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By Rabbi Mario G. Gurevich,
Beth Israel Synagogue, Aruba

Translated by Inés Baum - Proofreading by Ellen Zindler

Everyone knows that the Torah’s descriptions are realistic, and even stark. The Torah never tries to minimize the errors of its characters, not even for the key characters, nor does it mythicize its heroes.

Perhaps there is no other text where this is as visible as in the description of our patriarchs, who despite their serving as models on whom we should found our origins and identity, are presented as the human beings they actually were, with virtues and weaknesses.

In the case of Isaac, our second patriarch, this is true not only regarding what is said about him, but also what is not said. In general, Isaac is never the main character in any story that concerns him, but rather a supporting actor, in the context of his parents, his wife or his children.

Knowing this, commentators wished to see in Isaac what we would call today “post-traumatic stress”. Isaac never fully recovered from the terrible experience of being tied by his own father on a sacrificial altar, and seeing the knife about to be plunged into his chest.

Rashi even suggests that the blindness that appears in this week’s parashah, had its origin in the tears shed by the angels, that fell into Isaac’s eyes, when the angels saw him tied and ready for sacrifice.

Reading the lines of Parashat Toldot that refer to the episode of the failed blessing of Esau, Isaac’s beloved son, and the one that Jacob received through deceit with the complicity of his mother, we see the complicated relation between a father “blinded” towards Esau’s true character, and his obvious lack of the skills and spirituality needed to be the heir of a chain of faith, and a Rebecca absolutely devoted to such cause, even before her marriage to Isaac, who takes on the leadership that her husband lacks, in order to ensure that the worthy son will be the spiritual heir, passing on the idea of divinity inherited from his grandfather Abraham.

Nevertheless, there is another image of Isaac: the person who restores the wells that had been covered by the Philistines, after which he perceives God, Who addresses him as the God of his father.

Despite his traumas, Isaac was not a stranger to his father’s faith. He had to overcome, at least, the scars of his terror, understanding the distressed silence of his aloof father, and the meaning of the entire event.

Only after he did this, did Isaac return to the sealed wells, to remove the rubbish that had covered and corrupted them, and drink once more from their holy waters.

That is why we can identify with Isaac, because he, in spite of his traumas and like many of us, was able to defeat his fears and inertia, going back to the treasure of the sources that should never be lost.

This Parashah commentary was done by the Union of Jewish Congregations of Latin America and the Caribbean, and may be reproduced quoting its source.
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Forwarded by Rabbi Gustavo Kraselnik, from Kol Shearith Israel Congregation, Panama.
Translated by Inés Baum and proofread by Ellen Zindler, from B’nei Israel Congregation, Costa Rica.

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