In the middle of Parashat Toldot, we read a story that does not, at first glance, seem all that important, or worthy of being told.
Yitzhak become very wealthy while living in Gerar among the Pelishtim, and they were very jealous of him. Eventually, the king, Avimelech, expelled him from Gerar.
Yitzhak went to live nearby, and he proceeded to re-dig the wells which his father, Avraham Avinu, had dug. The evil Pelishtim had stuffed these wells with earth after Avraham died, and now Yitzhak dug them again so there would be more water available. Then, his servants dug two new wells, but Pelishtim fought with him, claiming that these wells were really theirs. He then dug a third well, which nobody contested.
Why did the Torah tell us all this? What are we to learn from this story?
The answer is very simple: we need to keep on digging.
To be a Jew, a person needs to be tough. Being a Jew means continuing to dig even after the wells get stuffed, to continue working, growing, achieving and building even when life gets difficult. A Jew doesn't have the luxury to break down and feel sorry for himself when things are hard. He needs to stand up tall, with confidence, and keep going, like Yitzhak did.
This might be the meaning of an earlier episode in our parashah, as well.
Esav returned home from a long day hunting in the field and saw that Yaakov was preparing a stew. He asked Yaakov to feed him some of the stew, and Yaakov agreed only if Esav sold him his birthright, so that Yaakov would now be considered the firstborn who would inherit Hashem's blessing to Avraham and Yitzhak.
Many people have wondered how Yaakov could do this. How could he take advantage of his brother like this?
The answer is found is two words that the Torah adds in this story: והוא עיף (25:29). Esav was tired.
Yaakov understood that a Jew can't become tired. A Jew can't fall apart after a rough day. A Jew can't get all bent out of shape when something goes wrong, when somebody says something insensitive, when he has problems. If Esav was tired, he could not be one of the founders of Hashem's special nation.
We all have various things going on in our lives. We all have problems, we're all dealing with challenges and struggles, we all have things that upset us. And yes, sometimes we need a break, sometimes we need to talk with people who will give us their ear and their empathy. But no matter what's going on, we need to keep digging. We can't get tired. We can't get frustrated or flustered.
Every morning, we recite as part of the birchot ha'shahar (morning blessings) the berachah, הנותן ליעף כח – praising Hashem for "giving strength to the weary." We need to believe that no matter what we're going through, whatever struggles we are facing, Hashem gives us the strength to confront them. We should never feel tired – because Hashem is always granting us כח, the strength, resilience and fortitude we need to keep digging.