Summary
Rebecca gives birth to twins, Jacob and Esau. Esau sells his birthright as the firstborn to Jacob for some stew. Rebecca helps Jacob pretend to be Esau so he can get the blessing. Esau threatens to kill him, so Jacob flees to his uncle’s house.
Aliyah-by-Aliyah Summary
1st Aliyah: Genesis 25:19-26:5
Isaac prays to God on behalf of his wife, Rebecca, who is having trouble conceiving. Rebecca becomes pregnant with twins. Red and hairy, Esau is born first. Jacob is born holding on to Esau’s heel. Esau grows up to be a hunter, while Jacob is a mild man who stays home. Esau is Isaac’s favorite, and Jacob is Rebecca’s. One day, Jacob is cooking a stew, and Esau comes in famished. Esau sells his birthright to Jacob as payment for a bowl of stew.
2nd Aliyah: Genesis 26:6-12
Isaac, living in Gerar, tells the men of the place that Rebecca is his sister because he is afraid they might kill him. Abimelech, King of the Philistines, thinking they are siblings, sees them being intimate and becomes concerned. He is fearful that one of the locals might have taken Rebecca, as a wife and there would be dire consequences. As a result, Abimelech issues a decree of protection on Isaac and Rebecca.
3rd Aliyah: Genesis 26:13-22
Isaac becomes wealthy, and the locals begin filling the wells that Abraham dug. Abimelech fearfully sends him away. Isaac re-digs the wells Abraham had dug and gets into some disputes with local herdsmen over water rights.
4th Aliyah: Genesis 26:23-29
Isaac goes to Beer-sheba, and God appears to him with a blessing. Isaac builds an altar and digs a well there. Abimelech comes to Isaac seeking a treaty because of his relationship with God.
5th Aliyah: Genesis 26:30-27:27
Isaac and Abimelech exchange oaths. When he is forty, Esau marries two Hittite women, which upsets his parents. Isaac is old and has failing eyesight, so he asks Esau to hunt him and cook him some meat. Rebecca overhears and tells Jacob to cook a meal using goats from their flock.
Rebecca cooks the dish, has Jacob dress up in Esau’s clothes, and covers his hands and neck with the goat’s skin to trick Isaac. Jacob brings his father the food, and when asked who he is, he lies and says he is Esau. Isaac asks to feel Jacob to confirm his identity, since Esau is hairy, after which he declares the voice to be Jacob’s but the hands Esau’s.
6th Aliyah: Genesis 27:28-28:4
Isaac blesses Jacob, the second-born child, with a blessing meant for the firstborn child. Esau returns from the hunt and prepares food for Isaac. Isaac and Esau realize they were tricked, and Esau begs for a blessing, too. Isaac cannot give the same blessing so Esau recives a different blessing. He harbors a grudge against Jacob and threatens to kill him. Rebecca tells Jacob to flee to her brother Laban, who lives in Haran. Rebecca tells Isaac she sent Jacob to find an appropriate wife.
7th Aliyah: Genesis 28:5-9
Isaac sends Jacob off with another blessing and instruction to his uncle Laban. Esau sees his brother leave to get a wife and his father’s instruction not to marry Caananite women. (Maftir: Genesis 28:7-9) “Esau realizes that marrying Canaanite women displeases his father,” so he goes to Ishmael and marries one of his daughters.
Triennial Breakdown
Note: For more information about the tradition of spreading the TorahRefers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh, also called the Five Books of Moses, Pentateuch or the Hebrew equivalent, Humash. This is also called the Written Torah. The term may also refer to teachings that expound on Jewish tradition. Read more readings over a 3-year cycle see here.
| Aliyah | Year 1: 25:19-26:22 | Year 2: 26:23-27:27 | Year 3: 27:28-28:9 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25:19-25:22 | 26:23-26:29 | 27:28-27:30 |
| 2 | 25:23-25:26 | 26:30-26:33 | 27:31-27:33 |
| 3 | 25:27-25:34 | 26:34-27:4 | 27:34-27:37 |
| 4 | 26:1-26:5 | 27:5-27:13 | 27:38-27:40 |
| 5 | 26:6-26:12 | 27:14-27:17 | 27:41-27:46 |
| 6 | 26:13-26:16 | 27:18-27:23 | 28:1-28:4 |
| 7 | 26:17-26:22 | 27:24-27:27 | 28:5-28:9 |
| Maftir | 26:19-26:22 | 27:24-27:27 | 28:7-28:9 |
Triennial Summaries
Year 1: See Aliyot 1-3
Year 2: See Aliyot 4-5
Year 3: See Aliyot 6-7
Haftarah Summary
Haftarah: Malachi 1:1-2:7
Through Prophet Malachi, God admits to accepting Jacob and rejecting Esau. God then admonishes the people that a son should honor his father. The people scorn God by bringing sacrifices that aren’t good enough. God threatens the priests with curses if they don’t start doing better.
See our Haftarah breakdown here.
