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Why did scoffers claim Avimelech fathered Yitzchok when divine intervention was obviously needed for elderly Avrohom and Sarah to conceive? The letzanei hador were actually Pelishtim (themselves mamzerim) trying to legitimize their illegitimate status by claiming even Jewish patriarchs had tainted lineage. True leitzanus isn't mockery but the dangerous practice of reframing immoral behavior as virtuous—transforming sheker into emes.
Rabbi Zweig begins with a long-standing question that bothered him for 45 years about Rashi (רש"י)'s commentary on Parshas Toldos. When the Torah (תורה) says 'Avrohom holid es Yitzchok' after already establishing that Yitzchok is the son of Avrohom, Rashi explains this was to counter the letzanei hador (scoffers of the generation) who claimed Avimelech was Yitzchok's father. Hashem (ה׳) made Yitzchok look exactly like Avrohom to prove paternity. Rabbi Zweig's original question was why these scoffers would make such a seemingly illogical claim when both parents were elderly and clearly needed divine intervention to conceive. This year, he developed a fresh approach by asking what motivated these scoffers - what did they gain from making such statements? The answer emerges from analyzing another Rashi in Parashas Noach about the Pelishtim (Philistines). Rashi explains that the Pelishtim descended from men who exchanged wives, making them mamzerim (illegitimate offspring). The Gemara (גמרא) also discusses how conception within 40 days can create complex genetic situations affecting the status of children. Rabbi Zweig connects these sources to show that the letzanei hador were actually Pelishtim trying to legitimize themselves by claiming that even Klal Yisrael descended from a mamzer relationship.
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Parshas Toldos, Bereishis 25:19
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