In Parshat Toldot, Breisheet 26:1-3, there is a famine in the Land so
Yitzchak and Rivka head down to Avimelech, king of the Plishtim in Grar (region
of the Gaza strip) as Avraham did. God appeared to Yitzchak and said:
“Do not go down to Egypt: dwell
(shchon) in the land which I will make known to you. Reside (gur) in this land
and I will be with you and bless you for to your descendents I will give all
these lands (kol ha’artzot ha’el). I will thus fulfill the oath that I swore to
Avraham, your father.”
The Midrash in Breisheet Rabba 64:3
explains that the name of the city, Grar comes from the word Garua (the worst) as
the area of the Gaza strip was dry without water or good air. Rabbi Dostai
taught in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman: it is a bad settlement, not
good for planting and not good for living. This settlement extends until the
Straits of Egypt, the Southern border of Israel on the Southwestern side.
Even though Yitzchak lived in the
worst spot within Israel’s borders, he still was able to find blessings there. As
we see in Breisheet 26:12-13:
Yitzchak planted in that land. That
year he reaped a hundred fold, for God had blessed him. The man prospered. He
continued to prosper until he became very great.
Unfortunately, we see in verses
14-17 that Yitzchak’s success did not last:
He owned flocks and sheep, herds of
cattle, and many slaves, and the Plishtim were jealous of him. All the wells
that his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father, Avraham- the
Plishtim plugged them, and filled them with earth. Avimelech said to Yitzvhak “Go
away from us. You have become more powerful than us.” Yitzchak went away from
there…
However, once Yitzchak was back in
Be’er Sheva, Avimelech and Pichol, his general went to meet with Yitzchak in order
to make peace.
In sentence 31 they make the peace
treaty: “They got up early in the morning, and they each swore to the other.
Yitzchak sent them away and they left in peace.”
The Midrash then asks why it says: “For
to you and to your seed I will give all of these lands (aratzot ha’el)” in
shortened form.
The Midrash answers: It says “ha’el”
and not “ha’ela” to teach that God is only giving some of the promised lands to
His children in this world (in the days of Yehoshua, David and Shlomo). And
when will He give the rest? In the future, in the days of the Mashiach they
will receive all ten lands as promised to Avraham.
In Jewish history we have a concept
of “Maaseh Avot Siman Libanim”, what happened to our forefathers will happen to
their descendents.
So much of what happened to Yitzchak
has happened in our lifetime as well. In 1967, Israel returned to the Gaza
strip and made it grow and bloom by creating 21 beautiful settlements.
For the sake of peace, Yitzchak left
the region. Fifteen years ago, in 2005, Israel pulled out of the Gaza strip,
also for the sake of peace. However, since the Israelis left Gaza, the
situation has deteriorated. Rockets, balloons with bombs attached and explosive
kites are being launched into Israel on a regular basis.
Those who were forced to leave Gaza
during the disengagement believe that one day they will go back and rebuild
their lives there.
May we see a time of peace and
tranquility on the border of the Gaza strip and throughout Israel.