[Par-lite] For Parshat Toldot - additional shiur

[Menachem Leibtag]

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     THE TANACH STUDY CENTER
[http://www.tanach.org]

          In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag

     Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem
Leibtag

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          PARSHAT  TOLDOT - shiur #2

 

       "MA'ASE AVOT-  'SIMAN' LA'BANIM"

 

     In Parshat Toldot, we find a very
lengthy story about the

wells that Yitzchak dug (see chapter 26).  As
this is one of

the few stories where we find details about
his life, we

should expect that story to be thematically
important.  To

find its significance, we begin our shiur
with a short

explanation of the difference between a "bor"
(pit or cistern)

and "be'er" (well), which will help us
understand the story of

Yitzchak and the Plishtim.

 

INTRODUCTION

     In ancient times, there were two basic
methods of water

storage - the "bor" and the "be'er":

I. THE "BOR"

  The simplest manner to store rain water was
to dig a pit or

'cistern' into the bedrock.  In Hebrew, this
cistern is known

as a "bor".  To increase its efficiency, the
"bor" must be

covered with "sid" [plaster] to stop the
water from seeping

out.

 

II. THE "BE"ER:

     A "be'er" (a well) is quite different,
for instead of

collecting rainwater (from the heavens), it
taps the

underground water table  [better known as an
aquifer].  The

aquifer receives its water from accumulative
rainfall, which

seeps through the ground until it reaches a
non-porous rock

level.  To reach the aquifer, one must dig a
hole into the

ground. Once opened, the well will supply
water as long as

water remains in the aquifer.

     So what does any of this have to do with
Torah?

 

AN ANCIENT 'WATER FIGHT'

     This background explains the quarrel
between Yitzchak and

the Plishtim over the "be'erot" (see
26:17-26). Since time

immemorial there have always been disputes
concerning the

rights to the underground water table,
similar to the one that

takes place in this week's Parsha.

  During his life time, Avraham dug many
wells, thus staking

his claim to their water supply. After his
death, the Plishtim

plugged those wells, but then dug different
wells to gain

access to the very same aquifer (see 26:18),
thus staking

their claim to that water supply.

  Years later, Yitzchak wants to re-open the
same wells that

his father had dug, thus claiming his water
back. Upon doing

so, the Plishtim protest, claiming that the
water belongs to

them (see 26:20-21). [See also Ramban on
26:17-18!]

     Instead of fighting, Yitzchak tries
again and again to re-

open his father's wells, until he finally
opens a well that no

one else claims - and hence naming it
"Rechovot" (see 26:22).

     So why does the Torah discuss such
mundane issues?

 

PEACE & THE MIKDASH

     Ramban on 26:20-22 asks this very same
question! He

claims that if we follow only the "pshat" of
these stories,

they appear to carry very little
significance. Instead, Ramban

claims that this story foreshadows future
events ["maase Avot

siman la'banim"] that will take place in
Jewish History -

relating to the first, second, and third
Temples.

     In that commentary, Ramban suggests that
the first two

wells (that concluded with strife) reflect
the First and

Second Temples as they were ultimately
destroyed, while the

third well (that concluded in peace) reflects
our aspirations

for the Third Temple (that will never be
destroyed).

     To support Rabman's interpretation that
these wells are

'Temple related, we examine the events that
take place in

chapter 26 in light of our thematic study
thus far of Sefer

Breishit.

  Review 26:23-24, noting how immediately
after these three

'well incidents', Yitzchak ascends to Be'er
Sheva.  There, God

appears unto him, confirming his "bechira"
(the blessing of

Avraham), but reminds him once again that it
is for the 'sake

of Avraham'. In response to this "hitgalut"
[revelation],

Yitzchak builds a MIZBAYACH and CALLS OUT in
God's Name.

  The fact that Yitzchak 'calls out in God's
Name' at this

time should not surprise us, as once again he
is following in

his father's footsteps.  Recall how Avraham
had done precisely

the same thing three times - twice at Bet-el
(see 12:8 & 13:4)

and once at  Be'er Sheva (see 21:33). But why
does he 'call

out in God's Name specifically at this time?
[And why didn't

he do so earlier?]

  As Ramban himself explained in Parshat Lech
L'cha (see

12:8), by 'calling out in God's Name',
Avraham preached the

existence of God to the neighboring people -
thus 'making a

Name for God'.  This in itself also
foreshadowed Jewish

History, for the very purpose of God's choice
of Avraham Avinu

- was to bring His Name to all mankind.

     So what took Yitzchak so long to act in
a manner similar

to Avraham?  Seforno suggests that Yitzchak
was actually

punished for not doing so earlier!  In his
commentary to

Breishit 26:5, he explains that Yitzchak's
troubles with the

Plishtim were caused because he was not
actively 'calling out

in God's Name'.  It was only after he did so
in Beer Sheva

that he became successful.  In fact,
immediately after

Yitzchak builds his mizbayach, another well
is dug without a

quarrel (see 26:25 and Seforno), and
afterward Avimelech

himself offers to enter a covenant with
Yitzchak, thus ending

all future quarrels.

     There remains however a small problem
with Seforno's

interpretation, for Yitzchak had already
achieved peace after

digging the third well - at Rechovot - which
took place BEFORE

he calls out in God's Name in Beer Sheva.
According to

Seforno, it is not clear why he achieved this
success

'prematurely'.

 

WHAT COMES FIRST?

     One could suggest a slightly different
reason for why

Yitzchak did not 'call out in God's Name'
until after digging

his third well.  Recall that even before
these incidents with

the wells the Plishtim and Yitzchak did not
get along so well.

[See 26:6-14, especially 26:14.]  It seems
that they had

always been quite jealous of Yitzchak and his
wealth.

     The backdrop, together with the serious
disputes of the

first two wells can provide us with a
different reason for why

Yitzchak had not 'called out in God's Name'.
The reason why

is simple - for there was no one would
listen!  If your

neighbors don't like you, they won't be
interested in your

opinions.

  It is only after peace is achieved - i.e.
after digging the

third well, that Yitzchak feels the time is
finally ripe to

ascend to Be'er Sheva to build a mizbayach
and follow his

father's legacy of 'calling out in God's
Name'.

  In other words, Yitzchak's troubles were
not caused by the

fact that he didn't call out in God's Name,
rather - it was

because he encountered so many troubles - he
was unable to do

so!

  

  If our understanding is correct, then we
can infer from

these events that before Am Yisrael can
fulfill its ultimate

goal of building a Mikdash open for all
mankind, it must first

attain a certain level of stability and
normalized relations

with its neighbors. This 'prerequisite' can
be inferred as

well from the Torah's commandment concerning
when to build the

Bet Ha'mikdash as described in Sefer Devarim:

  "... and you shall cross the Jordan and
settle the land...

  and He will grant you safety from your
enemies and you will

  live in security, THEN you shall bring
everything I command

  you to HA'MAKOM ASHER YIVCHAR HASHEM - the
place that God

  will choose to establish His NAME [i.e. the
Bet ha'Mikdash]"

  (See Devarim 12:8-11)

 

     This prerequisite is actually quite
logical, for if a

primary purpose of the Mikdash is to provide
a vehicle by

which all nations can find God (see I
Melachim 8:41-43!), then

it should only be built once we achieve the
status of a nation

that other nations look up to. [See also
Devarim 4:5-8!]

  [Of course, Bnei Yisrael need to have a
MISHKAN - for their

  own connection with God - immediately after
Matan Torah.

  However, the transition from a Mishkan to a
Mikdash only

  takes place once Am Yisrael is ready to
fulfill that role.]

 

     In the history of Bayit Rishon [the
first Temple], this

is exactly the sequence of events. From the
time of Yehoshua

until King David, there is only a Mishkan,
for during this

time period, Am Yisrael never achieved peace
with their

enemies, nor did they establish a prosperous
state that other

nations could look up to. Only in the time of
David did Am

Yisrael reach this level of prosperity,
peace, and security -

and this is exactly when David ha'melech asks
to build the

Mikdash (see II Shmuel 7:1-3 and note the
phrase "acharei

asher haniyach Hashem m'kol oyveyhem
m'saviv".).

  Despite that request, God agrees with David
that there has

indeed been a tremendous improvement,  but
nevertheless Am

Yisrael must wait one more generation until
an even higher

level of peace and stability is reached
before the Mikdash can

be built - i.e. only after Shlomo becomes
king and both

internal and external peace is achieved.
[Read carefully II

Shmuel 7:1-15.]

  [The popular reason given for why David
could not build the

  Temple - because he had 'blood on his
hands'- is not found

  in Sefer Shmuel, rather in Divrei Ha'yamim
in David's

  conversation with Shlomo - but this is a
topic for a future

  shiur. See I Divrei Ha'yamim 17:1-20, &
22:2-15!]

 

     In this sense, this sequence of events
between Yitzchak

and the neighboring Plishtim may not only
'foreshadow' what

will happen in the future, but more
significantly, it can

serve as guide to help us understand how we
should prioritize

our goals and aspirations.

 

                              shabbat shalom,

                              menachem

 

 

 

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