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I didn’t plan it this way, but somehow Parshas Toldos always comes up during the Embodied launch.
Of course nothing is a coincidence. I shared this piece last year, but it’s worth resharing. It’s so cool to see these little nuggets where “all truth is found in Torah” is so clear and obvious.
Yitzchak and Rivkah davened for kids.
讜讬注转专 讬爪讞拽 诇讛' 诇谞讻讞 讗砖转讜 讻讬 注拽专讛 讛讜讗 讜讬注转专 诇讜 讛' 讜转讛专 专讘拽讛 讗砖转讜
And Yitzchak prayed to the Hashem opposite his wife because she (and/or he*) was barren, and Hashem accepted his prayer, and Rivkah his wife conceived.
(Bereishis 25:21)
The commentator Ohr HaChayim notes that this departs from the typical biblical pregnancy announcement, where the text usually states first that “he knew his wife” (they had intimate relations) and then followed by “and his wife conceived.” So why wasn’t it written this way with Yitzchak and Rivkah?
The commentator (who by the way, lived over 300 years ago) proceeds to explain:
This prayer scene likely happened within 3 days of their last intimate encounter.
The prayer was for this specific encounter to bear fruit and conceive the child they so desired.
The Ohr HaChayim assumes we all know intercourse can lead to conception even several days later. (A fact that was “scientifically proven” in the 20th century.)
In other words, we are fertile for several days before ovulation even occurs! (Hence a 5-7 day fertile window.)
This is the basic premise the fertility awareness method (FAM) is based on.
It’s been around way before science discovered how this works.
All the way back to Yitzchak and Rivkah.
An 18th century Torah scholar portrayed it as common knowledge.
And of course… it’s not lost on me that today is the day we learn about prayers being answered.
Because this is what Kislev invites us into — the quiet belief that nothing is too big, nothing is too far out, nothing is impossible when we open to miracles.
Maybe you hear a little whisper saying: “This is for me.”
Maybe you don’t even have words to fully explain it. But it resonates with a truth deep inside.
And we’re so quick to silence that voice.
To shut down desire.
To question why we would give ourselves the chance to step into something bigger, more aligned, more alive.
Because expansion can feel scary — even when it’s good.
Even when it’s exactly what our body and soul have been asking for.
I really get it. I’ve been there.
And I want to honor the tenderness of stepping into something new.
I also want to gently encourage you, if you feel that inner yes that doesn’t want to be silenced anymore.
Early-bird deadlines and start dates are here as a container for clarity.
A timeline that makes you pause and ask yourself honestly: Is this my next aligned step?
And if a true yes only comes next week, after the early-bird is gone – that’s really fine.
I don’t believe in rushing something I’m not ready for just to save a few dollars. But if I already know it’s meant for me, you better believe I’ll cash in that discount.
When something is aligned, it will meet you exactly where and when and how it’s meant to.
The early-bird rate expires on Motze Shabbos.
If this is your yes, I would be honored to welcome you in.
Chodesh tov! May it truly be a month of miracles.
*the Hebrew word is written with a vav (讛讜讗) but with the chirik notation, read (讛讬讗). The standard reading of the text is commonly understood as "she was barren" but many commentaries (Rav Saadia Gaon and others) conclude from this that both were barren. It's interesting to note the research today - even though women often carry the burden of infertility - it's equally divided from a statistical perspective. About 30% of couples with infertility struggle due to male factor, 30% due to female factor, and the remaining 20% are a combination of both.
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