Shabbat Shalom. 

About a year ago, I went on vacation with my family to Lake Geneva. At night, we took a walk around the beautiful grounds of our resort. I looked up to the sky—it was clearer than I had ever seen it before. Far away from the city lights, every star sparkled like a diamond. Each one seemed to have been carefully placed to resemble shapes and pictures. On that clear, crisp, November night, G-d’s work was obvious.

Seeing those stars reminded me of the promise that G-d makes many times in the Torah.

"Vehearbetee et zarecha ke-kochvei ha-shamayim." ("I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven.")

G-d makes this promise to Isaac in this week’s parsha—Toldot.

Walking with my family under the stars was very peaceful. We were filled feelings of happiness and contentment, and everything was calm. But, unfortunately, that kind of family feeling was not the case with Isaac’s family.

Rebecca, Isaac’s wife, had twins—Jacob and Esau. They were as different as any twin brothers could be. As it says in this week’s parsha:

"Esav haya eesh tzayid," ("Esau was a hunter, a man of the fields.")

"Aval Yaakov haya eesh yoshev ohaleem," ("But Jacob was a man who stayed in the camps.")

Isaac favored Esau, and Rebecca favored Jacob. This is the source of the rivalry between Jacob and Esau, who compete for the blessing of their father Isaac. In fact, Jacob’s mother Rebecca helps him fool his father into giving Jacob the blessing that was rightly Esau’s.

On Shabbat, one of our family traditions is to have the parents place their hands on the heads of their children, and say the priestly blessing. But my brother and I don’t fight over the blessing. We both accept the blessing with love and respect, for our parents and for each other. We both know that our parents’ hearts are filled with love for both of us. But the blessing that Isaac would give the oldest child led Esau wanting to kill Jacob.

Why is this parsha telling us about this dysfunctional family? If there’s anything that the Torah teaches us, it’s the importance of family relationships based on honesty and love.

My relationships with my brother and parents are important to me. I’m glad that the biggest of my quarrels with my brother is actually an argument about this parsha—whether it’s lentil soup or red stuff that Jacob cooks for Esau in exchange for the birthright.

When Rebecca tells Jacob to dress up in Esau’s clothes, she was telling him to deceive his father. It was wrong of Jacob to lie, and it was wrong of Rebecca to engage in this deception. But even if Jacob understood the importance of honesty, he also wanted to honor his mother, by listening to her direction.

Unlike Jacob in today’s parsha, who seemed to have only his mother helping him, I, fortunately, had many people on my side.

Rabbi Altshuler who enhanced my understanding of my parsha, and Cantor Wasser who listened to me chant my Torah and Haftarah over and over again. I’d like to say "Todah Rabah" to all of my teachers at the Solomon Schechter Day School for teaching me both secular and Judaic studies. Hem limdu otie ech ledaber be safah ha-Ivrit. They taught me how to speak the Hebrew language.

Thank you also to all of my friends for spending time with me, making me laugh, and being the best friends anyone could ever have. I’d like to thank all of my relatives and friends who came from far and near to be with me on this special day. It means a lot to me to have them here with me as I become a Bat Mitzvah.

I’d like to wish a big Mazel Tov to my Bat Mitzvah partner, Jodeya, and her family. Sharing my Bat Mitzvah with a friend makes the day even more special. Jodeya, Sharon, Jack, and Alana—may our families celebrate many more happy occasions together.

I’d like to thank my brother, Michael, for all of his help. He knows everything, from Algebra to Mishnah, and I admire his ability to grasp things so quickly.

Lastly, I’d like to thank my mom and dad for all of their love and support. My mom is the kind of mom every girl wishes she had. She’s my mom, my teacher, my advisor, and my best friend, all rolled into one.

My dad adds humor, music, and a sense of adventure to my life. He’s a man who sets high standards of excellence for himself, and expects no less from others.

I will always try to make my mom and dad proud.

Shabbat Shalom.