Shavuah Tov! Wishing everyone a blessed week.
This weeks Parasha is “Toldot” (These are the descendants).
“And Yitzchak was forty years old when he married Rivkah, the daughter of Besuel The Aromite, from Padan Arom, The sister of Laban the Aromite…” (Bereshit 25:20)
The Torah is very explicit telling us that Rivkah was the daughter of an evil person and the sister of an evil person, and lived in a community of evil people.
Rashi explains that this is to let us know that even tough she came from such a bad environment, nevertheless she didn’t learn from their behavior. Rivkah was compared to “a rose amongst thorns.”
In today’s world it is very common to see how people try to excuse their behavior and faults by blaming others for their actions. “Everyone is doing it… I didn’t know better, my sister does it too… I learned it from my parents… and so on.”
From Rivkah we learn that regardless of the faulty behavior of those who surrounded her, she had the ability to live a life more elevated than them.
I’ve seen kids who come from very bad upbringings, but with courage and determination they desire to break away from those chains.
The righteous person might be seen as a nonconformist and even rebellious by those who surround them, but basic Torah principles teach us that we alone are responsible for our actions.
Make a list of negative traits you have picked up from your environment and take the step you need to do what is correct in the eyes of the Almighty. Be a rose amongst thorns and hopefully your behavior will inspire others to also take the right measures in correcting their own misbehavior.
It’s time to move forward.
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