Our Chumash Honors course for juniors and seniors concludes this week. Toldot, Perek 26, tells us the story of Yitzchok in the land of Plishtim.  Hashem blesses him abundantly and he prospers to the point that the people are jealous; even Avimelech, the king, tells him he is no longer welcome. But Yitzchok has an important task to complete in this region.

כו וַיָּשָׁב יִצְחָק וַיַּחְפֹּר אֶת בְּאֵרֹת הַמַּיִם אֲשֶׁר חָפְרוּ בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיו וַיְסַתְּמוּם פְּלִשְׁתִּים אַחֲרֵי מוֹת אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקְרָא לָהֶן שֵׁמוֹת כַּשֵּׁמֹת אֲשֶׁר קָרָא לָהֶן אָבִיו.

And Isaac again dug the wells of water which they had dug in the days of his father, Abraham, and the Philistines had stopped them up after Abraham's death; and he gave them names like the names that his father had given them.

We wondered why the Philistines would sabotage wells; after all, even today, water is a precious commodity in that part of the world. The passuk is implying that the Philistines filled in the wells precisely because Avraham dug them and named them. Avraham had pioneered a teaching methodology that was based on the land. He would create a landmark to commemorate important events or prophecies associated with particular places in Canaan. He built altars, planted an orchard and dug wells to this purpose. The names he chose created an association to a concept that he wanted to teach. By filling in the wells, the Philistines were attempting to erase the legacy of Avraham after his death. They were hoping that, without his charisma, the movement would die. Yitzchok moved to restore and protect his father's legacy by redigging and renaming the wells.  He then dug three new wells of his own and he gave them names. While maintaining the continuity of Avraham's teachings, Yitzchok was creating a legacy of his own, thus sharing a new dimension of understanding with the people. He named the first well, עשק, because the Philistine shepherds argued and quarreled with him over the rights to the wellspring he had discovered. He named the second, שטנה, hatred, in accordance with the escalation of tensions. However, the Philistines accepted the third well. Yitzchok named it רחובות and expressed the wish that they will now be able to expand and flourish in the land.

It would seem that Yitzchok was teaching an important lesson about the Jew in exile and his encounter with anti-Semitism. Anti-Semitism is an expression of the inability to accept the truth of Monotheism, the concept of ה' אחד. It will be provoked by jealousy and tensions can easily escalate to hatred. We might consider the impact of our success in our host countries and try to minimize opportunities for jealousy. Rechovot represents that state, when the Jew demonstrates the ideals of the Torah through example; only then can we gain the respect of our neighbors. The nations of the world can then share in the blessings that the Divine Providence bestows on the Jewish people.

כב...ויִּקְרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ רְחֹב֔וֹת וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כִּ֣י עַתָּ֞ה הִרְחִ֧יב יְהֹוָ֛ה לָ֖נוּ וּפָרִ֥ינוּ בָאָֽרֶץ:

22...So he named it Rehoboth, and he said, "For now Hashem has expanded                          for us, and we will be fruitful in the land."