Toldot - תולדות :"Generations"
Torah : Genesis 25:19-28:9
Haftarah : Malachi 1:1-2:7
Gospel : Matthew 13-14

Thought for the Week:

The three wells Isaac dug represent the three holy temples of Jerusalem. King Solomon built the first Temple, and it was destroyed by the Babylonians. The returnees from Babylon built the second Temple, which was destroyed by the Romans. King Messiah will build the third Temple, and it will never be destroyed. (Nachnamides)

Commentary:

Genesis 26:12-32: As the Philistines watched Isaac grow richer and richer from their land and their water, they began to grow envious. At last the Philistine animosity grew to the point where they cut off his water supplies. They filled in his wells, though they were wells that had been dug by Abraham.

The Torah says that Isaac reopened the wells of his father Abraham. Not only did Isaac reopen the wells, but he named them the same names Abraham had named them. The Torah describes how the names of four various wells arose. From the narrative, it seems as if Isaac was naming the wel...