“Why Do People Fight?,” Rabbi Elaine Zecher’s Shabbat Awakenings

November 21, 2025 | 1 Kislev 5786

Welcome to Shabbat Awakenings, a weekly reflection, as we make our way toward Shabbat. You can also listen to it as a podcast.

Why do people fight?

I’d like to think that those who composed the Bible also considered such a question. Perhaps it motivated them to lay out timeless stories wrapped around the human condition and the relationship with a Power more than just themselves.

From Cain and Abel to Noah to the Tower of Babel, the interaction and ill treatment of people one with the other animated the mythic part of the Torah. When we finally meet Abraham and Sarah, we might think the fighting had ceased. Abraham went to war with neighboring people to free his nephew Lot, who had been taken captive. Abraham negotiated with God to save the evil city of Sodom if ten righteous people could be found. They couldn’t.

This week, in the Torah portion, Toldot, the arguing has to do with blessings and then wells, the lifesaving resource for people of the desert to find water. The blessing saga began with Jacob acquiring the birthright of the first born from his brother Esau, born seconds before him, in exchange for a bowl of stew for a famished Esau. Later, at the end of the portion, Jacob stole the blessing, aided and abetted by his mother, Rebekah, from his father by dressing up as Esau. Jacob escaped with his life.

In between, the text focused specifically on the wells. Isaac set about to dig up the wells, which had been dug during the life of his father. They had been stopped up by the Philistines, who filled them with earth after Abraham’s death.

Each time, Isaac dug and even found water, the Philistine herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with him. Isaac named the wells Esek and the Sitnah, which means contention and hostility, an expression of his frustration of his experience there. But Isaac was determined to find water even if it meant that he would need to dig in a new place. Finally, he moved from there and dug yet another well, without quarrel. He named it Rehovot for he had achieved his goal of having the space to increase, which is what the name means.

Then, a hopeful moment transformed the events of the past to provide for a future. Those with whom he had been fighting approached him to make a pact of peace. Why would he trust them? How could what had happened determine a different opportunity. All he had was their word. The text informs us that they acknowledged Isaac differently.

“We now see plainly that GOD has been with you, and we thought: Let there be a sworn treaty between our two parties, between you and us. Let us make a pact with you… Then he made for them a feast, and they ate and drank…Early in the morning, they exchanged oaths. Isaac then bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace. (Gen 26:28-31)

Isaac ended up in a new place and dug a new well which he called Shibah, oath. His life would depend on the oath so he could thrive, just like the waters it provided.

This week, the pact of peace in the Middle East took a turn toward a stronger possibility with the United Nations Security Council voting in support of the next step. Though cautious optimism can easily give way to protracted pessimism, our hope can still prevail. We may need to dig deep after the past two years of brutality, vengeance, and war, yet springs of life-giving water can nourish how we move forward. Let the world pay attention to how other nations can invest in redirecting toward a path made possible by willingness rather than aggression. Let the world witness how Gaza ruled by terror on its own citizens can transform into a flourishing place rebuilt and strengthened without war. Let Israel find healing and the world discover a lasting peace.

May we all find wells of strength to pursue a world filled with nourishing sources of peace.

Shabbat Shalom! שבת שלום

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and impressions. Share with me what you think. Your email goes directly to me!

Rabbi Elaine Zecher