Wednesday, November 3, 2021

What have you brought back? My email devar Torah on Parashat Toldot

John F. Burns spent forty years covering world events for The New York Times. In an article written after his retirement in 2015, Burns recalled the words of a close friend and fellow journalist who was dying of cancer. “Never forget,” his colleague said, “It’s not how far you’ve traveled; it’s what you’ve brought back.”

If Abraham was the first Jew to make aliyah and live in the land of Israel, Isaac was the first Sabra. Unlike his father Abraham and his son Jacob, Isaac never left the land of Israel. Nevertheless, he lived an eventful life meeting the challenges of being a husband, a being father of twins, and earning a living. He had his run-ins with the Philistines. “Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham’s death; and gave them the same names that his father had given them.” (Genesis 26: 18) “Hakatv Vhakabbalah understands that the Philistines stopping up the wells was symbolic, not physical. They tried to block the dissemination of Abraham’s ideas about God in human behavior-the need for human beings to live righteously.” (Etz Hayim commentary below the line, page 151)

Psalm 37 could be considered David’s list of what he “brought back” from his journey of life, from shepherd to soldier and king. The psalm is a series of couplets contrasting the wicked with the righteous, and affirming those who trust the Lord.

“Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither” (vv. 1–2).

“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand” (vv. 23–24).

“I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread” (v. 25).

From our experiences in life, what has God taught us? How have we experienced His faithfulness and love? In what ways has the Lord’s love shaped our lives?

It’s not how far we’ve traveled in life, but what we’ve brought back that counts.

 


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