Shalom aleichem and welcome to Torah in Real Time, the podcast where ancient words meet today’s headlines, and where the struggles of our ancestors illuminate the challenges of our lives. I’m Rabbi Shlomo Gemara, and I’m so glad you’re here with me. This week, the Torah pulls us into Parashat Toledot, a portion whose very name means “generations.” Yet instead of a tidy family portrait, we’re handed a story crackling with tension, rivalry, longing, and love that sometimes hurts more than it heals. We meet Isaac and Rebecca: the only monogamous couple in the entire Torah, desperately praying for children after twenty years of barrenness. When the twins finally arrive, they come out fighting. One is red and restless, a hunter born with the dust of the wild on him; the other clings to his brother’s heel, quiet, calculating, already reaching for something bigger. From the womb they wrestle, and the struggle never really ends. In Toledot, a family gropes toward its future. Isaac digs wells and searches for blessing. Rebecca carries the burden of prophecy and will do anything to see it fulfilled. Esau roars in from the field, starving, and trades eternity for a bowl of lentil stew. Jacob puts on skins and a borrowed voice to claim what he believes is his destiny. Nothing is simple. Everything is unforgettable. And somehow, three thousand years later, it still feels like the evening news. Because this portion refuses to let us look away from the messy, sacred work of transmission: How do we pass on faith when siblings see the world so differently? How do parents love children who are nothing alike? What happens when prophecy and politics collide in the same household? And how do we shape the next generation when the ground beneath us keeps shifting? This week on Torah in Real Time, we’ll dive deep into Toledot and ask what it has to say about the headlines screaming at us right now: the raising of the Palestinian flag in public squares across Toronto and Canada, the imminent sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, the fault lines running through families, communities, and nations when identity, loyalty, and survival are all on the table. Because if Jacob and Esau teach us anything, it’s that the future is never guaranteed. It’s wrestled for, one difficult blessing at a time. So settle in, open your Chumash (or just open your heart), and let’s learn Toledot together, in real time, in this time. Welcome to the conversation. ——🎧 The Avrum Rosensweig Show —— A one-of-a-kind, intimate schmooze-fest, hosted and produced by the endlessly curious veteran radio and TV personality, Avrum Rosensweig. With warmth and wit, Avrum uncovers the secrets, dreams, and innermost thoughts of people from all walks of life. From local shelf stockers, plumbers, food servers, to crossing guards, stars, public figures, and cultural icons. Join this channel to get access to perks: / @avrumrosensweigshow Listen to The Avrum Rosensweigh Show on: https://open.spotify.com/show/6LZFTR0... https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... https://avrumspodcast.podbean.com/ Instagram: / avrumrosensweigshow TikTok: / avrumrosensweig #podcastcanada #storytellingmatters #jewishpodcast #jewishwisdom #jewishfaith #jewishlearning #jewisheducation #jewishcommunity #jewishheritage #jewishtradition #jewishculture #jewishcommunity #jewishhistory #jewishphilosophy #spiritualwisdom #motivationalpodcast #motivationalinterview #fascinatingpeople #engagingconversations #personalgrowth #lifelessons #leadershipstories #faithandwisdom #jewishinspirations #podcastinterview #theavrumrosensweigshow #TOLEDOTH