OUTREACH

Toldot 

This week’s Torah portion introduces us to one of the most fascinating contrasts in our tradition: the twins Yaakov and Esav. Born to the same parents, raised under the same roof, they begin from one source yet grow into dramatically different destinies.

Yaakov becomes the gentle, thoughtful, spiritually attuned leader who shapes the future of the Jewish people. Esav, driven by impulse and aggression, becomes a symbol of unchecked ego and destructive power. Their divergence reminds us of a central truth of human life: every person carries both potential paths within them. Our environment influences us, but our choices define us. Each of us can choose the clarity of Yaakov or fall into the chaos of Esav. Even our rough edges and natural tendencies can be redirected toward goodness when we decide to shape who we want to be.

The Torah hints to this from the very beginning of their lives. As they emerge into the world, Yaakov grabs Esav’s heel, the lowest, most callous part of the body. It is a timeless symbol: the work of spiritual life begins by confronting the lowest parts of ourselves. To rise higher, we must first take hold of the places within us that feel heavy, insensitive, or unrefined, and guide them toward something better. Yaakov doesn’t reject the heel, he elevates it.

The parsha continues with another powerful and surprisingly relevant image: Yitzchak digging wells. It seems like simple labor, just sand, dirt, and water, but the Torah devotes precious verses to name and describe each well.

The first well is called Esek — Strife, because the shepherds of the Philistines fought over it.

The second is Sitnah — Hostility, because again, the Philistines contended over it.

But the third well is entirely different. This time Yitzchak digs it himself, not his servants — and for the first time, no one fights him. No disputes. No jealousy. No contention. Yitzchak names it Rechovos — Spaciousness, a place of peace, clarity, and blessing.

The Torah is highlighting something profound:

As long as you outsource your deepest responsibilities, you will always find yourself in Esek and Sitnah, strife and hostility. But when you show up personally, when you invest yourself, when you dig with your own hands, that’s when Rechovos appears.
In life, you can hire someone to mow your lawn, file your taxes, or even assemble your IKEA furniture. But you cannot outsource tefillah. You cannot outsource building a Jewish home. You cannot outsource your children’s neshamos or your own spiritual identity. Delegation creates efficiency. Personal involvement creates meaning.

A man once wrote to the Lubavitcher Rebbe saying he gave generously to every cause yet felt spiritually empty. “Why don’t I feel connected?” he asked. The 

Rebbe’s answer was just one line:

“Because you sent your check, but you didn’t send yourself.”

You can donate to dig Esek. You can support others and still live surrounded by Sitnah. But Rechovos, the space to breathe, the sense of belonging, the joy of real connection, comes only when you show up with your presence, your heart, your soul.

As we move closer to the era our prophets describe, when the raw “Esav energy” in the world will finally be elevated and transformed, our work begins within. We create that future by living a Yaakov life, not by avoiding negativity, but by harnessing it and redirecting it toward holiness.

May we each find the strength to pick up the shovel ourselves, dig deeply, and uncover the wellsprings of purpose and blessing that have been waiting beneath the surface all along.

Have a good Shabbos and a great week.

Rabbi Zalman Lipskar

(adapted from the writings of my Father and Teacher, Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar, obm)

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