By Anya Friedman Hutter
So what can we do? I think that the Torah tells the story of Isaac and the wells with an intention – to show that redigging our parents and ancestors’ metaphorical wells is an active choice. If Isaac could choose to remake these wells, he could also choose not to. Cycles can be broken; kindness and justice are possible. The key is seeing where previous generations have gone wrong. This can be painful, but imagine what would have changed if Jacob DIDN’T trick Esav! Or if Rebecca looked at the people/s around her with openness rather than disgust!
So much is possible to change in our kvutzot, in the culture and structures of the movement, in wider North American and Israeli societies. Let’s dig some new wells, y’all.