The Torah’s brevity in dealing with
Yitzchak
The Torah’s account of the life of our
first patriarch, Avraham, is the topic of three parshiyot (plural of
parasha). The life of our third patriarch,
Yaakov, is the topic of two parshiyot.
The Torah’s account of the life of our second patriarch, Yitzchak, is
limited to Parshat Toldot. Even in
Yitzchak’s parasha, he shares the tableau with his son, Yaakov. The impression that the Torah treats
Yitzchak primarily as a bridge between his father Avraham and his son Yaakov is
reinforced by the opening passages of the parasha. The Torah announces its intention to describe the life of
Yitzchak; the Torah opens its account by describing Yitzchak as the son of
Avraham and then immediately describes the circumstances of the birth of his
two sons, Yaakov and Esav.
The Torah’s account of Yitzchak’s life is
limited to two incidents. The first
incident is his resettlement in Gerar and the surrounding area and the
resultant interactions with the people of the area and Avimelech their
king. The second incident is his
attempt to bless Esav and Rivka’s successful effort to divert the blessings
from their intended recipient to Yaakov.
We can understand the significance of this second incident. It impacted the future of the Jewish
people. However, the message or
importance of the first incident is less apparent. It seems odd that this incident should be one of the only two
incidents from Yitzchak’s life described by the Torah! Clearly, a closer examination of this
incident is required in order to identify its message.
There was a famine in the land aside from
the first famine that was in the time of Avraham. And Yitzchak went to Avimelech, the King of the Pelishlim, to
Gerar. (Beresheit 26:1)
Yitzchak’s resettlement in Gerar
The Torah tells us that the Land of
Cana’an was stricken by a severe famine as had occurred in the time of
Avraham. Yitzchak prepares to travel to
Egypt to find relief. As Yitzchak is
traveling to Egypt, he receives a prophecy.
Hashem directs him to remain in the Land of Cana’an. His descendants will take possession of the
Land as Hashem promised Avraham. In
response to the prophecy Yitzchak remains in the Land and settles in Gerar.
The morality of the people of Gerar is
suspect. Yitzchak decides to conceal
that Rivka is his wife and claims that she is his sister. He is fearful that if their true relationship
were known, a suitor might kill him in order to take Rivka. Overtime, this subterfuge is discovered by
Avimelech the King. Avimelech rebukes
Yitzchak for his deceit and warns the people of his land to not harm Yitzchak
or Rivka.
Despite the continuation of the famine,
Yitzchak has a remarkably successful harvest.
Hashem blesses him with prosperity.
As he prospers the local population – the Pelishtim – becomes
increasingly jealous. Wells that
Avraham had dug in the region are filled with by the Pelishtim. Avimelech asks Yitzchak to move away.
Yitzchak agrees to Avimelech’s
request. He moves-on. However, he re-digs the wells of his father
and restores to each the name that Avraham had assigned to it. He adds other wells to these wells. The first two wells he digs are the focus of
controversy. The Pelishtim dispute the
right of Yitzchak and his shepherds to the water from these wells and insist
that they have the primary right to the water.
Yitzchak gives each of these wells a name that reflects strife and
conflict. He is persistent and digs a
third well. The Pelishtim to not
dispute this well and Yitzchak gives this well a name reflecting tranquility
and Hashem’s providence.
Yitzchak settles in Be’er Sheva. Here, he has another prophecy. Hashem tells him to not fear because He is
with him because of his covenant with Avraham.
Yitzchak constructs an altar and assumes Avraham’s role of teaching
humanity.
Avimelech travels to Be’er Sheva and asks
Yitzchak to enter into a treaty with him.
Yitzchak agrees. Yitzchak then
digs another well that he names Shiva.
There are many strange elements to this
account. However, we will focus on two
of them. In the first part of this
narrative, the Torah seems to suggest a comparison between Avraham and
Yitzchak. Both are confronted with
famine. Both decide to travel to Egypt
to secure relief. Yitzchak does not
complete the trip and instead settles in Gerar. In Gerar, he is confronted with the identical problem encountered
by Avraham when he traveled to Egypt and later in his life when he settled in
Gerar. Both were afraid that as the
husbands of beautiful women, their lives were in danger. Both solved the problem through identical
strategies; they described their wives as their sisters.
Yitzchak’s emulation of Avraham
The impression made by these passages is
that when confronted with a series of practical dilemmas, Yitzchak did not
attempt to develop new and original solutions.
Instead, he relied upon the wisdom of his father. In each instance, his decision was to adopt
the strategy of his father. Apparently,
the Torah is telling us something important about Yitzchak’s character. However, the lesson is not yet apparent.
In the next series of incidents, the
Torah describes the successes and the challenges that came upon Yitzchak. These experiences are very different from
those of his father. Avraham and
Yitzchak both prospered in Gerar.
Avraham became increasingly welcomed and respected. His fame and influence was acknowledged by
Avimelech who asked Avraham to enter into a treaty with him. Yitzchak also prospered. But his success was greeted with jealousy
and opposition. Avimelech chased him
out of Gerar and his expulsion was followed by a prolonged period of strife
with the local inhabitants. But the
most notable contrast between Yitzchak and his father was in their role as
teachers. Avraham adopted the mission
of teaching others with his arrival in Cana’an. According to our Sages, he actually began teaching even before
reaching Cana’an. Yitzchak only
belatedly assumed this role. Only after
achieving some level of acceptance among the local population and an assurance
from Hashem that He would protect him did Yitzchak assume the role of
teacher. This contrast is all the more
remarkable given Yitzchak’s reliance of Avraham as a model for his own
behavior!
The divergence in the personalities of
Avraham and Yitzchak
Yitzchak’s delay is taking-on the role of
teacher provides an important insight into his personality. Yitzchak waited until he was accepted by the
people and assured by Hashem that he should not fear before establishing
himself as their teacher. Avraham did
not wait for acceptance and needed no assurance. He found the truth and immediately began his life-mission of
sharing that truth with others. Avraham
was not only a sage. He was also a
perceptive and shrewd student of human nature.
He was confident in his ability to reach others and to impact their
convictions. He had a truth to share
with humanity and he developed strategies and practices to facilitate his
work. Yitzchak was a sage. Perhaps, building upon the discoveries of
his father, he added to the body of knowledge handed down to him by his father
Avraham. But he did not perceive in
himself his father’s understanding of human nature, or his shrewdness in
dealing with others. Avraham taught
others with the confidence that he could shape their opinions – even their
perceptions of him. Yitzchak taught
those who were prepared to accept him as a sage. But their acceptance of him preceded his assumption of the role
as their teacher.
Avraham’s facility in understanding
people and reaching them led to his rapid ascent in Gerar. Yitzchak achieved Avraham’s success and even
a comparable level of acceptance. However, he did not achieve these through his
astute insight into human character; he achieved his success and acceptance
through sheer tenacity. The Pelishtim
attempted to forget Avraham and the lessons he had taught them. They filled his
wells, attempting to erase his legacy.
Yitzchak re-dug the wells and returned to them the names assigned by
Avraham. He dug a well and the
Pelishtim fought with him over it. He
dug a new well. When they disputed his
right to this well, he dug a third.
Ultimately, his repeated successes could no longer be ignored. The Pelishtim abandoned their campaign and
accepted Yitzchak’s success as an expression of Divine providence. With this acceptance, Yitzchak realized
that his time had come to continue Avraham’s mission; he erected an altar and
began teaching. Ultimately, even
Avimelech who had expelled Yitzchak from Gerar was forced to accept Yitzchak as
Avraham’s spiritual heir and to acknowledge that the providence that permeated
Avraham’s life extended to his son.
Now, Yitzchak’s wisdom in emulating his
father’s responses to famine and danger can be appreciated. Too often a scholar is intoxicated by his
own wisdom. A master in one field, he
imagines himself a sage in areas of knowledge in which he has no expertise. Yitzchak understood his own greatness, but
he also appreciated that in his deep understanding of the complicated workings
of the practical world and human nature, his father was the true master. Yitzchak accepted his father’s example as
his guide and adopted the strategies developed by his father as his own.
When Yitzchak became aged his vision dulled. He called to Esav his elder son and he said to him: Here I am. (Beresheit 27:1)
Yitzchak’s attempt to bless Esav
The Torah’s description of these events
is an essential prelude to its presentation of a second event in Yitzchak’s life
– his failed attempt to bless Esav and the diversion of the blessings to
Yaakov. The Torah tells us that
Yitzchak preferred Esav and that the greater portion of Rivka’s love was
directed towards Yaakov. Yitzchak decided to bless his beloved son Esav. The ensuing events are well known and
require only a brief review.
Rivka persuades Yaakov to disguise
himself as Esav and to divert his father’s blessings to himself. Yaakov is successful in executing his
mother’s strategy. Esav discovers his father’s error and implores him to bestow
a blessing upon him. Yitzchak protests
that he has no further blessings to distribute. However in response to Esav’s anguish, he does bless him. Rivka realizes that Esav’s anger places
Yaakov in dander and she persuades Yitzchok to send Yaakov away to the home of
her bother Lavan.
Many aspects of this account are
troubling. However, there are two
questions that stand out. First, the
previous incident provided a basic delineation of Yitzchak’s strengths and his
limitations. With that account we can
understand his failure to fully comprehend Esav’s character and the full
breadth and depth of his flaws.
However, it is more difficult to explain his perspective on Yaakov. How could he not recognize Yaakov’s
greatness? Why would he wish to bless
Esav rather than Yaakov?
Second, the dialogue between Yitzchak and
Esav is confusing. Esav beseeches his
father to bless him. Yitzchak protests
that he has no additional blessing to bestow.
However, when pressed he does come up with a blessing. What changed that allowed Yitzchak to bless
Esav? Furthermore, Yitzchak’s protest
that he had no further blessings is contradicted by the blessing that he apparently
held in reserve and only bestowed upon Yaakov before his departure for Lavan’s
home.
Yitzchak’s understanding of the blessings
and his design for their distribution
Rabbaynu Ovadia Sforno explains that
Yitzchak fully appreciated Yaakov’s greatness and his superiority over his
brother Esav. The last blessing – held
in reserve – was the blessing of Avraham.
This blessing was to be bestowed upon the son who would continue
Avraham’s mission and posses the Land of Israel. Yitzchak never doubted that Yaakov was the spiritual giant of his
sons and that this blessing was his destiny.
However, Yitzchak believed that Esav was the appropriate recipient of a
blessing that would bestow material success and even conquest. According to Sforno, Yitzchak believed that
the distribution to these two blessings to their appropriate recipients created
the best possible outcome for each.
Yaakov would assume the role of spiritual leader unburdened by the
distractions of dealing with the material world. Esav would assume responsibility for confronting and overcoming
the mundane challenges of material existence.
He would be a conqueror and ruler and he would benevolently care for his
younger brother and free him from the distractions of the mundane. [1]
In other words, Yitzchak attempted to create for Yaakov the life we would
imagine that Yitzchak would have desired for himself.
Rivka was a shrewder judge of human
character and she did not trust Esav to be the benevolent ruler envisioned by
Yitzchak. Therefore, she disrupted
Yitzchak’s plan and diverted the material blessing to Yaakov and away from
Esav.
The blessing received by Esav
Sforno’s explanation of Yitzchak’s
reasoning explains his initial response to Esav – his insistence that he had no
blessing to give him. Yitzchak had not
envisioned a blessing whose sole end was material success. He conceived of a spiritual blessing. This was the blessing of Avraham that he
gave to Yaakov. He also conceived of a
blessing of material success and conquest for the purpose of supporting and
nurturing Yaakov’s spiritual development.
This is the blessing he had intended to bestow upon Esav. But Yitzchak recognized that Divine
providence had assisted Rivka and the diversion of this blessing to Yaakov only
occurred because he had been mistaken in his assessment of Esav. Esav would not use material success and
conquest to nurture spiritual growth – not Yaakov’s and not even his own. A blessing of material success without a
spiritual end was not envisioned by Yitzchak.
Neither could he imagine the value of such a blessing. Therefore, when Esav pleaded with Yitzchak
to bless him, Yitzchak could not imagine an appropriate blessing. Only after Evav insisted that his father
reconsider did Yitzchak realize that he could bestow a blessing on his son
Esav. It was not the type of blessing that Yitzchak had ever considered as
worthwhile or of value. But it was a
blessing that he belatedly recognized as appropriate for Esav – a purely
material blessing devoid of any spiritual objective.
Now, Yitzchak’s role as a bridge between Avraham and Yaakov can be appreciated. Avraham was the first patriarch and he discovered the truth that would become the foundation of a new nation. Yaakov designed the structure of this nation. He intimately understood the character, strengths and weaknesses of each of his twelve sons. He organized them into the forerunners of a nation that would optimize these strengths and minimize the failings. Between these two giants Yitzchak existed served as a bridge. His greatness and conquests were in the spiritual realm. He was the patriarch that embodied complete devotion to Hashem uncompromised by the distractions of the mundane. This super-human dedication allowed him to nurture, develop, and transmit to his son Yaakov the truths of his father Avraham. But the very source of his greatness – his total, absolute devotion to the spiritual – made him inappropriate for the more practical responsibility of nation builder to be assumed by Yaakov.