Toldos 27:12 · unit 1

Parashas Toldos · Passuk 27:12

The Complete Passuk

אוּלַ֤י יְמֻשֵּׁ֙נִי֙ אָבִ֔י וְהָיִ֥יתִי בְעֵינָ֖יו כִּמְתַעְתֵּ֑עַ וְהֵבֵאתִ֥י עָלַ֛י קְלָלָ֖ה וְלֹ֥א בְרָכָֽה׃

If my father touches me, I shall appear to him as a trickster and bring upon myself a curse, not a blessing.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Makot 24a (related to Psalm 15).

TT lemma: אולי ימשני.

Sefaria — Makkot 24a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
לֹא רָגַל עַל לְשׁוֹנוֹ – זֶה יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ שֶׁאָמַר אוּלַי יְמֻשֵּׁנִי אָבִי.

English: “Who has not slandered with his tongue” — this is Yaakov our father, who said “Perhaps my father will feel me.”

On the daf / in context: Yaakov’s hesitation and his refusal to justify himself in advance are taken as the model of one who does not “slander with his tongue.”

Type of Learning

Custom (Bavli — Yaakov as the model of clean speech)

What Is Learned

Yaakov’s reluctance and his “perhaps my father will feel me” exemplify the trait of not speaking ill or justifying oneself improperly; he is the prototype of “who has not slandered with his tongue.”