Parashat Toldot

Avraham we learned in last week’s parasha, was selected “because God knows that Avraham would instruct his children and his house after him to follow the path of God – doing acts of justice and judgment.”

כִּי יְדַעְתִּיו לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר יְצַוֶּה אֶת בָּנָיו וְאֶת בֵּיתוֹ אַחֲרָיו וְשָׁמְרוּ דֶּרֶךְ ה’ לַעֲשׂוֹת צְדָקָה וּמִשְׁפָּט
 

What did that look like? In this week’s parasha, Parshat Toldot, we get a clue as to how Avraham went about spreading the word.

 וַיָּ֨שָׁב יִצְחָ֜ק וַיַּחְפֹּ֣ר ׀ אֶת־בְּאֵרֹ֣ת הַמַּ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר חָֽפְרוּ֙ בִּימֵי֙ אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֔יו וַיְסַתְּמ֣וּם פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים אַחֲרֵ֖י מ֣וֹת אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיִּקְרָ֤א לָהֶן֙ שֵׁמ֔וֹת כַּשֵּׁמֹ֕ת אֲשֶׁר־קָרָ֥א לָהֶ֖ן אבִֽיו׃. 

Yitzchak takes it upon himself to dig wells, a challenge no doubt, and these wells were particularly difficult, as it turns out, they had been originally dug and named by his father, and were later blocked up and filled with dirt by the native Plishtim. Avraham puts down roots, contributes to a developing society by building wells, and the natives destroy the project, taking with it the benefit it offered. One has to wonder what was the purpose of clogging all of these wells? Seems like a lot of effort to expend. 

The well of the ancient world served myriad purposes – an organic gathering spot, a happenstance and daily meeting place, and a source of much needed water for animals, cooking, watering, and, of course, drinking.

Avraham’s wells, the commentator Haketav V’hakabbalah – Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi of Mecklenburg, shares, were mission driven: 

 

Every well was named in a way that taught about the truth of God’s existence … he called one well “Hashem the God of the universe”, or “Hashem God of All”, and in this way he made people get used to saying “Let’s go draw water from the well called…” and then it would awaken their confused minds and bring their hearts to the truth of the matter. 

 

The wells served as information hubs, and, by virtue of their names and message, posed a risk. Avraham was building a movement that provided a “cultural alternative” (credit to Rabbanit Sharon Rimon) to the prevailing religions. Some of these religions quite literally worshiped death. As the antithesis of this, Avraham passionately argued that justice should prevail even over God’s wrath: Shall not the Judge of all the land do justice?  השופט כל הארץ לא יעשה משפט?

Yitzchak, bearing the mantle of his father, redigs the wells, and reinstates them under their previous names, given by his father. In doing so, Midrash Hagadol explains, Yitzchak shows humility (see מדרש הגדול: בֹּא וּרְאֵה עַנְוְתָנוּתוֹ שֶׁל יִצְחָק…) as it is customary that people take credit and naming opportunities whenever possible, but not Yitzchak. Yitzchak kept the legacy alive, proudly replanted the flag, and remarked the space as a credit to The Creator. 

What does this have to do with us in the current climate and world? What are the wells our ancestors tirelessly labored to dig that have been clogged? Where do we choose to deploy our assets and our energy? And to what end? For Yitzchak, the answer was providing life nourishing wells that helped to establish truth in Canaan, his homeland. His modus operandi – the wells and their names – involved contributing to the intellectual and spiritual life of his land through humanitarian means, a true אור לגויים – a light unto the nations.

As we entered this week into the Jewish month of Kislev, the month of light, let us remember the lesson Yitzchak teaches: Ours is a tradition worth struggling for, worthy of pride, and a great legacy. This week nearly 300,000 of us gathered, joined by many Leffell community members, teachers, faculty, and students to say we proudly represent the mission of the Jewish people: we do justice, we demand justice, we pursue justice. We demand to bring them home.

Praying for the peace of Israel, the safety of those on the front lines and in the homes, and the quick and safe return of all the hostages בעזרת ה’ ובעזרת צה”ל, with God’s help and with the help of the IDF.