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Parshas Toldos - Get Things Flowing Again      28  MarCheshvan 5778

11/17/2017 12:43:13 PM

Nov17

Parshas Toldos – Get things Flowing Again

What can Google and YouTube possibly have to do with my Keurig machine, toilet bowl, refrigerator water dispenser and my ear canal? What can my coffee machine, refrigerator, toilet and ear canal possibly have in common? The commonalities are the problems and the solutions. Google is notorious as some other search engines to find answers to almost any question we have. When things break or are not working properly I type in a few keys words and like magic a lot of good (and sometimes not so good) information comes up. Very often tutorials and YouTube videos are available to trouble shoot and give a detailed step by step demonstration in how to fix almost any problem.

One day my Keurig coffee machine stopped working and only learned later that the calcium buildup can stop up the tube and flow of water. Last week the water dispenser from my refrigerator went dry. I heard the clicking noise as if it engaged but no water came out. My job in the house is to unclog stuffed toilets with a plunger, but what happens when I’m not home? Finally, you may have heard about my ear wax and how my ear canals were also blocked. Three out of the four items mentioned were fixed and cleared through information I got off a google search. To clear the Keurig machine flow, you must put vinegar in the water container and keep on running cycles through until the calcium breaks down. Apparently, the water line in the fridge froze due to the ice flapper not working properly by not closing and sealing. That resulted in an ice buildup that had the ice laying right on top of the water line causing it to freeze. The diagnosis and remedy were to remove the ice, take a blow dryer and warm the area where the ice buildup was and warm the outside of the water line. Within five minutes the ice started to melt, water started dripping and eventually the water flow was restored. The other day I mentioned the water issue I had to a friend, and they told me how they learned to unclog a stuffed toilet. If you find yourself plunger less squirt generous amounts of dish soap or shampoo into the clogged toilet. ...then add a gallon of very hot (but not boiling) water to the bowl. Wait a few minutes and watch — the water should break up the toilet paper, and the soap should help it slide down the pipe. There are several ways to unplug your ears. I chose the simple method of flushing it out with warm water. As the water softens the wax t breaks up and b tilting your head it eventually falls out. 

There are many different things in life that need to remain free of debris and things that prevent the proper flow of water and air. Situations do occur when the closing or stopping up a pipe is necessary. The city tries its best to repair and fill in all the potholes and repair broken lines. An effective method of ridding a beehive is to fill it with cement and seal it off. Besides nature filling an opening or a hole, another reason something may get clogged or stopped up is due to human negligence and laziness. Such as in the case with the wells that were dug by Avraham’s servants and filled by the Plishtim. This is not just a story but rather a deep insight and meaning into the flow within each and every one of us.

In this week’s Parshas Toldos the Torah states in Bereishis 26:15 “V’Chal HaB’Eiros Asher Chafru Avdei Aviv Bimei Avraham Aviv, Sitmum PlishtimVaY’Malum Aufar”. “They plugged up all the wells that his father’s servants had dug while Avraham was still alive, and they filled them with earth”. Then in 26:18 the verse states “Vayashav Yitzchok Vayachpor Es B’Eiros HaMayim Asher Chafru Bimei Avraham Aviv Vayisatmum Plishtim …” “Yitzchok re-dug the wells that had been dug in the days f his father Avraham, which had been plugged up by the Philistines after Avraham’s death”. The great Chasidic master Reb Avraham from Sachotchov writes in his sefer Shem Mishmuel about the significance of these wells. He quotes the words of the Chovos Halevavos (Duties of the Heart). The verse in Mishlei 20:5 states: “Mayim Amukim Eitzah B’Lev Ish, V’Ish Tevuna Yidlena”. “Counsel is like deep water in the heart of man; and the man of understanding will draw them forth”. The Shem Mishmuel explains the verse as follows: The ‘deep waters’ are there but are covered over and buried in the belly of the ground. ‘The man of understanding’ is the one who comes and removes the cover off the waters and ‘will draw them out’. So too the ‘counsel in the heart of man’ is there, in the heart and brain of every man. The only things necessary to reach the heart and counsel is just remove the material that is covering and blocking man’s ability to go forth and thrive.

Yitzchok is trying to convey this concept to his children Am Yisrael. When Yitzchok told his shepherds and workers to dig up the wells that were covered over by Avimelech’s servants he was sending a clear message. This was the influence and task of Yitzchok for the rest of his life. Yitzchok became the symbol and hint to Klal Yisrael that unnecessary material must be removed to allow a healthy body. Spiritually speaking, the thickness and heaviness of our daily lives should not cover over the good understanding of life. The influences of life and the secular world around us should not weigh in over the understanding of God and His ways of the Torah.

Yitzchok then sent his workers to dig in a valley close by. Lo and behold they discovered a well of fresh living water. A second hint from our forefather Yitzchok is if we get bogged down with something covering over our heart which is the ability to breath the air of Torah, go and find another source to give you strength. The B’er Mayim Chaim was a living well representing the life of the Torah. The Torah is a living document that must be dusted off and cleared from the debris and garbage that the world tries to cover over.

Yitzchok’s battle with Avimelech over the wells is our struggle today. The well springs of Torah are constantly being plugged up by either the outside world or even from within the Jewish world who is influenced b the society we live in. Our battle is the constant uncovering and removing of the trash and dirt that is stopping up the flow of spirituality. With proper maintenance and we can attain a free flowing uninhibited stream of spirituality which in turn will draw forth inspiration to all around.

Ah Gut Shabbos

Rabbi Avraham Bogopulsky

Thu, March 28 2024 18 Adar II 5784