Toledot 5783-2022

Isaac heeds G-d’s words, does not leave Canaan, and instead goes to Gerar. There the people ask about his wife, and, like his father, Abraham, before him, Isaac says that his wife, Rebecca, is his sister. In Genesis 26:7, scripture explains Isaac’s actions: כִּי יָרֵא לֵאמֹר, אִשְׁתִּי, פֶּן יַהַרְגֻנִי אַנְשֵׁי הַמָּקוֹם עַל רִבְקָה, כִּי טוֹבַת מַרְאֶה הִוא, for he was afraid to say: “My wife,” lest the men of the place kill me because of Rebecca, for she was fair to look upon.

After dwelling in Gerar for a while, King Avimelech, looks out his window, (Genesis 26:8), and sees Isaac, מְצַחֵק, “sporting” with Rebecca, his wife. Angrily, Avimelech summons Isaac and demands to know why Isaac claimed that Rebecca was his sister. After all, says Avimelech, I could have been killed on account of her, had I taken her as a concubine.

There is no recorded response by Isaac to this charge. Instead, Avimelech announces to his people that Isaac and his wife are protected sojourners, and anyone who harms Isaac shall surely die. While Isaac is allowed to remain in Gerar, Avimelech does not shower him with gifts as he did Abraham. Instead, Isaac independently plants מֵאָה שְׁעָרִים, a hundred measures, and becomes enormously wealthy. His economic success leads to disputes between Isaac’s servants and Avimelech’s servants, and ultimately Isaac leaves Gerar, and moves his family to Beersheva.

With only a few subtle differences, this story is virtually identical to the story of Avram recorded in Genesis 12:10 concerning the famine in Canaan. Avram and Sari go down to Egypt. Avram instructs Sari to say that she’s his sister. Pharaoh discovers the deception and expels Avram and Sari from Egypt.

In Genesis 20, scripture reports that Avraham and Sarah once again go down on account of the famine–this time to Gerar. Abraham himself announces to all that Sarah is his sister. King Avimelech sends for Sarah, but before he has a chance to violate her, he’s warned away by G-d. After the incident, Avimelech gives Abraham gifts and allows him to remain in Gerar.

Our rabbis have much difficulty, not only with the fact that our patriarchs engage in “deception” by stating that their wives are their sisters, but also with the effects of the deception which place the women in danger. Only, in Genesis 20:11-12 is any reason given to explain why the patriarchs do this. Abraham informs Avimelech that the reason that he said that Sarah was his sister was because he saw that there was no fear of G-d in this place (Gerar), and that he (Abraham) was afraid that they would kill him because of his wife. In Genesis 20:12, Abraham expounds further, stating explicitly that, in truth, Sarah was his sister, the daughter of his father but not the daughter of his mother. Rashi states that by this Abraham means that Sarah was his brother’s daughter. And thus, in a figurative sense, Sarah could be considered his sister.

Some commentators maintain that the Egyptians and the Gerarites had a most perverted sense of morality. They were careful not to violate the prohibition of adultery, but they would not hesitate to murder a husband, so that the woman would no longer be married. Hence, the patriarchs were justified in their fear that they would be killed, and the women spared.

Other commentators suggest that this was the patriarch’s way to stall until the famine had passed. By stating that their wives were their sisters, Abraham and Isaac would be in a position to demand exorbitant dowery for the woman’s hand. As no dowery would ever be sufficient, they would be able to remain in the country until the famine passed and then depart safely. Unfortunately, they did not anticipate that the king himself would simply take the wives without any dowery. In stark contrast to the mainstream commentators, the Ramban maintains, (Genesis 12:10), that “Abraham sinned grievously” by putting Sarah in jeopardy in order to save his own skin.

The real question however remains: Why does this story repeat three times, albeit, on each occasion in a slightly different manner? Umberto Cassuto, in his brilliant analysis of these sections, asserts that the narrative is repeated in order to underscore the fact that this story is history in the making, and that from this particular repeating story we learn that the deeds of the fathers are surely signposts for the children.

Cassuto explains: G-d had already predicted to Abraham in the בְּרִית בֵּין הָבְּתָּרִים–the Covenant between the Pieces, (Genesis 15:13): יָדֹעַ תֵּדַע כִּי גֵר יִהְיֶה זַרְעֲךָ בְּאֶרֶץ לֹא לָהֶם, You shall surely know that your children will be strangers in a land that is not theirs. In this covenant, the prophecy of exile, servitude and persecution is pronounced, predicting the exile from Canaan to Egypt, the slavery and persecution, and the eventual triumphant salvation. This, maintains Cassuto, is exactly what is predicted by the repetition of the stories. There will be a famine, the families of Abraham and Isaac will be exiled from their homes and go either to Egypt or to Gerar. In exile, the men will be threatened with death, but the women will be allowed to live. Eventually the people will go out with great wealth.

Once again, we see that there is nothing casual about the Bible. Textual repetition is not mere coincidence. Emphasis in scripture is never accidental, but rather comes to underscore profound messages for subsequent generations. As stated in Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers 5:21: הֲפָךְ בָּהּ, וַהֲפָךְ בָּהּ, דְּכֹֽלָּא בָה, repeat your study of the Torah again and again, because everything is in it.

In 1905, the famed philosopher, George Santayana, said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Our sages said it first, and said it better. How crucial it is for all of us to see those signposts, to heed them, and to learn from them.