Parshat Toldot - Jealousy
by Rabbi Lobel

When Abraham dwelled in the village of Gerrar (Southern Canaan - Israel), he dug some wells and successfully discovered water, the single most important asset sustaining life in the desert. How did the residents of Gerrar react to the discovery of water in their village? They destroyed the wells.

In this week's Pasrha, Toldos, Isaac moves to Gerrar and restores Abraham's well. Once again, the area has new sources of water. So, what did the villagers do? They destroyed the wells and then asked Isaac, a very wealthy yet modest man, to leave. (Genesis 26: 1-18)

Why would the villagers destroy the very source of their bounty?

According to Rashi (1040 – 1105), the villagers claimed they needed to destroy the wells to prevent marauders from plundering their village. However, the Sifsei Chachomim (Compilation of commentaries on Rashi by Shabtai ben Yosef, Amsterdam; 1641 -1718), explains that Rashi is only repeating the villagers' excuse but the real reason for destroying the wells was jealousy. The residents of Gerrar were hoping Isaac would leave on his own accord.

At first, the people of Gerrar were not able to ask Isaac to leave; they understood it would reveal their jealousy outright. So what did Gerrar do instead? Gerrar destroyed the wells of Isaac with a cover up excuse. Ultimately, because of their jealousy, they asked Isaac to leave anyway.

Furthermore, the villagers knew they were acting irrationally. They knew they were acting to their own detriment out of pure jealousy. Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to conjure an excuse to justify their actions. Gerrar destroyed the wells out of the hope Isaac would leave and they would not need to reveal their jealousy.

From here we learn the destructive corruption that can be caused by jealousy. Rather than enjoying a nearby supply of life sustaining water, the villagers of Gerrar preferred to destroy the wells and their source of sustenance and expel Isaac rather than allowing a stranger to own something they did not.

Jealousy is a deed to which we may easily fall prey. The only way to avoid jealousy is to work on being content with what G-d has provided us.