Audio Summaries of the daily Chumash portions In loving memory of Ousher Zelig ben Myer HaLevi Z”L
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Yitzchak's Wealth and the Wells
Yitzchak became great and kept growing greater until he became very great. Rashi cites the Breishis Rabbah which describes how people would say that they would rather have the manure from Yitzchak's mules than the silver and gold of Avimelech.
He had an abundance of sheep and cattle.
The Philistines envied him and filled up all of the wells which Avraham had dug. They did so out of fear of armies invading and being nourished by these wells.
Avimelech told Yitzchak to leave since he had become so much stronger than them.
So Yitzchak left and camped in the valley of Gerar which was far from the city.
He went back and re-dug all of his father's wells which the Philistines had stopped up and renamed them with the names that Avraham had given to them.
In digging in the valley, Yitzchak's servants discovered a well of living waters.
Gerar and Yitzchak's shepherds fought over who's water it was. So Yitzchak called the well Esek, which means "contention".
They dug up another well which was similarly fought over, so Yitzchak named this one Sitnah, which is a word relating to harm, wrong or injury.
Yitzchak moved away and dug another well, which this time no one fought him for. So he named this one Rechovot, which is rooted in the word "wide" or "spacious" alluding to how G-d made space for them and that they are to be fruitful in the Land of Israel.
