(2001/5762)

(כה:יט) “ואלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם ...”

“And these are the generations (תולדות) of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham…” (25:19).  An alternate translation of תולדות is accomplishments (see Rashi).  What did Yitzchak accomplish?  Rabbi Chaim Wilschanski remarks that Yitzchak’s role amongst the Avot was not so much that of a pioneer.  Yitzchak was a follower of Avraham.  His contribution to that chain was Gevura (toughness).  Avraham’s Midda was Chessed (kindness).  Avraham’s Chessed may have needed Yitzchak’s Gevura to balance it.  For example, we all know kids who have been spoiled by too much Chessed.  This needs to be tempered by a firmer control.  (Years later, Klal Yisrael would painfully learn in the desert how Chessed without Gevura can lead to disaster.)  Rav Shimon Shwab זצ"ל tells us that Pinchas may have been awarded the Kahuna because of a “weakness” in Aharon he was too nice.  According to  Rav Shwab, this attribute of Aharon had to be strengthened with the zealousness of Pinchas, just like the Chessed of Avraham needed Yitzchak’s Gevura.

Yitzchak was not a passive follower, however.  Indeed, he was a deliberate “ground breaker.”  He uncovered his father’s wells which had been buried by the Philistines in an attempt to erase Avraham’s legacy.  Yitzchak could not be passive under such circumstances, he had to think and act.

It happened during my first few days in the Israeli Mechanized Infantry that we were called to attention by Corporal Natan.  Natan possessed the size and appearance of a six foot cinder block.  He had been in combat.  He was every inch a soldier.  As you can imagine, he was very intimidating to new, uncomfortable, bewildered soldiers.  He ordered us stand at attention in three lines one after the other.  He started pacing back and forth and began to lecture.  “You should know, “ he shouted, “that the worst thing in Tzahal, is a soldier who thinks.”  Okay, I thought to myself, don’t think, just follow.  It appears as though he was about to dismiss us when he spun around and said “The other worst thing in Tzahal, is a soldier who doesn’t think.”  With that he dismissed us and walked away, leaving us quite befuddled.

What the young soldiers failed at that time to understand was that a soldier, even though he is primarily a follower, cannot be a passive follower.  There are times when he must none-the-less think and act, like Yitzchak Avinu.

There are many expressions of Yiddishkeit.  We learn from Yitzchak Avinu to follow the time-tested, well-worn, path of Chazal and yet, simultaneously, to think.

(כה:יט) “ואלה תולדות יצחק בן אברהם ...”

“And these are the generations (תולדות) of Yitzchak, the son of Avraham…” (25:19).  An alternate translation of תולדות is accomplishments (see Rashi).  What did Yitzchak accomplish?  Rabbi Chaim Wilschanski remarks that Yitzchak’s role amongst the Avot was not so much that of a pioneer.  Yitzchak was a follower of Avraham.  His contribution to that chain was Gevura (toughness).  Avraham’s Midda was Chessed (kindness).  Avraham’s Chessed may have needed Yitzchak’s Gevura to balance it.  For example, we all know kids who have been spoiled by too much Chessed.  This needs to be tempered by a firmer control.  (Years later, Klal Yisrael would painfully learn in the desert how Chessed without Gevura can lead to disaster.)  Rav Shimon Shwab זצ"ל tells us that Pinchas may have been awarded the Kahuna because of a “weakness” in Aharon he was too nice.  According to  Rav Shwab, this attribute of Aharon had to be strengthened with the zealousness of Pinchas, just like the Chessed of Avraham needed Yitzchak’s Gevura.

Yitzchak was not a passive follower, however.  Indeed, he was a deliberate “ground breaker.”  He uncovered his father’s wells which had been buried by the Philistines in an attempt to erase Avraham’s legacy.  Yitzchak could not be passive under such circumstances, he had to think and act.

It happened during my first few days in the Israeli Mechanized Infantry that we were called to attention by Corporal Natan.  Natan possessed the size and appearance of a six foot cinder block.  He had been in combat.  He was every inch a soldier.  As you can imagine, he was very intimidating to new, uncomfortable, bewildered soldiers.  He ordered us stand at attention in three lines one after the other.  He started pacing back and forth and began to lecture.  “You should know, “ he shouted, “that the worst thing in Tzahal, is a soldier who thinks.”  Okay, I thought to myself, don’t think, just follow.  It appears as though he was about to dismiss us when he spun around and said “The other worst thing in Tzahal, is a soldier who doesn’t think.”  With that he dismissed us and walked away, leaving us quite befuddled.

What the young soldiers failed at that time to understand was that a soldier, even though he is primarily a follower, cannot be a passive follower.  There are times when he must none-the-less think and act, like Yitzchak Avinu.

There are many expressions of Yiddishkeit.  We learn from Yitzchak Avinu to follow the time-tested, well-worn, path of Chazal and yet, simultaneously, to think.