DRASH – TOLDOT

Rabbi Dr. Aviva Kipen

Leo Baeck Centre, Melbourne

A layered and well referenced article on Parashat Toldot by the late Rabbi Jordan Cohen z’tzl may the memory of the righteous endure for blessing, can be found on My Jewish Learning. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rebekahs-spiritual-crisis/

I reference Rabbi Cohen, who served the region in both Sydney and Hong Kong, following his recent death in Canada, where he grew up. Many remember Rabbi Jordan as a young parent, serving North Shore Temple Emanuel from 1993-1997. He had a quick sense of humour, an analytical and thoughtful style and an appreciation for the unorthodox. I recall (correctly, I hope) his unconventional secondary school which, had the technology existed then, would have been entirely virtual these days. It catered for exceptional students who needed something entirely different. Whatever their biological clocks, attentiveness, interests and preoccupations, his school allowed students to study day or night, in short bursts or in whichever way they could be accommodated, to serve their needs. I have always valued that story of his early years, and was touched by this Davar Acher, an afterword in his My Jewish Learning article about Rebekah’s spiritual crises, as recounted this week.

Following sections explaining the Pshat and Drash, comes an exploration of the twins Jacob and Esau in utero, that “indicates the boys were very precocious”. It is fascinating to realise that the rabbis of  third-fifth centuries CE could formulate an explanation for that womb-bound struggle between Jacob and Esau, in terms of each twin’s individuality and acknowledge their simultaneous forms of diverging development. Rabbi Jordan identified that section using the Rabbinic marker for an afterword, “Davar Acher” (Gen. Rabbah 63:6 referencing Gen 25:22) a different point of view, something by yet another named authority included in the midrashic collection about that verse.

What the “precocious” twins, were showing as early as their foetal stage, reminds us to acknowledge and care for each of our own and our children’s capacities. As we come to know more and more about the working of the brain, how its physiology is always working alongside and determining our emotional responses to life, Rabbi Cohen’s own educational path reminds us to seek spiritual space when the demands posed by our own challenges and those of our children’s needs press us to the brink of patience and endurance. Rebecca’s intuition during her pregnancy demonstrates one model for seeking spiritual solace when life sends cognitive, attentive and behavioural demands with which we and our families must grapple. Wise teachers endow us with skills and depth by sharing their own stories to help us grow towards flourishing.

“…..Al rabbanan, ve’al talmideyhon, ve’al talmidei talmideyhon ….” For the [original] teachers and their students, and for the students  of those students, (Mishkan Tefillah p210). We give thanks for the life of Rabbi Jordan Cohen, z’tzl, niftar 9 October 2026.

Rabbi Dr Aviva Kipen

Leo Baeck Centre, Melbourne