Isaac: A man of resolve

It is hard to overcome the stereotype of Isaac as a man of passivity. He was literally bound, inches before being slaughtered in the name of God. Likewise, he didn't seek his own wife, but she was found on his behalf. The wells he dug, initially, were those dug by Abraham's servants. Even the names he gave them were identical to those chosen by Abraham. 

Yet, at one point in the parsha, Issac starts out on his own. He tries to dig his own wells - but meets similar failure. The same squabbles he had when he undug Abraham's wells, resumed when he dug his own. The first he named contention, the second harrassment. That was his experience starting out on his own.

What a dreadful experience! And yet, what does he do? He relocates. The same way Abraham employs this stratagem (Bereishit 12:8) - like the sages teach us, Meshane makom meshaneh mazal ("One's fate can change in a new place."), Isaac decides to not give up. He doesn't give up his fight for the land, not relinquishing his struggle to bring Hashem's presence to the world, originating strictly in the land of Israel. 

Isaac, oft-thought of as a pushover, was someone who stood his ground. He told Avimelech and his Chief of Armed Forces, Pichol, point blank, that he had no business engaging him in any peace talks or treaties because he had only showed him hate and acrimony. 

Issac was someone, who uniquely channeled his introversion, his rich inner world, to be able to be the strong and firm person he was. He made conscious decisions from a place of strength and not weakness, and was the opposite of conciliatory, holding his ground, summarily rewarded with breadth and expansion in the land, laying roots in Rehovot - "Hashem has widened my portion" and then Be'er Sheva, named after Avimelech's solemn oath to not mess with Isaac, a fierce fighter who gave no ground, who stared down his opponents with firmness and resolve.