The glorious rains that arrived this past month remind us of the life-giving relevance of that simplest of refreshments, water. The story is told that when the Baal Shem Tov asked Moshiach when he will arrive, he answered "when your wellsprings have overflowed." In Bat Ayin's ulpan this week, we learned that be'er, or "well," is related to bor, "hole in the earth." Then we realized that one makes a well by drilling, or boring, a hole into the earth. Loshen Hakodesh has infiltrated deep into the English lexicon with probably hundreds of words clearly derived from the Hebrew, and boruch Hashem, Jewish values have likewise permeated contemporary society due to the wellsprings of Torah we have tapped in the many sojournings of our exile. Parshas Toldos is rich in symbols of the relationship between Israel and the nations.
Isaac dug wells. Not just in the sense that he really likes them; well-digging accounts for the bulk of Isaac's activities as mentioned in his brief appearance in Sefer Bereishit. And in his well-digging, a precedent is set between Israel and the nations. After Abraham dies, the Philistines stop up all his wells and exile Isaac, apparently because they felt he had become too successful among them. Isaac digs a well on the new property and the herdsmen claim "The water is ours;" he digs again, and once more it is contested. "He relocated from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it, so he called its name Rehoboth, and said, now Hashem has granted us ample space, and we will be fruitful in the land."
I would like to suggest that the wells represent three attributes of Am Yisroel in exile: Torah, relative autonomy, and material success. Typically, each of our exiles contains these elements. And each host nation used one or both attributes against us by severely limiting them. They posed too much of a threat to the societies' acceptance of the often oppressive ruling class in each regime. A literate and informed population, social justice, and appropriate provision for each man, woman, and child are Torah objectives, and the very existence among these societies of a people with these qualities stands out as an example challenging the status quo.
We will never be fully accepted by the nations until we break the cycle of exile and re-establish these three attributes in our own land. By working to re-envision our lifestyle to assert an autonomy among the surrounding nations and to rethink our concept of abundance/success, we will draw closer to the joys Hashem is waiting to shower upon us: loving relationships, blessings from the land, and revealing the secrets of Torah, the sources of true and sustainable happiness.
"We found water!" Re-digging Daddy's leftover wells sustained Isaac for awhile but it was not until he dug his own well that excitement and lasting relief was found. In the desolation we sometimes find ourselves in, we seek relief first by plumbing the depths of our fathers' teachings, then dig anew in the context we find ourselves in today. In this spirit I hope my thoughts may flow with those of my forefathers, thus helping bring the waters of national and individual renewal to a level accessible to all.
Friends - when the tiwns Ya'akov and Eisav were born, or even before they
were born, they were already exactly who they were - Eisav comes out covered
in red hair. Ya'akov comes out holding on to Eisav's heel. No surprise
that not-so-many years later, Ya'akov buys the rights of the first-born from
Eisav with some soup that Eisv calls "that red stuff." And not surprising
that Eisav says about Ya'akov "Va'ya'akveivi" - he has "heeled" me.
And no surprise that they were fighting even in the womb - they were already
so distinct and, according to Rashi, aleady diasaggreeing fundamentally
about what life is really about. So they come out not only knowing who they
are, but knwoing quite well who each other are, and really being at each
other's throats. And before they were born, their mother Rivka was even
told "Two nations will come forth from you...and the older will serve the
younger." The destiny of these two is obviously so intertwined.
We see from the continuation of the story that they just can't get out of
each other's minds. Climaxing, of course, with Ya'akov being Eisav for
Halloween and going trick-or-treating in his blind father's tent and
stealing all Eisav's candy. And how much he enjoyed it!
Eisav and Ya'akov each has a distinct relationship to his own integrity. We
know about Ya'akov that he was an "ish tam" - usually translated as "simple
man" (though the parsha bears out that he certainly was not simple). I
believe it is much better translated as "man of integrity". As borne out
from Rashi, who says "what was in his heart was in his mouth." Further, the
Netziv says that, given that the reason why Yitzhak loved Eisav so much was
because Eisav kept Yitzhak fed with what he hunted why didn't Ya'akov go out
and get some food for Yitzhak and try to gain his father's love? He figured,
according to the Netziv, that he'll do what he does well, and if his father
lvoes him for it, so be it, and if not, not. Yitzhak was pandering for his
father's love. But, comments the Netziv (I think) as soon as he left his
father's tent, he was a different man. Though he did genuinely serve his
father with true passion, the passion ended when he left his father's tent.
So it's fine that each has his own identity, and his own take on integrity.
But the problem is, they can't go their own way. R' Zilberberg, Shlita,
describes what many others have described, that Eisav and Ya'akov were
supposed to be a team. We know Eisav was supposed to marry Leah, and that
he was suppsoed to have six tribes come out of him. But Ya'akov sensed that
it wasn't going to happen so he stole the blessings and took upon himself
all the responsibility, all 12 tribes, all of leah, the entire world. SO
Ya'akov has to be Eisav. How do you be Eisav with integrity? How do you eb
someone else with integrity? How do you break open your understanding of
what you need to be? How do you accept suddenly that your mission has to
encompass so much more, when, for so long, it seemed that you really knew
who you were?
Obviously it needs to start with integrity. Only from a place of integrity,
a solid foundation, a solid sense of self, can you add on layers of
responsibility. Ya'akopv is able to take Eisav's role because he already
knows who he is. If he didn't know who he was, then putting on Eisav's
clothes would have caused all kinds of internal trouble. But once a person
knows who he is, he can go anywhere and do anything, without fear that it
will cause him to rupture. Which is why people who are sure of themselves
can admit easily that they are wrong. Because knowing who you are does not
mean knowing what you do. It means knowing your attitude, your priorities.
If your priority is "doing what needs to be done", then you can do yours, or
Eisav's or anyones, with no attachments.
This is the month of Hanukah. With the threat of Hellenization comes the
threat of blurred lines, of challenged integrity. We can be "western", or
anything,, with a solid foundation in ourselves. So this month, and
especially this week, we can access insight and focus as to how to gaina
deep sense of self that will allow us to do Eisav's work as well. Good
shabbes.