Rabbi Daniel: Thoughts on Torah

Dear friends,

In 5786 we are reading the first triennial each week, which means starting each parsha at the beginning.  The last verse of first aliyah (25:22) is: 

וַיִּתְרֹֽצְצ֤וּ הַבָּנִים֙ בְּקִרְבָּ֔הּ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר אִם־כֵּ֔ן לָ֥מָּה זֶּ֖ה אָנֹ֑כִי וַתֵּ֖לֶךְ לִדְרֹ֥שׁ אֶת־יְהֹוָֽה׃

"But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” She went to inquire of יהוה,"

In this first aliyah we have Isaac pleading on his wife Rebekah's behalf that she conceive and, as the text says, God opens Rebekah's womb.  This is similar to how things went down when Sarah had been unable to conceive and Abraham complained to God about it.   However, after the angels told

 Abraham that Sarah would be with child, Sarah hears the news through the tent curtains (one presumes) and laughs. God (who was upset that Sarah laughed) does not speak with Sarah directly but complains to Abraham about Sarah's behavior and then Abraham speaks to Sarah about the incident.  Here in Toldot, after Isaac has spoken to God, Rebekah takes her problem right to the chief   The great commentator Rashi says that Rebekah went to God so that he would tell her what would happen to her in the end.    A couple other commentators say that Rebekah spoke to God by way of the local prophets of the time.  Another says that she wanted to know what would happen to the two fetuses in her womb since they were fighting.   

There is a lot of evidence in the Torah itself that the matriarchs were in either direct or at least mediated conversations with God.  Even though God doesn't speak directly to Sarah he does tell Abraham to do as she says, and when it came to the next generation of women, they and God were connecting directly.  What this tells me is that including the Imahot in the opening paragraph of the Amidah is not only ethically justifiable due to the realities in our modern societies but that it is also textually supported by the narratives we read during these weeks of the Torah cycle.  

In peace and honor,

Rabbi Daniel