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Parashat Toledot
PARASHAT TOLEDOT tells the story of the birth of the twins to Yitzchak and Rivkah: Yaakov and Esav.
Prior to the birth, as the Torah tells us, Rivkah was sterile for 20 years. The Parasha starts with Rivkah asking (not to say; demanding) Yitzchak to pray to HaShem for her so that she has children.
We then see that Yitzchak does indeed pray, however the word used in the scriptures is not the regular word for praying.
Prayer, also; petition, plea | ATIRA | עֲתִירָה |
LAATOR לַעְתּוֹר (פָּעַל)
Let us look at other words relating to praying that are used in the Torah and in the Bible in general:
prayer, also; conversation | SICHA | שִׂיחָה |
prayer | TEFILAH | תְּפִילָּה |
The fact that the language has kept the meaning of these words accurately until today has an implication for the validity of this covenant for our days too.