Toldot: Spiritual Continuity

Speaker:
Ask author
Date:
November 05 2010
Downloads:
3
Views:
719
Comments:
0
 


Ve’eleh toldos Yitzchok ben Avraham, Avraham holid es Yitzchok,” these are the offspring of Yitzchok, son of Avraham; Avraham begot Yitzchok (Bereishis 25:19). 


The opening of Parshas Toldos appears redundant. After all, once the verse states that that Yitzchok is the son of Avraham nothing further is added by repeating that “Avraham begot Yitchok.” What is gained by this seemingly unnecessary conclusion? 


Rashi, in answering this question, cites a remarkable teaching of the Midrash, which recounts that when Yitzchok was born the "leitzanei ha-dor," the cynics of the generation, claimed that Yitzchok was not Avraham’s son, but rather was the illegitimate child resulting from Avimelech's abduction of Sarah (ch. 20). To “prove” their claim the cynics pointed out that Avraham and Sarah had been married for many years without children and it was only now – after her time spent with Avimelech – that Sarah finally conceived. To counter this contemptuous slander Hashem ensured that Yitzchok and Avraham shared an uncanny physical resemblance, to the extent that it was clear and undeniable that Yitzchok was in fact Avraham's son. And this is the reason, concludes the Midrash, that the verse reiterates that “Avraham holid es Yitzchok,” to stress Avraham’s biological connection to Yitzchok.   


Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik (The Rav Speaks 2:6) is perplexed by these comments of the Midrash and Rashi. Since when, he asks, is the Torah concerned about malicious gossip and innuendo spread by idolaters? Moreover, this slander was patently absurd: Everyone knew that Avraham was fertile because he had already fathered Yishmael. Any issues of infertility were obviously Sarah’s and, therefore, now that she had conceived why was it so hard to believe that Avraham was the father?  


R. Soloveitchik (3:3) explains that the real issue wasn’t fertility or genealogy, rather it was ideology. Even though Avraham was successful at disseminating his beliefs, dispelling the pagan myths of his time, and drawing scores of people towards monotheism, there were nevertheless many who assumed that Avraham was just a “flash in the pan.” True Avraham accomplished a lot, but he was a unique personality with tremendous charisma. But – they assumed – this success would continue only as long as Avraham remained alive. It was just a passing fad, the cynics claimed; it will never last. There is no way that Yitzchok, or others from his generation, would be interested in accepting Avraham’s vision, speaking his language, or following his laws.  


It was in this vein, explained R. Soloveitchik, that they argued that it was impossible that “Avraham begot Yitzchak,” namely, that it was inconceivable that Avraham had a son who would continue his work and perpetuate his legacy. Rather, Yitzchok must be the son of Avimelech, in the sense that he will undoubtedly follow the popular trends of the time rather than retain his commitment to the “outdated” ideals of Avraham.  


R. Soloveitchik adds that this is the underlying theme, as well, of Yitzchak’s quarrels with the Philistines. The Torah (26:18) relates that after Avraham's death the Philistines stopped up his wells and that, in response, Yitzchok defiantly re-dug those same wells and reiterated that the wells would be called by the same names that his father Avraham had called them.  


R. Soloveitchik explains that, symbolically, this clash also related to the cynicism surrounding Avraham's legacy. After Avraham died the Philistines expected that they would finally be able to rid themselves of Avraham’s ideas and that they could finally return to the good old days of unrestrained idol worship. They assumed that no one – including Yitzchok – would be interested in these wells or in continuing Avraham’s “work” and perpetuating Avraham’s spiritual approach. 


But they were wrong. 


Yitzchak continued digging his father’s wells. He committed himself to following his father’s teachings and to ensuring that his father's legacy would continue into the future. In the fullest sense, “Avraham holid es Yitzchok,” Avraham was Yitchok’s biological and spiritual father. 


Just as the scoffers of Avraham’s day set a precedent which has repeated itself innumerable times ever since, so too has Yitzchok’s response has echoed loudly throughout the generations of Jewish history.  


Whenever people have predicted that the younger generation would finally shake itself free from its ancestry and Jewish tradition, we see, time after time, that “Avrohom holid es Yitzchok,” the youth choose to continue following in the ways of their parents and grandparents. 


R. Soloveitchik describes witnessing the same phenomenon in his own time, as the Jewish people transitioned from the shtetel and ghetto of Europe to the new world in America and even in Israel. The leitzanim, the cynics, assumed that modern people, educated in the ways of science and technology, would have no interest in or use for the language and legacy of the past. But once again, they were wrong, “Avraham holid es Yitzchok.” As R. Soloveitchik reflects, with pride: 




Who could have foreseen that the young, modern Yitzchok … would demand a kosher kitchen and fight for religious education and the like! Who could have guessed that he would speak with the same language that old Avraham spoke, as the author of the Shulchan Aruch, as the Rema, as the Gaon of Vilna, as Rav Chayim of Volozhin? 
 




Ve’eleh toldos Yitzchok ben Avraham, Avraham holid es Yitzchok” – Yitzchok was not only the son of Avraham, but also his spiritual heir. It wasn’t merely an issue of yerusha but of morasha as well; not just lineage, but legacy. And just like Yitzchok many years before them, generations and generations of Jews have remained faithful to the mesorah of their forefathers despite changing and often difficult circumstances. This loyalty confounded the cynics in Yitzchok’s time and it remains a mystery to many. But it is the secret of our continuity.



Parsha:
Toldot 

    More from this:
    Comments
    0 comments
    Leave a Comment
    Title:
    Comment:
    Anonymous: 

    Learning on the Marcos and Adina Katz YUTorah site is sponsored today by Judy & Mark Frankel & family l'ilui nishmos מרדכי בן הרב משה יהודה ע"ה and משה יהודה ז"ל בן מאיר אליהו ויהודית