Last week's Parashat Cha’yey Sarah ended
with the chronicles of Yishma'el's descendants. This week’s portion opens up
with the chronicles of his brother, Yitzchak.
But while “toldot” means "begetting" (root y.l.d
- “to give birth”), here “toldot” starts out with the barrenness of Yitzchak’s
wife. Rivka’s condition, however, is inserted in an almost parenthetical
manner, and is couched between Yitchak's intercession on her behalf and YHVH's
response to the plea.
In 25:21 it says that Yitzchak “entreated”
- “vaya'a'tor” (a.t.r. - ayin, tav, resh) – YHVH, and "YHVH was entreated
“(vaye'ater) of him" (italics added). The very form of the verbs
(“entreat” – “entreated”) - both in the original Hebrew and in the English
translation - points to the closeness of the “entreatee” to the “entreater,”
and His deep empathy for him.
When the request is granted it takes the
form of not one, but two - boys, the first of whom comes out red all over (ref.
25: 25). The word for “red” is “adom,” and as we saw in Parashat
B’resheet (Genesis 1-4), “adom” is connected to “dam” (“blood”), “adama”
(“earth”), and thence to Adam, "the first man" who is
"earthy" (ref.1 Cor. 15:47). Esav, representing the first born,
illustrates therefore the principle that the natural precedes the spiritual
(ref 1 Cor. 15:46), despite the fact that his twin turns out to be, for a
considerable time period, almost as 'earthy' as ‘Hairy the Red.'
This second boy, who emerged out of Rivka's
womb while holding on to the “heel” – “ah'kev” - of his brother
was hence named “Ya'acov” (ref. 25:26). Coming in the footsteps of his
sibling, his name, which also means "to follow," perfectly
matches the order of the births. In Scripture, the image of ‘heel-holding’ or
‘heel-grabbing’ often refers to hindering or trapping someone, as we see in the
following examples:
“Dan shall be a serpent... that bites the
horse's heels” (Gen. 49:17); “The trap shall take him by the heel” (Job 18:9);
“They mark my steps” (literally “heels” in Ps. 56:6). The following words of
T’hilim (Psalms) 41:9 hint at Messiah’s destiny: “My own familiar friend, which
did eat of my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” This type of friend and follower typically
steals quietly behind the one whom he follows, with a “crafty” intent (as
indeed was the case with Messiah’s “familiar friend”). Thus, from the same root
of “heel” and “to follow”, (a.k.v. - ayin, kof, vet) stem words like “crafty,
cunning and deceptive,” as is illustrated by the alliteration in Yirmiyahu
(Jeremiah) 9:4: “surely every brother deals
craftily (ah'kov ya'akov)” (italics added).
In the first scene that brings the two
siblings together, Ya'acov is busy cooking lentil broth, while his brother
happens to be returning, famished and exhausted, from the field. Esav is sorely
tempted when his glance strikes what he calls “ha'adom, ha'adom ha'zeh” - "this red, red stuff…
therefore his name was called Edom" (25:30) - again from the root “adom” –
“red.” The area of Edom
Ya’acov does not waste any time. He proposes
right away an exchange: broth for birthright (ref. v. 31). And while in English
these words form an alliteration, in Hebrew the verb "sell” – “michra,”
and "birthright" – “b'chora” sound alike. (Perhaps this
association is what gave Ya'acov the idea in the first place…?) Ya'acov,
however, does not provide the goods until he makes his brother swear to him
that he will not renege on his “sh'vu'ah” (“oath,” connected, as we have learned
in previous Parashot, to being “full and satisfied”). After the deal is struck
the two depart, and until further notice both do seem to be content.
Later on, when the time comes for Esav to
claim his birthright (that is the right hand blessing of the father before
death), startled by his brother’s cunning, he “cried out with an exceedingly
great and bitter cry: ... ‘Is not he rightly named, Ya'acov? For he has
supplanted (akav) me...?’” (Gen. 27:34, 36).
The prophet Hoshe'ah (Hosea), many centuries later, traces the
waywardness of the nation of Yisrael (who in this prophecy is called “Ya'acov”)
to their progenitor: “In the womb he
took his brother by the heel- akav” (Hos. 12:3). In the wake of the said birthmark,
Ya'acov (the man and the nation) remains true (individually and collectively) to
his nature, and will do so until the transformation comes from above.
“In the wake of,” or “as a result of,”
or in short “because,” is the Biblical word “ekev “(again deriving
from the root a.k.v). In 26:4-5 of our
Parasha, YHVH says to Yitzchak: “I will multiply your descendants as the stars
of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your
descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because
(“ekev”) Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and
My laws” (italics added). Following Avraham’s implicit obedience the latter was
told: “And in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed, because – ekev - you have obeyed My voice ” (22:18). “Ekev” is found in Dvarim (Deuteronomy 8:20):
“So you shall perish because you would not listen.” It is also in David’s
self-implicating reply to the prophet Nah'tan (Nathan), who challenged him with
a parable following his sin with Bat’sheva (Bathsheba): “He must make
restitution for the lamb, because he did this thing and had no
compassion (2nd Sam.12:6, italics added). Thus, this little “ekev” -
“because” – becomes the fulcrum on which the balance of justice hangs.
Ya'acov, too, because of (“ekev”) his
actions (particularly that of deceiving his father), has to endure the
consequences. By the end of the Parasha he becomes a fugitive, running for his
life from his brother, and later (in the next Parasha), to be deceived by his
father-in-law, Lah'van (Laban). The “heart” of the ‘proverbial’ Ya'acov is well
described by Yirmiyahu, who says that it is “more deceitful (akov) than all
else” (17:9, see also the previous reference, Jer. 9:4).
In a few weeks time, in Parashat Vayishlach,
we shall see how Ya'acov, while on the road back from Padan Aram to Kna’an
(Canaan), will plan once again to use some cunning by walking behind – which also
suggests ‘following’ - his entourage that was to go ahead of him to greet Esav.
At this point he will be met face to face, as he himself testifies in B’resheet
(Genesis) 32:30, by YHVH Elohim. Yisrael, according to the name that will be
given to him after this encounter at Penniel, will be made to turn around on
his heels as it were (and become lame in the process), never to be the same
again. Thus when the “crooked” (“akov”) places become “mishor” – that is
“straight” (ref. Is. 40:4b) - Ya'acov will become “Yeshurun” (“yashar” - straight”), true to his name “Yisra’el,”
which can also be read “yashar-el” (“El is upright”). As such, the nation is
addressed by their Elohim: “But now listen, O Ya'acov, My servant; and Israel,
whom I have chosen; thus says YHVH who made you, and formed you from the womb
[as ‘crooked’ Ya'acov], and Who will help you: do not fear, O Ya'acov My
servant; and you Yeshurun [who was ‘straightened’ by Elohim] whom I have
chosen” (Is. 44:1, 2). Lastly, Ya'acov was to become one of the forefathers of
Messiah, of whom it was prophesied that His heel would be “bruised” by the
serpent. However, as we know, this “Seed of the woman” was destined to triumph
by crushing and trampling down the serpent’s head with His heel (ref.
Gen. 3:15; cf. Luke 10:19; Rom. 16:20; Heb.1:13b).
Back to our
narrative: Following closely on the
heels of the oath that Esav took by his brother’s instigation (25:31-33), YHVH
reminds Yitzchak of His oath to Avraham, and at the same time cautions
him not to go down to Egypt, in spite of the famine in the land (ref. 26:1-5),
saying: “Do not go down into Egypt. Dwell in the land which I
shall tell you” (v. 2). The imperative “dwell,” “sh’chan”
(sh.ch.n, shin, chaf, noon), is also “settle and abide” and it is
from this root that “mishkan,” the “tabernacle” in the wilderness, derives its
title. On this very issue, David makes an emphatic statement: “Trust in YHVH,
and do good; you shall dwell in the land, and you shall be fed on truth”
(Ps. 37:3 italics added). Continuing to address Yitzchak, in the next verse (25:3),
YHVH says to him: “Dwell in this land…” (italics added), but this time the verb used is “gur,” from which is obtained the
term “ger” - sojourner. Notice that above, YHVH exhorts Yitzchak to live in
“the land,” whereas the second reference is to “this land.” If Yitzchak abides
in the land of which YHVH tells him, he will have a secure and sure
dwelling, but living in this land (‘this world’) he will only be a
sojourner (cf. Heb. 11:9). If in fact a distinction is made here between “the
land” and “this land,” even though dealing with the same piece of
real-estate, perhaps it is Yitzchak’s choice of attitudes which this addresses.
At this point in time Yitzchak and Rivka happen to settle in Grar (notice the
alliteration of “gur” and “Grar,” ref. 26:1), and when being asked about his
wife the Patriarch does not resort to truth. Like his father before him, fear
for his life causes him to present his wife as his sister. But what finds
Yitzchak out is his act of (literally) "laughing with his
wife" (26:8), translated in English "caressing" (or some other
equivalent expression). If nothing else, in this episode Yitzchak remains… at
least… true to his name…
It is in this year of drought
that Yitzchak, against all odds, is sowing seed. “Seed” is “zerah”
(of the root z.r.a, zayin, resh, ayin, which is also shared by “arm” –
“z’ro’ah”), and in Yitzchak’s case is yields "one hundredfold"
(26:12). Earlier (in 26:4) YHVH spoke to Yitzchak about his progeny (“zerah”), mentioning
its future increase. Is the great harvest that Yitzchak reaps here (during the
famine) symbolic of the coming fulfillment of YHVH's word, under all and any
condition?
Yitzchak's
wealth increases tremendously, and his neighbors, the Philistines, are jealous
of him (26:14) and thus Avimelech their king demands, "Go away from us,
for you are much mightier than we" (v. 16). “you are much mightier”
is “atzam’ta,” from the root a.tz.m (ayin, tazdi, mem). The usage and
meaning of this term will prove to be very significant during the Egyptian
exile (in Sh’mot – Exodus – chapter 1 it is found in verses 7,9 and 20), and
will motivate the Pharaoh to try to annihilate Yisrael.
In our case, Yitzchak’s jealous neighbors take
recourse to filling up all the wells that have been dug by Avraham's servants
(ref. 26:15, 18b). In doing this they are "withholding benefits from both
themselves and their cattle! But in addition to stopping up the wells, they
fill them with earth so as to obliterate their existence altogether and make
sure that no water would ever flow out of them again. Why did they wish the
land to be desolate?[1]” The explanation that follows, quoted from
Haketav Vehakabala, points out that Yitzchak gave the wells the same names that
his father had given them (as we see in v. 18). “These names, such as, YHVH
Will See, YHVH is My Sign, The Well of Him that Lives and Sees Me, mark the
kindness of the Lord."[2]
This was done in order "to spread abroad the knowledge of the Lord and
show the people that idols were valueless. Avraham thought out a wonderful
device to help to bring those who were misled, under the wings of the Divine
Presence. He called the well by a name that would drive home the lesson of the
existence of the One True God. By this, he would arouse in them an awareness of
the truth by saying, ‘Let us go and draw water from the well of the eternal
God!’ The wells were a public necessity, and in this manner, the people were
initiated into the knowledge of the true God. Whilst he was alive his fear was
upon them [i.e. the locals], as they left the wells intact with their names,
but after his death they reverted to idolatry. In order to erase from their
memory the names of these wells, which recalled the very opposite of their
false opinions, they stopped them up. With the disappearance of the wells, the
names also disappeared…. Isaac followed in his father's footsteps and
endeavored to dig out these same wells and resurrect their names in order to
restore the crown of the true faith to its former glory."[3]
The wording in 26:19, where Yitzchak's
servants dig "a well of living water" (translated “running water”),
confirms what we have just read regarding the wells of the Patriarchs. The
locals fill up the wells, and now they are being re-named, as pointed out, in
order to erase the testimony of the Elohim of Yisrael. The name of the first
well is “Esek,” “contention” (v. 20). The name of the next, is “Sitna,”
“hostility; accusation” (v. 21). It is from the same root, s.t.n (sin,
tet, noon), that we get the word “Satan,” the “accuser.” A closely connected
word to “sitna” is “sin'ah” (s.n.a, sin, noon, alef) - “hatred.”
This verb is used in Yitzchak’s query in 26:27: “Why do you hate me?” A similar
word, both in sound and meaning appears toward the end of our Parasha. In 27:41
it says of Esav that he "bore a grudge against Ya'acov," which
is “sotem” (s.t.m. sin, tet, mem). The progressive rate of hostility is
seen very clearly by this string of sounds: “soten, to accuse; sotem, to bear a
grudge, and soneh, to hate,” demonstrating accurately how each of these
conditions, if unchecked, will lead to the next one.
When a third well is dug up, some distance
away, “they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rechovot, for he said, 'at
last YHVH has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land’” (26:22).
“Rechovot” is of the root r.ch.v (resh, chet, vet), meaning, "broad,
wide, or making room." Thus, enlarging and broadening the
subsistence space brings relief, as we see in T’hilim (Psalms) 4:1, where David
cries out: "Answer me when I call, O Elohim of my righteousness, You gave
room (“hirchav’ta”) to me in trouble – literally in a place of
narrowness” (italics added), words with which, in his present situation, Yitzchak
would certainly have concurred.
[1] Studies in Bereshit,
Toldot 1, Nechama Leibowitz, trans. Aryeh Newman. Eliner Library, Department for Torah
Education and Culture in the Diaspora. Hemed Books Inc., Brooklyn ,
N.Y
2 ibid
3 ibid
