Netvort Toldos 5773: Well, well, well.

By Rabbi Joshua (prefiguratively known as the Hoffer) Hoffman

The Torah writes in great detail about the saga of the water wells that were first dug by Avraham Avinu, then closed up by the Pelishtim, and subsequently unstopped by Yitzchak Avinu. What was the significance of these wells that warranted such an extensive treatment in the Torah? The Ramban says that the names of the wells indicate that they are allusions to the three holy Temples in Yerusholayim, the first two of which have already been built and destroyed and the third of which will be built in the future. This is in line with the Ramban’s system, based on the midrash, of “ma’asei avos siman lebanim,” the actions of the fathers are the signposts for the children. Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenberg, in his commentary HaKesav VeHakabbalah, says that Avraham and Yitzchak called out in the name of God at these wells, teaching people to believe in Him. I believe that these two explanations are related to each other, based on the unique message of water.

During the holiday of Sukkot, a great celebration, known as the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah, or joy of the house of drawing, took place in the Beis Hamikdash. There are two opinions in the Talmud regarding the cause for this celebration. One opinion states that it was a celebration of the drawing of water used for the mitzvah of pouring water on the altar, performed during Sukkot, and the other opinion states that the celebration was directed toward the drawing of Ruach Hakodesh, or the holy spirit. The prophet Yonah ben Amitai, the Yerushalmi tells us, first experienced prophecy at the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah.  Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt”l, explains that these two approaches do not conflict, but are complementary of each other.  He recalled that when he was a young boy and first saw the Baltic Sea, he was overwhelmed by its beauty, and reminded of the statement of the rabbis that the sea resembles the sky, which resembles the heavenly throne of God. Over the years, however, he got used to the sight, and no longer had the same feeling when he saw the ocean as he had when he saw the Baltic in his youth. However, he said, when one thinks of it, he realizes how important water really is, and that life is not possible without it. The Simchas Beis HaShoeivah, in celebrating the drawing of water, restores our sense of wonder over water, and, by extension, the other everyday things in our lives, as well. Someone who does not have this sense of wonder, says Rav Soloveitchik, zt”l, will never be able to attain prophecy, to reach a sublime sense of closeness to God.

According to Rav Yitzchak Isaac Scher, Avraham and Yitzchak dug wells of water in order to bestow chesed, or kindness, upon the people of Gerar. We may add, following Rav Soloveitchik zt”l, that in doing so they meant to arouse the people to an appreciation of God’s greatness and goodness. That is why Rav Mecklenberg says that they called out in the name of God at the wells. Using this approach, we can further understand why the Ramban finds allusions to the three Temples in the wells. The Beis Hamikdash is the place on earth with the highest level of God's proximity to man, so to speak. In having a sense of wonder over water, and, by extension, the other seemingly every-day things in life, a person is on the path to attaining an increasingly close relationship with God, just as Yonah ben Amitai attained prophecy at the Simchas Beis HaShoeivah.