Anash.org presents a weekly Dvar Torah for children by Rabbi Yekusiel Goldstein, author of the book Divrei Torah for Children.
New: Submit the answers to the review questions below and be entered into a raffle to win a copy of the book! Thank you Rabbi Goldstein for sponsoring the raffle.
For a printable PDF of the Dvar Torah for Parshas Toldos, click here.
תּוֹלְדוֹת
Yaakov kicked when Rivka passed a shul and Eisav kicked when Rivka passed a place of avoda zara. Later, when they grew up each of them followed these ways. Yaakov served Hashem, while Eisav served avoda zara.
Question – How can it be that Yitzchak and Rivka who were such great tzadikim had a child who had a tendency towards avoda zara even before he was born?!
Answer – There are two types of Yidden, tzadikim and baalei teshuva.
Tzadikim – They don’t have a yetzer hara challenging them and they never do aveiros.
Baalei Teshuva – They have a yetzer hara that tries to get them to do aveiros. Yet, they overcome their yetzer hara and do Hashem’s will.
Hashem has pleasure from the tzadik who never sins. At the same time there is an additional benefit in the avoda of a baal teshuva, and Hashem has tremendous pleasure from his way of serving Him. When the baal teshuva overcomes the challenges of his yetzer hara, he shows Hashem how powerful his yetzer tov is!
Hashem created Eisav with challenges so that he should overcome them and have the benefit of a baal teshuva. Eisav, however, chose to give in to his yetzer hara and didn’t succeed in fulfilling his mission.
Lesson – Sometimes the yetzer hara tries to stop us from doing a mitzva, like listening to our parents or talking nicely to a friend. When we overcome the yetzer hara and do the mitzva, it gives Hashem tremendous pleasure, even more than the avoda of a tzadik!
Let’s Review…
Question #1: From whose avoda can we see the true power of the yetzer tov; the tzadik or baal teshuva?
Question #2: What does Hashem expect us to do when we are challenged by the yetzer hara?
Submit your answers via this form by Monday 6:00 pm, to enter the weekly raffle for your own Sefer “Divrei Torah for Children”!
Divrei Torah for ChildrenVolume 2 can be purchased online or in Crown Heights bookstores.
