Rabbi Howard Morrison

Maaseh Avot Siman L'Vanim - the experiences of our ancestors become a sign to the children. This rabbinic statement harkens back to the fact that Isaac shares many of the same experiences as his father Abraham. Both in their lifetimes dug wells for physical sustenance. In our first scene in today's Parsha, after Isaac had become wealthy and blessed by God, the Philistines stopped up all the wells which Isaac's father Abraham had dug, filling them with earth. Avimelech, King of the Philistines, says to Isaac, "Go away from us, for you have become far too big for us." Is this remark one of propaganda and a Biblical form of Jew-hatred?

The Torah text continues, "So, Isaac departed from there and encamped in the wadi of Gerar, where he settled. Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham's death, and he gave them the same names that his father had given them. But when Isaac's servants, digging in the wadi, found there a well of spring water, the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen, saying, 'the water is ours.' Isaac named that well Esek, because they contended with him. And when Isaac's servants dug another well, the herdsmen of Gerar disputed over that one also; so, Isaac named it Sitnah-hostility. Isaac moved from there and dug yet another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So, Isaac called it Rehovot, saying, 'Now at last the Lord has granted us ample space to increase in the land.'" 

The Midrash teaches us that the three wells dug anew by Isaac refer to three Temples in Jewish history. The first was destroyed because of Esek, contention with the nations of the time. The second was destroyed because of Sitnah, hostility from the nations of the time. The third, yet to be rebuilt, will be based on Rehovot, when contention and hostility will be things of the past.

No matter what one thinks or believes about a third Temple, clearly, the Jewish people in Israel and all over the world are not yet living in a time of Rehovot, where there is no quarrel, and where Jews are allowed to settle and increase in the land. Sadly, and tragically, over the last thirteen and a half months and even well before that, Jews are living in a time of Esek and Sitnah, contention and hostility.

The latest sad and tragic example comes regarding a young rabbinic colleague whom I and we never knew - A Chabad rabbi who settled in a different part of the globe in order to touch Jews with the message of Torah. His mission, like that of most Chabad rabbis, was to do Keruv work, make connections with all Jews regardless of their backgrounds, beliefs, and practices. Rabbi Zvi Kogen was missing and then subsequently murdered by terrorists. He was based in Abu Dhabi, UAE (United Arab Emirates) and had been abducted a week ago Thursday in Dubai. Rabbi Kogan was found murdered last Sunday. He was 28 years old and leaves behind his wife, Rivky.. The rabbi's mission was to serve the Jewish people. Esek and Sitnah, forces of contention and hostility, brought his life to a young and terrible end.

While the Patriarch, Isaac, went on to build a third and permanent well called Rehovot, we can only wait for a safe, peaceful, and secure third commonwealth in Jewish history.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison