* Translated by Janine Muller Sherr
In a generation in which the Hebrew word “lachfor” has taken on negative connotations, last week’s parasha calls on us to do just that — not in the sense of pestering or nagging (which is the meaning of this word in modern Hebrew slang), but in its literal sense: to dig deep into the earth, layer after layer, until you reach the sweet waters.
Parashat Toldot describes how our patriarch Yitzchak dug wells and that the Philistines then sealed those wells. But Yitzchak did not give up: he kept on digging until he found the source of blessing. Why does the Torah relate this episode in such detail? Our commentators explain: This episode is not only about physical sand and water, but represents an entire worldview. Those who sealed up Yitzchak’s wells were, in essence, resisting his key message: to dig deeper. They wanted everything to remain superficial.
This tendency towards a superficial view of the world continues to influence us even today—our inclination to live one-dimensional lives without striving to see beneath the surface in order toreach the source of the “living waters.”
The digging of wells in this parasha is Yitzchak’s message for each one of us: to recognize that the world has depth and meaning and to always strive to peel back the layers in order to reach the core. It is for this reason that our Torah is compared to water — because in order to grasp its sweetness we must make an effort to dig deep. Moreover, we may feel that our very souls are covered with sand and dust — nonetheless, we should not despair but keep on digging until we discover the kernel of good concealed beneath.
