This week Mark Call of Shabbat Shalom Mesa fellowship takes a two-part look at the parsha which essentially covers the life of Yitzak/Isaac, and introduces his two sons Esau and Yaakov. That alone makes it vital to our understanding, but - no surprise, of course - there's far more here.

It's also one of the more controversial, perhaps even unsettling, of the stories in Genesis; how is it that the man (Yaakov) so often associated with "truth" seems to get started via a lie? And what do we make of that?

The sequence again begins with the Erev Shabbat reading:

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There are definitely some troubling aspects to this parsha. But certainly a lot of things that should sound quite familiar, too. Aren't most AmeriKans taught to "despise their birthright"?

But there's something here that we do NOT see anymore in most of 'the world' now, either. "Jacob I have loved, Esau I have hated," says Malachi. But at least Esau honored his word! Consider: Even if he later thought he had been tricked, he didn't do what virtually ever Swamp Creature politician does today, by taking an oath and then lying about it!

And they ALL seemed to understand the power of WORDS. Particularly His Word.

And especially blessings.

"Toldot: Blessings - and the Power of Words"

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The combined two-part podcast is here: