“Like father, like son,” we often say. With Avraham and Yitzchak, we might expect that resemblance to be especially strong. Both believed in one G-d in a world surrounded by idolatry and devoted their lives to serving Him.

Yet the Torah reveals two very different approaches to bringing G-dliness into the world.

Avraham was the ultimate host. He welcomed travelers into his tent, offered food and shelter, and introduced them to their Creator. Through his kindness, he inspired others to recognize and thank G-d. Avraham reached outward, bringing faith and goodness to everyone he encountered.

Yitzchak’s approach was different. In this week’s Parsha, Toldos, we read how he reopened the wells his father had dug, which the Philistines had filled with earth.

What is the deeper meaning of digging a well?

A well digger doesn't create water. The water is already there. His job is simply to remove the layers of earth that conceal it, revealing the life-giving water beneath the surface.

This was Yitzchak’s approach: uncovering the G-dliness and goodness already present within every person.

A Powerful Message from the Kinus

This past Shabbat, while attending the International Convention of Chabad Rabbis, I joined the Australian group together with my brother-in-law, Rabbi Meir. I was deeply moved by their determination to follow in the footsteps of Rabbi Eli Schlanger HYD, who was murdered by terrorists at a Menorah lighting at Bondi Beach: Be more Jewish, live more Jewishly, and bring out the goodness in everyone we meet.

One of the most emotional moments of the Kinus came when Rabbi Eli’s 14-year-old son, Nosson, addressed the crowd- thousands of rabbis and supporters.

Nosson drew on this very story of Yitzchak’s wells. His father’s mission, he explained, was to uncover the Jewish soul already within every Jew. Just as the Philistines tried to bury Avraham’s wells, the terrorists tried to destroy his father's work. But Yitzchak reopened those wells, keeping even the same names his father had given them.

Nosson stood before thousands and declared:

“Tatty, I will keep digging in your name.”

What an extraordinary expression of Jewish strength and continuity! Our response to those who seek to destroy Jewish life is to strengthen it, one mitzvah and one Jewish soul at a time.

I encourage you to watch Nosson's moving speech. Have tissues ready!

A Veterans Day Encounter

On Veterans Day, a Jewish man reached out to put on Tefillin. He shared that wherever his travels take him, he makes a point of visiting the local Chabad House to do this special mitzvah.

I thought of Yitzchak’s wells. Here was a Jewish connection already alive within him. All that was needed was an opportunity for it to find expression.

We need both approaches. Like Avraham, we must reach out, share, teach, and inspire. Like Yitzchak, we must recognize that we are not starting with an empty landscape.

Within every Jew is a Divine spark, a reservoir of goodness and a connection to G-d. Sometimes our task is simply to believe it is there, remove a little of what conceals it, and offer an opening.

Because the living waters are already waiting beneath the surface.

Shabbat Shalom!
Light candles at 4:16 pm
Shabbat ends at 5:18 pm
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