“He became very wealthy, and continued to prosper until he became exceedingly wealthy” (Genesis 26:13). Rashi explains that people used to say: “The manure of Isaac’s mules was worth more than all the silver and gold of Abimelech” (Genesis Rabbah 64:7). Isaac was blessed with extraordinary abundance, a blessing from which the entire world ultimately benefited.
Three times a day, Jews begin the Amidah prayer with the blessing of the Patriarchs: “Our God and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, the great, mighty and awesome God, God Most High.” The Jerusalem Talmud (Berachot 7:11) teaches that Moses established the formulation “the great, mighty and awesome God.”
The attributes of the Patriarchs correspond to the attributes of the Almighty. Just as He is compassionate, so too should we be compassionate, and so forth. The attribute of greatness corresponds to Abraham, might to Isaac, and awe to Jacob.
Abraham recognized God through His greatness and attribute of kindness. Isaac recognized Him as “the Mighty One,” through the attribute of judgment and strength. Jacob recognized Him as awesome, as expressed in his words, “How awesome is this place!” (Genesis 28:17), through the attribute of truth. The title “God Most High” brings together and unifies all these attributes, values and qualities, as described in Deuteronomy: “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome” (10:17).
“You shall grant truth to Jacob, kindness to Abraham, as You swore to our forefathers from days of old” (Micah 7:20). Kindness and truth are united in the divine attribute of harmony, while Isaac represents might. Together, the three Patriarchs form a complete spiritual structure through which God bestows His goodness. By remembering the kindness shown to the Patriarchs, He brings redemption to their descendants, for His name’s sake and out of love.
Isaac’s defining attribute, as noted, is might, corresponding to his submission to God’s power and will. This is reflected in the second blessing of the Amidah, known as Gevurot, which focuses on God’s might. While the first blessing recalls the kindness embodied by Abraham, the second describes God’s power: resurrecting the dead, supporting the fallen, healing the sick and bringing rain. These are all expressions of divine might, for they descend through the power of the Almighty (based on Ta’anit 2a).
In Genesis 31:42, Jacob tells Laban: “Had not the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, been with me, you would surely have sent me away empty-handed.” Rabbeinu Bachya explains that Jacob’s reference to “the Fear of Isaac” is deliberate. He is not simply repeating his father’s name unnecessarily. Rather, he is invoking the attribute of fear and might that characterizes Isaac. In this single verse, Jacob both honors the proper order of the generations by mentioning his father before his grandfather and expresses the complete spiritual structure represented by the three Patriarchs. The attribute of might, the Fear of Isaac, is the defining quality of his father.
Isaac’s birth marked the appearance of the attribute of divine judgment, a sharp contrast to the God of kindness known through Abraham. When Abraham pleaded on behalf of Sodom, he argued before God: “If You seek to sustain the world, there can be no place for strict judgment; if You seek strict judgment, there can be no place for the world” (Genesis Rabbah 49). Isaac, by contrast, experienced God through the attributes of judgment and might.
In everyday language, might is understood as physical strength, power, determination and forcefulness, as reflected in the prophet Jeremiah’s words: “Let not the mighty man boast of his might” (9:22). Yet the attribute of might embodied by our forefather Isaac encompasses far more than physical strength. On one hand, it means the courage to sacrifice oneself, as Isaac demonstrated at the Binding, and as his descendants would learn from him. Hannah and her seven sons drew strength from this example, as did the countless victims of the Holocaust and the soldiers throughout Jewish history who gave their lives in sanctification of God’s name. This is the courage of self-sacrifice: strength of heart, bravery, spiritual resilience, heroism and daring in fulfilling the will of the Almighty. It is the willingness to save the persecuted and defend one’s people, land and homeland. Such individuals stand in a category of their own.
On the other hand, might also means strength of will: the ability to overcome one’s impulses and desires. As the sages teach in Pirkei Avot: “Who is mighty? One who conquers his inclination.” It is the determination to confront the challenges of everyday life with perseverance. The Maharal of Prague, in his Chiddushei Aggadot and Netivot Olam, explains that a mountain symbolizes Abraham’s elevated and prominent attribute of kindness, while a field symbolizes Isaac’s attribute of might and the demanding labor associated with it. A field requires digging, sustained effort, inner struggle and the willingness to confront difficulties.
Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler, in his work Michtav Me’Eliyahu, explains that conquering one’s inclination does not mean suppressing or destroying one’s emotions and desires. Rather, it means managing and controlling them. A truly mighty person knows how to hold the reins, direct his energies toward positive goals and act according to reason and values rather than being swept away by emotion.
It is fascinating, even if this examination cannot be exhaustive, to trace Isaac’s life against the background of the attribute of might that accompanied him throughout. The strength to overcome one’s impulses, fulfill the will of the Creator, and withstand repeated trials appears to have been deeply rooted in Isaac from the very beginning, perhaps even from the moment of his birth.
According to Midrash Aggadah (Genesis 18:14), Isaac was born prematurely, after seven months of pregnancy, to parents who were already advanced in age. Even in those days, the birth and raising of a premature infant involved overcoming genuine and ongoing threats to life. (I am particularly aware of this challenge, as six of our ten children, with God’s help, were born prematurely.)
During his youth, Isaac also had to contend with his half-brother Ishmael, the son of Hagar. Eventually, his mother demanded that Ishmael and his mother be sent away from their home. Isaac himself did not make that demand. He endured the situation in his characteristic manner, overcoming the difficulties placed before him.
All these challenges, however, were merely preparation for what lay ahead. At the age of 37, before he had even established a family of his own, Isaac was awakened one morning by his father, who informed him that God had commanded him to offer his son as a sacrifice on the altar. Isaac overcame his natural instincts and accompanied his father to Mount Moriah wholeheartedly. The Torah describes their journey with the words: “And the two of them went together.”
They went together even though Isaac had asked his father, “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” and Abraham had replied: “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:7-8). Isaac understood very well the implications of the words “my son.” As Rashi explains, even though Isaac understood that he was the one who was about to be slaughtered, “the two of them went together,” with equal commitment in their hearts. This was an extraordinary demonstration of faith in the spiritual authority of his father. According to the Chatam Sofer, Isaac’s courage and trial were even greater than those of Abraham, who had received the command directly from God.
Isaac himself would later invoke this courage, according to the Midrash, in the opening passage of Eicha Rabbah. He declared: “Master of the Universe, when my father told me, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son,’ I did not resist Your command. I willingly allowed myself to be bound upon the altar and stretched out my neck beneath the knife. Will You not remember this merit and have mercy upon my children?”
After the Binding, Isaac experienced another devastating loss: the tragic death of his mother, Sarah, who died upon hearing that her beloved only son had been bound upon the altar. The Torah records no complaint from Isaac against his father for not having shared God’s command with Sarah. This silence itself reflects another form of strength: the ability to restrain oneself and endure suffering without giving voice to every grievance. As the saying goes, “A word is worth a coin, but silence is worth two.”
After three years of mourning his mother, when Isaac was 40, his father sent Eliezer to find him a wife. This was the same Eliezer who had accompanied Abraham and Isaac on their journey to the Binding. When Abraham saw the place of the Binding from afar, he noticed a cloud resting above the mountain. Isaac saw it as well, while Eliezer and Ishmael did not recognize what they were seeing. Abraham therefore told them: “Stay here with the donkey” (Genesis 22:5). The sages interpret this as a reference to those who resemble the donkey (Yevamot 62a).
And now this very servant, Eliezer, was being sent to find Isaac a wife. Was this truly appropriate? Yet Isaac, who embodied the attribute of might, accepted his father’s wishes, both the mission itself and its eventual outcome. Here we encounter another expression of Isaac’s strength: the power of prayer. The Talmud (Berachot 26b) teaches that Abraham established the morning prayer, Shacharit, based on the verse: “Abraham rose early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord.” Standing is understood as referring to prayer.
Isaac established the afternoon prayer, Mincha, based on the verse: “Isaac went out to meditate in the field toward evening” (Genesis 24:63). The word for meditation is understood as referring to prayer, as the Psalmist writes: “A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed, and pours out his complaint before the Lord.” Jacob established the evening prayer, Ma’ariv. Here too, Isaac’s attribute of might is evident.
As the Torah describes in this week’s portion, Isaac was a farmer: “Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold, and the Lord blessed him” (Genesis 26:12). Yet even in the middle of his working day, he stopped to pray and went out into the field to meditate. Rashi explains that the word used for meditation refers to prayer, as in the expression “pouring out one’s heart.”
According to the Midrash, Isaac regularly prayed Mincha. The Zohar (I, 132) notes that the timing of his prayer coincided with the arrival of Eliezer and Rebecca. When Isaac went out to pray Mincha, Eliezer arrived with Rebecca. On another occasion, when Isaac went out to pray at the same time, Rebecca came to meet him. By establishing the afternoon prayer, Isaac taught us the power of prayer as an act of self-discipline. Even in the middle of a busy working day, a person must overcome his immediate impulses and turn toward God. Commentators on the Talmud, including the Ran and the Tosafists, explain that Mincha corresponds to Isaac’s attribute of judgment and might, since the afternoon is traditionally considered a time when divine judgment is especially pronounced as evening approaches.
I fondly remember the Mincha prayers during the years when I managed our family’s diamond-polishing business. The workers, almost all of whom were paid by the amount of work they completed, would abruptly stop what they were doing and summon the strength to devote time to Mincha. I am certain those prayers made an impression in Heaven. Their determination drew upon the strength that our forefather Isaac planted within us.
The Torah continues: “Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother, and he took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her” (Genesis 24:67). Here too, Isaac was required to demonstrate extraordinary strength. Ten years passed without Isaac and Rebecca having children. The children they hoped for were to inherit all the blessings God had bestowed upon Abraham and Isaac. Yet Isaac did not send Rebecca away or seek another wife. Instead, he waited through another ten full years of prayers and supplications, as the Torah describes: “Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren.” Eventually, they were blessed with a twin pregnancy. It was a difficult pregnancy, during which the children struggled within Rebecca’s womb, fighting over the inheritance of two worlds, as Rashi explains.
Without the benefit of an ultrasound, Rebecca-and through her, Isaac-received direct knowledge from God about the future and what was concealed within her womb: two nations, one of which would rise as the other fell. Indeed, from the moment they were born, one twin grasped the heel of the other. Their struggle has continued throughout history. Although they were twins, they were anything but identical, separated from one another as far as east is from west. Raising them would require yet another measure of strength.
From one challenge to another, Isaac’s life continued to demand the attribute of might. Although we read that “Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac” (Genesis 25:5), the Torah immediately tells us: “There was a famine in the land.” During a famine, even great wealth offers little protection. As the sages teach, “The more possessions, the more worry.” And when one’s possessions are exceptionally numerous, the worries multiply accordingly, particularly when there is insufficient water to sustain the livestock.
Throughout human history, famine has triggered waves of migration and caused the deaths of millions. It was therefore entirely understandable that Isaac would consider following his father’s example and temporarily descending to Egypt. But once again, he was required to demonstrate strength. “The Lord appeared to him and said: Do not go down to Egypt. Dwell in the land that I shall tell you” (Genesis 26:2). Despite the difficult circumstances, Isaac was commanded to remain in the Land of Israel. Even if the cost of living elsewhere might be cheaper, his mission was to establish communities and bring the Divine Presence into the land.
Isaac believed and sowed, and indeed he reaped a hundredfold and received God’s blessing. Yet his success brought another challenge: envy and antisemitism, as has so often happened throughout history.
The Philistines stopped up the wells that Abraham had dug and that Isaac had inherited from him. They filled them with earth, depriving Isaac’s family of their water sources. Eventually, Abimelech ordered Isaac and his family to leave. Once again, Isaac’s strength prevented him from giving up. He dug new wells through his own efforts. But the hostility and jealousy only intensified. Isaac continued moving from place to place, digging one well after another, only to see them repeatedly filled in by the Philistines. After the extraordinary blessing of the hundredfold harvest, it seemed that God’s blessing had temporarily receded. But Isaac refused to despair. He persevered, finding water wherever he dug, even as the Philistines repeatedly disputed his ownership of the wells. As a man of peace, Isaac chose to move on rather than fight, until he finally dug the well at Beersheba.
It was only after this successful excavation that the Philistines finally understood that God’s blessing rested upon Isaac, not upon them, and sought to make peace with him. They declared: “We have clearly seen that the Lord has been with you” (Genesis 26:28). They recognized not only that God was with Isaac, but also that his efforts produced extraordinary results. While the famine continued elsewhere, Isaac’s harvest yielded a hundredfold. The Philistines came to understand that Isaac was a source of blessing not only for himself but for the entire region.
The Torah describes Abraham’s efforts to bring people closer to God with the words “the souls they had made in Haran” (Genesis 12:5). Abraham converted the men through teaching and persuasion, while Sarah brought the women closer to faith. Isaac’s success in influencing others took a different form. His strength and perseverance were expressed through the way he lived. Despite every obstacle, he demonstrated that a righteous person can embody the principle: “Though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked stumble into disaster” (Proverbs 24:16).
His example ultimately brought the Philistines to recognize and declare that God was with Isaac, and that the God Isaac served was the source of blessing for the world. This recognition overcame their jealousy and hatred and led them to seek a peace treaty with him. May the deeds of the fathers serve as a guide for their descendants, and may the Abraham Accords, with God’s help, continue to expand.
Chabad philosophy offers another way of understanding the distinction between Abraham and Isaac. Abraham’s mission was to spread faith from above to below, through kindness and love. Isaac’s mission, by contrast, was one of gevurah d’letata-strength from below, an effort to ascend through the physical world.
This is reflected in the account of Isaac digging wells in this week’s Torah portion. He removed stones and debris, working through the obstacles to uncover the living waters hidden beneath the earth. This is the strength required to overcome one’s impulses, the concealment of the Divine and the physical and spiritual difficulties of life. (Likkutei Torah, Chayei Sarah, 14c.) The Talmud (Pesachim 117b) also connects God’s blessing to Abraham at the beginning of Parshat Lech Lecha-specifically the words “And I will bless you” (Genesis 12:2)-with the expression “the God of Isaac.”
From the example of Isaac’s lifelong strength, the Jewish people learn an enduring lesson: there are two forms of sanctifying God’s name. One is through giving one’s life, and the other is through the way one lives. Both require courage. Both require strength. And both are rooted in the legacy of our forefather Isaac.
