At The Well

Three Torah 'giants' found their spouses at a well: Isaac, Jacob and Moses.

Concerning Isaac it is written, "And Isaac came from the way of the well of Lechai-Roi." (Gen 24:62) Rebekah met Eliezer at the well.

Prior to Jacob's arrival at Laban's we read about his meeting with Rachel at the well "And he saw, behold, a well in the field." (Gen 29:1-12)

Concerning Moses when he fled from Pharaoh, who wished to kill him, "He dwelled in the land of Midian, and he sat at the well." (Ex 2:15) His "sitting at the well" led to his marrying Zipporah, whom he helped at that well.

What was it about the well that made it the site for three of our forefathers to find their spouses?

The drawing of water was a task delegated to unmarried
women, therefore the well was a place where young women would frequently be found, and it was only natural that anyone seeking a wife would go to the well for this purpose.

The well served different purposes during the course of
the day for different groups of people. At noon, the
shepherds would come to water their flocks there, while
towards evening, after the shepherds had returned with their flocks to the city, the daughters of the city would come to draw water for household use.

Jacob and Moses both arrived at the well during the hours when the shepherds were there, and both met male shepherds there. Neither Jacob nor Moses came to the well with the aim of finding a wife. Jacob was looking for Laban's home and just 'happened' to see that "behold, there was a well in the field." Rachel's arrival at the well was completely unexpected. Moses too, sat at the well in Midian because it was where the shepherds' were, and he waited there to find work. The arrival of Re'uel's daughters and the subsequent events, were equally unexpected, from his point of view.

The well was the source of life for the people of the city and for their livestock. It was at the well where their social attributes were observed. For Eliezar, Abraham's servant, the well served as a means of testing the character of the woman destined to be Isaac's wife; it was there that he discovered kindness and conscientiousness in Rebekah. In Jacob's case, he was the one demonstrating to Rachel his love for her, by rolling the stone off the mouth of the well to water her flocks. Through this act a bond of love was established between them. Moses protected the daughters of the priest of Midian from the shepherds who chased them from the well, and watered their flocks, thereby finding favor with their father even before they met face to face, which led to the marriage between Moses and Zipporah.

In each one of these three stories the well highlighted the principal trait of one partner in the eyes of the other: Rebekah's perfect kindness in the eyes of Abraham's servant, Jacob's love and strength in the eyes of Rachel, and Moses' justice and moral sensitivity together with a readiness to act as perceived by the girls and their father.

Isaac's story has parallels to the story of both Jacob and Moses. The location of both stories was at a well near Haran, only one generation separating them, and both Rebekah, Jacob's mother, and Laban were active character in both stories, and played basically the same role in both.

The similarity between Jacob's story and that of Moses was even greater. Jacob and Moses both watered the flocks of the women who were destined to be their wives; both required great strength in order to do this: Jacob needed physical power, while Moses needed moral strength.

The Uniqueness Of The Well

The well in Jacob's story was not merely a meeting place. The word "well" is mentioned seven times in the story, signaling a hidden message. Starting from the third appearance of the word "well" until the seventh, the well was mentioned together with the stone that lied upon its mouth, stressing the difficulty involved in rolling the stone off the mouth of the well, and the need to prevail over it, making it the central issue in this scene.

Why would the shepherds of Haran place such a heavy stone over the mouth of the well? In pasturing regions not blessed with streams, fresh water was a precious resource belonging to the inhabitants of the city. The water was not freely available, but was reserved for the people of the city and their livestock, to be fairly divided with mutual supervision. The heavy rock served as a "lock" for the well, preventing unauthorized use of its water. The weight of the rock ensured that only when all the shepherds of that city were gathered together they will be able to water their flocks, and that no one overstepped his rightful ration of water.

The Woman And The Well

There were many metaphors for women in the Torah, one of them was a well or spring. Proverbs 5:15-18 warns to stay away from foreign women, and cleave to the wife of his youth:

"Drink water from your own cistern, and flowing waters from your own well, that your springs may be dispersed outward; streams of water in the broad places. Let them be yours only, and not for strangers with you. May your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth."

The correspondence of "your fountain" to "the wife of your youth" makes it clear that the cistern of water and the well were images of the wife of a man's youth.

In Song Of Solomon 4:12-15 the image of a woman as a source of water appears twice:

"An enclosed garden is my sister, my bride, a spring shut up; a fountain sealed. A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters and flowing waters from Lebanon."

What is the meaning of this image?

The pleasure derived from drinking the cool water of one's well is an image of the love of a man for the wife who is his alone. The well, as a source of "living waters" that gives life to animal and plant, to man and to the earth, is an image of a woman who is the source of human life. (Gen 3:20)

In each of the three stories of meetings between future spouses that took place at the well, the role of the well was symbolic: the appearance of the woman at the well in each case represented the appearance of the human character together with her symbol - the well of water. The acts at the well revealed in advance the type of relationship that would characterize the couple in question. Thus the stories of the meetings at the well were prophetic of what should happen later on in the lives of the men and women who were meeting each other and who were about to build a family together.

Rebekah, who ran to and from the well several times in order to water the ten camels, demonstrated not only her trait of kindness, but also activeness in the framework of the future family whose foundation was formed at the well. Eliezar the servant, passive and amazed at her energy, was an expression of the passivity of Isaac in their family life. Isaac allowed Rebekah to run the family and to be the deciding figure in any matter of importance - including the decision of who will receive Abraham's blessing, and her urging of Jacob and sending him away.

Isaac was revealed to Rebekah for the first time, as he "came from the way of the well of Lechai-Roi." Their present encounter complemented the encounter with Eliezar at the well in Haran, and it was of great importance in completing what was revealed already then, for now Rebekah met her intended groom himself.

"And Isaac came from the way of the well and went out to meditate in the field towards evening. And Rebekah lifted her eyes and she saw Isaac, and she fell from the camel. And she said to the servant, who is this man walking in the field towards us? And the servant said he is my master. And she took the veil and covered herself." Gen 24:62-65

The two meetings with Rebekah around a well point to her dual relationship with Isaac. On the one hand, admiration; on the other hand, decisive behavior, which later led to taking the blessing from Esau and steering them toward Jacob.

Zipporah's weakness when faced with the shepherds at the well, and the appearance of Moses to save her, reveal the type of relations that prevailed between them. Moses acted in this way out of a character trait that was revealed in him already in Egypt, the urge to save the opressed from the oppressor. It was this quest for justice that caused Re'uel to take note of him and give him Zipporah as a wife. Moses' marriage was a consequence of the revelation of his characteristic as leader and savior. Later on Zipporah disappeared from view, and Moses devoted all his being to the salvation of Israel. Even when Zipporah and her children later met Moses, she did not become his mate in the full sense of the word. The meeting at the well, which was not with the intention of marriage, foreshadowed all of this.

Rachel's Well

The most dramatic symbolism of the future bond between man and woman is found in the story of Jacob and Rachel at the well. This well was unique in that Jacob found it sealed up with a huge boulder, such that it was impossible to draw water from it. The symbolic significance of this fact is that the connection to Rachel, who was about to appear at the well, will not be a natural and simple one, but rather will require enormous effort in order to uncover the well and to draw its waters, i.e. to make Rachel become wife and the mother of Jacob's children.

Even the three flocks of sheep, lying at the well with no possibility of their shepherds being able to remove the stone from its mouth, have symbolic significance: three factors will impede the full realization of the bond between Jacob and Rachel: the seven years of labor for Rachel, the exchange of Leah for Rachel, forcing Jacob to serve Laban for an additional seven years, and Rachel's prolonged barrenness, which created tension in their relationship. (Gen 30:1-2)

When Rachel, shepherding her father's sheep, appeared
before Jacob, he sensed that marrying her was the purpose of his long journey to Haran. From that moment he was determined that she will be his wife, with her he will establish his family, and that nothing will stand in his way to achieving this, even if he had to expend great efforts and overcome great obstacles. His love for Rachel gave him the strength to roll the heavy stone.

"Jacob worked for Rachel for seven years, and they were in his eyes like a few days, for his love for her."

The connection between Jacob's act in rolling the stone to water Rachel's flock, and the development of their relationship was revealed in the Torah both prior to Jacob's act and after.

"And it was, when Jacob saw Rachel, he rolled the stone from upon the mouth of the well." Following his act, we read, "and he watered the sheep of Laban, the brother of his mother. And Jacob kissed Rachel." This play on words (in the Hebrew) hints that the watering and the kiss were related. When Rachel saw that he had done all this for her, she accepted his kiss "and he lifted his voice and wept."

What was Jacob weeping about? Should he not, at this moment, be experiencing great joy?

Jacob sensed the significance of his actions. After his great success in rolling off the stone and drawing water from the well, he realized how much suffering and pain were destined for him in the future. His heart told him how bitter his future trials would be concerning his relationship with Rachel.

The rolling of the stone was mentioned three times in this story. Each time the sheep were also watered. But the first time, with an additional detail.

"And they watered the sheep, and returned the stone back to its place upon the mouth of the well."

What was the symbolic significance of this detail?

Rachel will indeed be Jacob's wife and the mother of his children, even though it will involve many trials and tribulations, but she was destined to die at a young age. The stone that made drawing the water so difficult will be rolled back onto her grave, as a gravesite monument at the side of the way:

"And Rachel died, and she was buried on the way of Efrat, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob placed a monument upon her grave; this is the gravestone of Rachel until this day." (Gen 35:19-20)

Perhaps Jacob cried over this too, for he saw that she would not be buried with him.

The whole story of the joint life of Jacob and Rachel, including her premature death, was compressed into these few verses, with profound symbolism foretelling the future.

YHVH's Promise At Beth-El: "Behold, I am with you."

In His uplifting revelation to Jacob at Beth El, when he left for Haran, YHVH assured him:

"Behold, I am with you, and I shall guard you wherever you go." (Gen 28:15)

Immediately following this promise, Jacob met the shepherds who knew Laban and assured him that all was well with him "and behold, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep." Everything unfolded as planned, Jacob's way was prepared for him and even before reaching his destination his appointed wife appeared, as a sign that the promise was being fulfilled. "And behold, I am with you."

Jacob expected no special difficulties after such a promising beginning: he will present himself to Laban, ask him for Rachel's hand in marriage and pay the dowry through his labor. Everything went as planned until Laban tricked him with Leah, and Rachel became a second wife, with seven more years of labor. Only after many years of barrenness did Rachel finally have Joseph, but died on the way back home, giving birth to her second son, Benjamin, and was buried by the roadside rather than in the family gravesite in Hebron.

Everything concerning Jacob's marriage was complicated and difficult, filled with trials and tribulations, symbolized by the great stone. This caused Jacob to doubt YHVH's promise "Behold, I am with you" and led to his "Beth-El" experience.

Why it was necessary for Jacob to suffer so much in order to win his beloved Rachel as wife and mother of his children, and why did such a tragic thread weave through their life together is still a mystery to me. Sometimes finding a mate could be as difficult and heavy as rolling a great stone off the mouth of the well...