The Key Generation
Back in Lech L’cha, it was pointed out by several commentaries that Avraham was almost always on the move. Lech L’cha here, Vayeilech there, Vayisa (and he traveled). He moved and he was a mover. He needed to be on the go, because of where he came from.

Generally, in the pursuit of Torah and Mitzvot, in the quest for holiness, in an attempt to get closer to G-d, there has to be forward motion.

But not always. As Rabbi Dovid Cohen pointed out at a recent Shabbaton, even though we have permission to say the SH’MA while we walk (this is based on the words in SH’MA itself — UV’LECH-T’CHA VADERECH), there is one part of the SH’MA, its first pasuk, that we must stop moving, momentarily detach ourselves from the mundane world and all distraction, cover our eyes, and restate our commitment to G-d by accepting upon ourselves the “yoke of heaven”. Then, as we develop love of G-d and a commitment to His Mitzvot, we are symbolically on the move again. But not everyone can and should be on the move. This was good for Avraham and maybe for Yaakov (although his “formative” years were as a straightforward person sitting in the tent. The word YESHIVA, with its root of “to sit”, tells us that we sometimes need (especially during early develop- ment), to stay put. To settle into a learning and growing environment.

If Avraham Avinu was the quintessen- tial BT (Baal T’shuva), then Yitzchak was our first FFB (frum from birth). And Yitzchak had to be very different from his father, even as he did many things in his life that were exactly like what his father had done. Even if most of what the Torah tells us about Yitzchak makes him seem to be a carbon copy of Avraham, he really wasn’t, because Avraham did NOT copy anything from his father!

As great as Avraham was in his personal discovery of One G-d and in spreading that belief to thousands of others, he would have been nothing more than a momentary flash in the pan were it not for Yitzchak. The second generation has a very tough challenge. Take everything from your parents, internalize it all, strengthen it, and prepare it in such a way that it can be transmitted to the next generation.

For that, Yitzchak had to stay put. He couldn’t leave the Land. He didn’t run around. After the Akeida, the Torah tells us that Avraham returned to the lads. Where was Yitzchak? Some say that he went to the Yeshiva. Whatever that means, it means he needed to stay put and continue to develop his link in the new Chain of Tradition. (More on this IY”H, at some time in the future.)