share this study at my blog here because again there are too many significant points to cover to give it a proper summary. Hence, all I can say is that FFOZ Torah Club editors had certainly done a wonderful awesome solid job here for HaShem/Elohim in proclaiming Torah to His people in the glorious Name of His beloved Son Yeshua.

“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert” (Malachi 1:2-3). God loved Jacob but hated Esau. That sentiment made the first chapter of Malachi a natural selection from the prophets for the Haftarah portion to accompany the Torah’s Jacob and Esau incident above.

Church Fathers and early Christian writers frequently quoted Malachi 1:10 and similar passages throughout the prophets to support their premise that God never desired literal sacrifices or a literal Temple. The Church Fathers misappropriated God’s rebukes about the mishandling of Temple ritual to justify their theology of contempt for the Temple and sacrificial system. Christian theology placed the sacrificial system of the Temple in antithesis to the sacrifice of Jesus. In their disputations with the Jewish community, Christian apologists pointed to the historic destruction of the Temple in 70 CE and a litany of proof texts that they had plucked out of context to demonstrate that God had been against Torah and the Temple all along. Theologically, the Church joined the Edomite battle cry against God’s Temple in Jerusalem: “Raze it, raze it to its very foundation” (Psalm 137:7).

So what did we learnt from this Haftarah study? Well, first I would say that God’s promises are always steadfast and will not waver for anything. Second, worship Him in truth and do jovial charity as much as one can through the Help of Ruach HaKodesh so that our prayers may be answered as He see fits. Third, study Torah and meditate on the divine Scripture daily to seek Him in all our needs.

Alright, let’s move on to the next Parashah study and that is Vayetze. The Haftarah portion for this Parashah is on Hosea’s prophecy. In the book of Hosea, we can see many poetic structure of the biblical prophecies that many find it difficult to understand. Hosea’s poetry makes heavy use of metaphors and similes. At times, the prophet’s Hebrew poetry is hard to decipher. The prophet Hosea makes two references to the story of Jacob. He briefly retells a few highlights from the Jacob narratives, including the story of Jacob’s flight to Aram, struggle with the angel, and encounter with God at Bethel as written in Hosea 12:3-4 and 12: In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his maturity he contended with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His favor. He found Him at Bethel and there He spoke with us. (Hosea 12:3-4) This serves as the point of connection to Torah portion Vayetze, which describes Jacob’s vision at Bethel. In Hosesa 12:12 we read, “Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram, and Israel worked for a wife, and for a wife he kept sheep.” This also reference to the Jacob story in the Torah portion and offers a concise summary of it.

In Hosea 12:4, we find that though judgment hung over the house of Israel, the nation still had time to repent. The prophet Hosea encouraged the children of Israel to think back to their father Jacob the wrestler. While still in the womb, Jacob wrestled with his brother Esau in a contest to be the first-born and to inherit the blessings of Abraham. As an adult, he wrestled with God in the form of the Angel of the LORD, refusing to let go until the LORD blessed him. Eventually Jacob prevailed over the angel. The people of Israel should be like their father Jacob. They should not give up or accept a fatalistic resignation to judgment. Instead, the prophet encourages them to cling to God and to struggle for the blessing. How did Jacob prevail over the angel? “He wept and sought His favor” {12:4). Hosea hence invited the people to wrestle with God in prayer, contrition, and true repentance, weeping before God and seeking His favor. The prophet says, “Therefore, return to your God, observe kindness and justice, and wait for your God continually” (12:6). In Hebrew, the word “return” is the same as “repent.” Jacob saw the vision of the ladder and the angels ascending and descending at Bethel. Hosea also encouraged the people of Ephraim to seek the LORD out at Bethel where God first appeared to Jacob.

The prophet Hosea did not tell the people to bring sacrifices to Bethel, instead, he told them to seek the LORD with genuine repentance, weeping, and prayer. Instead of sacrifices, he told them, “Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him, ‘Take away all iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips”‘ (14:2). Thus Hosea’s brief recounting of Jacob’s encounter at Bethel is the reason that Sephardic synagogues use this passage as the Haftarah selection.  OK, what this teaches us is that HaShem/Elohim desire our prayers and praise offerings (worship) and not animal ritual sacrifices as we read in Psalm 51:16-17.

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
     You do not want a burnt offering.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
     You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

In Psalm 51, David confesses his sin without holding back. He implores the Lord to forgive him and create within him a clean heart. Then David adds that HaShem does not “desire a sacrifice” or a “burnt offering.” Yet there is a sacrifice that is pleasing to the Lord. “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (51:17).

When we sin, HaShem is not impressed by the things we try to do to atone for ourselves. We cannot offer anything to motivate Him to forgive us. After all, HaShem can produce all the things He needs. But we can offer that which we alone can give to the LORD: our open hearts, our sorrow over our sin, our fervent intention to repent. This is the “sacrifice” HaShem desires from us.

Next week Friday we will be looking forward to Chanukah celebration with family, relatives and friends as well as believing brothers and sisters in Messiah. Get ready for a big miracle to occur in our life…..