PARACHAT TOLDOT (6) - HITAT DU JOUR 28 HESHVAN 5787 - 08 Novembre 2026

Welcome. Hello everyone, and welcome to our daily appointment, the study of the daily Chok. Today, we are in the Parsha of Toldot, the first day, Yom Rishon, of the week of the 28th of Cheshvan 5784, and I am infinitely happy to be with you to share this moment. You can send us your dedications via WhatsApp at 06 21 37 24 52.

Today, we are just a few days away from Rosh Chodesh Kislev. This very important day when we celebrate Shlichut, the mission the Rebbe launched when he took the leadership of the Chabad movement on a day of Simchat Torah in 1950, the Rebbe spoke with great fervor about the importance of Shlichut, emphasizing that every Jew must take part in it. The Rebbe then shared two particularly striking teachings. The Gematria, the numerical value of the word Shliach, is almost identical to that of Mashiach.

With a difference of just 10. This teaches us that if a Shliach mobilizes the 10 Kochot, the 10 faculties of his soul, as we learn today in the Tanya, to perfect his mission, he contributes directly to bringing Mashiach. The Rebbe also cited the verse where He invites us to put Him to the test with Tzedakah, meaning promising that we will then see with our own eyes these rewards regarding Shlichut. Also, the Rebbe affirmed that every Jew who invests himself in the action of Shlichut, that is to say, going to spread the Torah and Mitzvot, the light of Hashem and His presence everywhere in the world, will clearly notice that he receives special blessings.

The Torah introduces us to the life of Yitzchak today by telling us about the birth of his two sons, Yaakov and Esav. Yitzchak has children. He was the son of Abraham par excellence, for it is he who perpetuated the mission of Abraham consisting of spreading the knowledge of Hashem. He married Rivka at the age of 40, while Rivka was only three.

She had grown up in the house of a man who was called a Rasha, yet she remained an upright woman, a Tzadeket. At first, Rivka was too young to have a child, and even after the required age, children did not arrive immediately. After 10 years of waiting, aware that they had to redouble their efforts, they both decided to pray intensely to Hashem . And God will hear their Tefillah.

He will grant the Tefillah of Yitzchak, who benefited from a double merit. His own and that of his father, and Rivka became pregnant with twins. The pregnancy, the Torah tells us, was particularly trying for Rivka. She was unaware at that time that she was carrying twins.

She had the impression that the baby inside her was being pulled in two totally opposite directions. The fetus would stir when she passed by a house of Torah study, but also when she passed by a place of idol worship. Seeking to resolve this contradiction, she consulted Shem and Ever to understand what was happening. Hashem let her know that she was expecting twins and explained that they would be in constant struggle, one representing good and the other evil.

But that the elder would eventually serve the younger. When the children were born, the first was entirely red and covered in hair. Because of this significant fleece, he was named Esav, in reference to what means "asui," finished, accomplished, already done. The second came out right after, holding Esav's heel in his hand, and he was named Yaakov.

Yaakov, which is a derivative of "eikev," the heel. And when he was born, he was born already with the brit milah, miraculously already circumcised. Esav would decide a few years later to sell his birthright. Their grandfather Abraham had dedicated much time to successfully educating Yaakov and Esav until their 13th year.

Abraham. The two boys strove to serve Hashem and resist their yetzer hara. But the situation changed afterward. Yaakov persevered in the study of Torah , while Esav began to give in secretly to his yetzer hara, all while deceiving his father a little to make him believe he remained righteous.

At the age of 15 , Esav had enough of playing a role. He wanted to live according to his desires without having to hide anymore. Hashem ensured that Abraham passed away a little earlier to spare him the pain of seeing this. Yaakov was preparing a lentil soup for his father one day, for the custom is to serve lentils to a person in a period of mourning.

And it was at that moment that Esav returned; he was exhausted from a day spent yielding to all the impulses of his yetzer hara. He demanded that Yaakov give him that red lentil dish. Observing Esav’s behavior, Yaakov understood that he was unworthy of the sacred responsibility of Yitzchak’s firstborn. He therefore proposed to Esav to trade his birthright privileges for the lentil dish.

Esav felt the exchange was worth it and concluded the deal. At that time, Yitzchak settled in Gerar . The Torah then recounts another episode in Yitzchak's life: a new famine that struck Eretz Yisrael, where Yitzchak considered emigrating to a much more fertile region. But Hashem commanded him not to go down to Egypt, for he had been sanctified as a korban during the Akeidah, and he was to settle instead in Gerar, a territory that would later become an integral part of Eretz Yisrael.

And we conclude our tribute with the berachot, the blessings , making the promise of multiple blessings by virtue of the merit of Abraham Avinu, his father. Today we read from 135 to 139, from psalm 135 to 139, and chapter 139 is a quite remarkable Tehillim. No other chapter formulates with such depth the way to serve Hakadosh Baruch Hu. David Hamelech mentions in particular the creation of Adam HaRishon.

Adam HaRishon addresses the Creator thus : You fashioned me last and first. What does this apparent contradiction mean? How could Adam have been created both last and first? The answer is found in the fact that two opposite realities can coexist when they relate to different planes.

Adam HaRishon is the last in one respect , but the first in another. The Rebbe explains in the Likutei Torah that " Ahor," or last, indicates that he was created on the last day of creation and represents the lowest level because he has the capacity to commit averot by going against the divine will. Only the human being possesses free will , bechirah chofshit, and can perform averot, can transgress. He therefore occupies the place of the last and the lowest in this regard.

The other creatures cannot make this choice. They have no free will, but he is the first because he possesses a neshamah, a soul , a spiritual spark that no other creature of Hashem shares. Even the body possesses a profound singularity, the body of the Jew. Thus, Adam HaRishon is found to be both the first and the last; in the image of Adam HaRishon, every Jew holds the power to choose, through their actions, to be the first or the last in the order of creation.

Tanya, continuing in today's lessons, the Rebbe gives us a teaching from a very deep Kabbalistic work called Etz Chaim, which concerns the spiritual reach of the mitzvot. The mitzvot act like a gardener who cuts the thorns from a vine where grapes grow so that they do not damage the grapes. That is exactly the role of the mitzvot . The mitzvot eliminate the yetzer hara from materiality to allow the mitzvot themselves to sanctify that same matter .

By accomplishing this task, we will incite Hakadosh Baruch Hu to unite with the Shechinah, what is called Kudsha Brich Hu and His Shechinah, and to reside among us in the world. The tzadikim possess this singular force to attract the Shechinah into the world without passing through what is called the channel of matter, gashmiut, solely through the power of their holy thoughts To elevate the Torah and the mitzvot of a person from below to above, one needs a good thought, a positive intention that will flow from

the fear and the love of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. For without fear and without love, our service to Hashem does not take flight toward the heights. The same applies to all actions and words spoken by our lips—Torah and prayer—which aim to rise from world to world until reaching the highest level of Hashem’s presence.

Ayum rafret rvan rvan. The Rebbe tells us that even the smallest event happening to anything in creation, no matter what it is, draws its vitality and life force from Hashgacha Pratit, the divine providence of Hashem. That is not all. Not only does every detail occur solely because of Hashem's Hashgacha Pratit, but everything that happens is part of Hashem’s grand design for the creation of the world.

Only when all these puzzle pieces come together will Hashem’s will and intent in creating the universe reach its total fulfillment. The Rebbe gives us an extraordinary perspective here. We should meditate on this. If even a simple leaf carried by the wind from one place to another is governed by Hashgacha Pratit and participates in Hashem’s global plan for the world, how much more so is this true for a human being, and especially for a Jew, Hashem’s chosen people.

Every event in their life is a matter of Hashgacha Pratit and has a mission; it matters to the supreme plan of Hashem’s This gives infinite importance to our thoughts, our words, and our actions. And we conclude with the Rambam. Today, we are studying the rules for being a good neighbor according to the Torah. In chapter seven, we learn about the rights relating to windows.

It is forbidden, for example, to block the light from a neighbor's window by building a wall too close to their home. In chapter eight, we speak, among other things, of overhanging structures like a terrace or a balcony that extends over a neighbor's courtyard. If the neighbor was aware without expressing any opposition, they can no longer change their mind later. On the other hand, installing a sukkah, for instance, does not create a neighborhood issue unless it remains in place for a whole month after Sukkot, because everyone knows a sukkah is not intended to stay up all year.

Finally, in chapter nine, the Rambam indicates the precautions one must take to avoid causing damage to a neighbor's installations. For example, when installing a basin to collect water, one must be careful to ensure there is no water seepage that could weaken the neighbor's wall. That's it for our study of the Ram for today for our daily. See you very soon for a next episode.

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