This week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion) is called Toldot which means generations, as in, “These are the generations of Yitzhak (Isaac),” which is how the parsha begins. It seems a little strange to call this parsha, “Generations,” considering it really only focuses on one generation: the two sons of Yitzhak, Asov (Esau) and Yaakov (Jacob). If any of you out there want to read one idea on this subject, I invite you to look back to what I wrote for this parsha two years ago, and if any of you have thoughts on this, feel free to comment below.
As I said, the parsha begins with us being told that these are the generations of Yitzhak, the son of Avraham, who married Rivkah (Rebecca). Now Rivkah was barren and Yitzhak asked god for help and god agreed and Rivkah became pregnant. The pregnancy was not easy, however, because she had twins inside her and they were fighting. So, she went to god and he told her that she was to have twins and they would become nations. Finally they came out and they name the older one Asov and the younger one Yaakov.
We read that their father liked Asov because he was a hunter, but their mother liked Yaakov who hung out by the tents. We then read how Yaakov acquires the rights of the first born from Asov, and then about another famine in the land.
Because of the famine, Yitzhak takes the family to the land ruled by Avimelech where Yitzhak, following in his father’s footsteps, tells everybody that his wife is his sister. When Avimelech finds out that they are really husband and wife, he confronts Yitzhak and then tells his people to leave the family alone on pain of death. God blesses Yitzhak who becomes very wealthy and the people around (the Philistines) became envious.
Now, the Philistines had filled in the wells that Abraham had dug. Yitzhak reopens them and an argument regarding the wells breaks out. Yitzhak leaves and goes to another place and re-opens more of Abraham’s old wells and again the local shepherds argue saying the water is theirs. This scenario repeats until Yitzhak finally finds a place where nobody fights with him over a well he digs.
Strangely, he doesn’t stay there, but goes to B’aer Sheva where god talks to him in a dream. The next day, he builds an altar and then Avimelech comes and they make a peace treaty. The moment Avimelech leaves, Yitzhak’s servants come to tell him that they struck water.
Next we read how Asov marries and his wives do not get along with his parents, and this is followed by the story of how Yaakov gets the blessings of Yitzhak that were meant for Asov. When Asov discovers what has happened, naturally, he is upset and he plans to kill his brother. Rivkah finds out and has Yitzhak send Yaakov to her brother’s house to find a wife and to let Asov calm down. Yaakov goes and the parsha ends with Asov, seeing that his parents do not like the local women, going and marrying a daughter of Yishmael.
I want share something with you. This is the third year that I have been writing out my thoughts on the weekly parsha. The first year was exciting as I was seeing lots of new things. When I started the second year, I was worried that I wouldn’t see anything new. Now that I am in my third year, I find that I am excited about something that I wrote before, which is what is going on with the wells.
My first reaction was to be disappointed that I don’t have anything new to write about. But then I decided to reread what I wrote two years ago, and I realized that while the subject might be the same, the idea is not. Today’s idea is on a different level.
The best way I can think to describe what I mean is to imagine a point on a circle. This point is the thoughts about the well, while the whole circle represents the whole parsha. This is how I first looked at the ideas about the well.
After I read what I wrote two years ago, I realized that the model is not a circle, but a spiral. Think of a spring. You go around and come back to the same place – almost. You are actually on a different level, one step higher or lower depending on how you travel. This is how I feel about what I am about to share. Yes, it is related to what I saw two years ago, but it is a deeper insight into the process. This is part of the beauty and one of the infinite dimensions of the Torah that allows one to read it over and over again and never get bored.
As I said, the idea has to do with wells. This part of the story is an analogy to life, of what we often face in life. We try to do something (like dig wells) and others put up roadblocks making us start over (arguing with us or taking from us). It feels very frustrating because we don’t feel we are getting anywhere.
This story is here to tell us not to get frustrated, but to continue with our quest (the digging of wells) and trust we will find the place where our wells can flow freely. Also, we should not to get upset if somebody tries taking our well; it is always a blessings to share the light/water, and maybe they/Philistines need it more than we/Yitzhak does.
Before I go, I did see one other teaching. It has to do with Yitzhak wanting to give Asov a blessing.
Yitzhak knows he is close to death and he calls for Asov. Now it is interesting in that he doesn’t just give him the blessing. What he does instead, is tell Asov to bring him some food so his soul will bless Asov before he dies.
What a strange thing to say. Two ideas a vying in my head about this. Let’s see if I can get them both out. One of them is that if you want to do something for someone, always do it with all your being. And if some part of you isn’t willing, then you need to find a way to make that part willing.
In this case, Yitzhak knows that a delicious meal that his son went out and hunted and killed and cooked with his own hands would bring his soul to want to bless his son.
This leads into the second idea which is to ask for what you need, especially if it is so you can help the person you are asking help from.
To say it more simply, if you need something, COMMUNICATE! Talk to people. Tell them your needs.
Yitzhak wants to bless Asov, but cannot unless his soul is ready to and his soul won’t be ready to until it gets fed by Asov. So Yitzhak tells this to Asov, and Asov goes and make the food. If Yitzhak doesn’t talk to Asov, nothing would have happened and at the very least, Yitzhak would have wound up frustrated and probably Asov would have felt frustrated to, waiting for his blessing that isn’t coming because of who-knows-why (this is from Asov’s point of view).
This is a very important lesson, and if you get nothing else out of this week’s parsha except for this idea, I will feel happy and blessed that haShem (god) has allowed me to be his angel/messenger and share it with you.
If you want to read what I wrote about this parsha last year, click here.
About the Author
Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.