Parshas Toldos: Inspiration and Realization
וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת יִצְחָק בֶּן אַבְרָהָם.
And these are the offspring of Yitzchak, son of Avraham. (25:19)
Where Are They Now?
When Avraham originally left Haran to go to the Land of Canaan, the verse[1] states that he took with him, along with his family, “the souls they made in Haran.”
Who were these souls? Rashi explains, based on the Midrash, that these were the people they had converted to monotheism. How many converts were there? Rashi doesn’t say. The Rambam[2] states that, ultimately, Avraham had thousands of followers.
This leads us to a very interesting question: Do we know any of their descendants?
Well, actually, if we are acquainted with any non-Jews, it is entirely possible that they are descended from these converts.
The real question is: Do we know of anyone who knows they are descended from that group?
And the answer is no.
Where did all the converts go?
R’ Leib Gurwitz zt”l, the Rosh Yeshivah of Gateshead,[3] explains: These converts were attracted to Avraham’s way of doing things, but could not relate to the way of Yitzchak. Avraham personifies the attribute of chesed — love and kindness. He embodied inspiration, and people warmed to this way of living. After Avraham died, the mantle passed to Yitzchak, who had a very different way of doing things. His attribute is that of din — justice, which represents discipline and perseverance. People found themselves unable to relate to this approach. Without the ongoing inspiration from Avraham, they slowly drifted back to where they came from, until we no longer have any idea who they were. Ironically, the only one left to carry on the message of Avraham, was his son Yitzchak, and subsequently his descendants.
What is the lesson here?
Not everyone is inspired on an ongoing basis the way Avraham was. If one’s attachment to Avraham’s ideals is based on a feeling of inspiration only, then should one find oneself in an uninspired state, one will lack the means for continued higher living. The discipline and perseverance of Yitzchak are crucial for an ongoing life true to Torah ideals, even when one is uninspired.
The True Face of Avraham
The above idea leads us to a basic question: What, then, is the role of inspiration? Is it just left behind once one has entered the stage of discipline and perseverance?
The answer is, to the contrary, the role of discipline is not to replace the inspiration, but to maintain it; to bottle it, so that it should not dissipate. This idea is communicated by the opening verse of our parsha which introduces Yitzchak as “the son of Avraham,” even though by that stage we know exactly whose son he was. This emphasizes that the way of Yitzchak is related to and a continuation of the way of Avraham, as surely as Yitzchak was Avraham’s son.
Indeed, the Midrash[4] states that when Yitzchak was born, scoffers cast aspersions as to his lineage, and suggested that perhaps he was the son of Avimelech. In response to this, Hashem formed Yitzchak’s facial features to look like those of Avraham, so that all were forced to admit that he was indeed “the son of Avraham.”
R’ Yitzchak Hutner[5] explains that the scoffing over Yitzchak’s lineage was actually denigrating his way of living. People said, “Look at how he goes about things, in such a disciplined and controlled manner. This isn’t the way of Avraham! If anything it looks like the opposite. Perhaps he comes from somewhere else?” To this end, Hashem changed his face to look like that of Avraham, as if to say that Yitzchak’s way of living is what will preserve what Avraham began. Indeed, in the fullness of time, if you seek to find “the face of Avraham,” you will only find it with Yitzchak.
Re-digging the Wells
In truth, these stages of inspiration and perseverance, represented by Avraham and Yitzchak, are ones that we all go through. The Sages have told us, “Maaseh avos siman l’banim — The deeds of the fathers pave the way for the experiences of the children.”
The Torah recounts how all the wells that were originally dug by Avraham were filled in by the Philistines (the original ne’er-do-wells). Yitzchak then proceed to re-dig them, and called them again by the names which his father called them.[6] The Shem MiShmuel[7] explains that this represents the experiences of anyone who embarks on a worthwhile venture, whether it is to learn a certain area of Torah, or to refine a certain character trait. It begins with a digging the way Avraham dug — it is fresh, it is a beginning, and it is exciting. At a certain point, however, the enthusiasm may fade. The Philistines fill in the wells with dirt, and it seems as if one is back where he started! This is the point where one needs to move from the mode of the kindness of Avraham to the discipline of Yitzchak. One needs to re-dig, in order to find the wells that were started by Avraham, and when they are dug, the names they will receive are the ones that Avraham originally gave to them, for this is a continuation of his path, and these are his wells!
[1] Bereishis 12:5.
[2] Hilchos Avodah Zarah 1:14.
[3] Meorei Shearim, p. 12.
[4] Tanchuma, Toldos, sec. 1.
[5] Pachad Yitzchak, Sukkos, sec. 4.
[6] Bereishis, chap 26.
[7] Parshas Toldos 5671, s.v. “ha’inyan.”