25 Nov TOLDOT: STOP PRAYING – AND START BEGGING

The Torah in Parashat Toldot
tells what we should probably
see as the first instance of
antisemitism.
Yitzhak Avinu was forced by a
drought to settle among
the Pelishtim, and they disliked him and
fought with him. A focal point of the fighting
was the group of wells that Yitzhak dug. These
wells had actually been dug years earlier by
his father, Avraham. But after Avraham died,
the Pelishtim filled the wells with earth, so
they could not be used. Now, Yitzhak dug
them anew. And the Pelishtim fought with
him over these wells.
Avraham brought a new idea into the world,
the concept of ethical monotheism, the belief
in Hashem, in morality, in our responsibility
for other people, in kindness and
compassion. The people decided to “stuff the
wells,” to put an end to his teachings, because
they did not want to have to bear this
burden. Yitzhak, though, kept digging. He
didn’t give up, even in the face of hostility.
In our time, too, we face a frightening wave of
antisemitism. We need to be strong and
resolute, like Yitzhak Avinu, and continue to

“dig the wells” of our ancestors, and proudly
carry our heritage and traditions.
But there’s also something else we need to be
doing.
The opening pesukim of this parashah tell that
Yitzhak and Rivka were childless for twenty
years before having children. During those
years, the Torah writes, Vayetar Yitzhak
LaShem – Yitzhak prayed to Hashem, until he
was finally answered and Rivka conceived.
The commentators point out that the Torah
uses an unusual word for prayer – Vayetar. We
are familiar with other words, such as tefillah
and bakasha. What does Vayetar mean?
Rashi explains, Harbeh Vehaftzir
B’tefillah. Meaning, Yitzhak didn’t just
pray. He begged. And he begged more. And
then some more. He kept asking and begging
and crying and pleading.
Yitzhak’s name is gematria equals 208, and
Rivka’s name equals 307. Together, they
equal 515. This is the same number
of tefilot that Moshe Rabbenu prayed when
he asked to be allowed to enter the Land of
Israel, as indicated by the pasuk Va’etchanan
El Hashem – “I pleaded to Hashem” (the

word Va’etchanan e q u a l s
515). Moshe Rabbenu kept begging
and begging, without stopping until
Hashem told him to stop (Devarim
3:26). This is how Yitzhak and Rivka
prayed for the blessing of
children. They begged. They
pleaded. They cried. And they didn’t
stop.
The story is told of a Rabbi who was
walking with his students, and they
came across a young boy who was
crying. The Rabbi kneeled down to ask the
boy what was wrong. The boy explained that

he and his friends were playing hide-and-go-
seek, and he was the one who hid. His friends

never found him.
“So what’s the problem?” the Rabbi
asked. “Isn’t that what you want to happen?”
“Yes, the boy said, but they eventually
stopped looking for me. And that’s why I’m
sad.”
The Rabbi turned to his students and said that
this is the true of our relationship with
Hashem, as well. Sometimes, He hides. For
reasons we are not supposed to know, He
brings upon us difficult challenges, situations

where it seems as though He isn’t here helping
us. What He wants during these times, the
Rabbi explained, is for us to continue looking
for Him, without ever giving up. We need to
continue begging, unrelentingly, until He
finally answers.
We need Vayetar – to keep asking and
pleading. We need to stop praying and start
begging; to stop talking and start crying; to
stop using just words and start pleading with
our hearts.
Hashem wants us to keep searching, to keep
pleading, until we find Him, and He will
then come to help us and bring our nation the
peace and tranquility that we so desperately
want. May it happen speedily, amen.