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Why does the Torah (תורה) emphasize that Avrohom fathered Yitzchok in Parshas Toldos, when this was already established in Vayeira? The shiur develops a profound yesod: Hashem (ה׳)'s miracle making Yitzchok resemble Avrohom wasn't merely cosmetic but involved actual genetic engineering that altered Yitzchok's personality and spiritual makeup. This transformation enabled Yitzchok to produce both Yaakov (expressing Avrohom's chesed (חסד)) and Esav (expressing Yitzchok's din), and was crucial for displacing Yishmael's claim to inheritance.
The shiur opens with a fundamental textual question: Why does Parshas Toldos begin with "Eila toldos Yitzchok ben Avrohom, Avrohom holid es Yitzchok" when Yitzchok's paternity was already established in Parshas Vayeira? Rashi (רש"י) explains that Hashem (ה׳) performed a miracle (sar klaster ponov) making Yitzchok physically resemble Avrohom to silence the scoffers (l'tzonei hador) who claimed Avimelech was the father. However, this miracle occurred shortly after Yitzchok's birth or at his weaning, not at age forty when this parsha begins. So why does the Torah (תורה) mention it here, at the introduction to Yitzchok's marriage and the birth of his children? Rabbi Zweig develops a revolutionary insight: the physical transformation was not merely external. When Hashem made Yitzchok look exactly like Avrohom, He also altered Yitzchok's internal nature and genetic code. Chazal teach "k'shem shePartzufeihem shel bnei adam shonos zu mizu, kach de'oseihem shonos" - just as people's faces differ, so do their thoughts. If Hashem made their faces identical, their thinking must have become similar as well. Yitzchok underwent a genuine metamorphosis, becoming "Yitzchok Avrohom" - possessing both his natural midah of din (gevurah) and an acquired, transplanted component of Avrohom's midah of chesed (חסד).
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Bereishis 25:19 (Parshas Toldos)
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