(יח) וַיָּ֨שָׁב יִצְחָ֜ק וַיַּחְפֹּ֣ר ׀ אֶת־בְּאֵרֹ֣ת הַמַּ֗יִם אֲשֶׁ֤ר חָֽפְרוּ֙ בִּימֵי֙ אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֔יו וַיְסַתְּמ֣וּם פְּלִשְׁתִּ֔ים אַחֲרֵ֖י מ֣וֹת אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיִּקְרָ֤א לָהֶן֙ שֵׁמ֔וֹת כַּשֵּׁמֹ֕ת אֲשֶׁר־קָרָ֥א לָהֶ֖ן אָבִֽיו׃ (יט) וַיַּחְפְּר֥וּ עַבְדֵֽי־יִצְחָ֖ק בַּנָּ֑חַל וַיִּ֨מְצְאוּ־שָׁ֔ם בְּאֵ֖ר מַ֥יִם חַיִּֽים׃ (כ) וַיָּרִ֜יבוּ רֹעֵ֣י גְרָ֗ר עִם־רֹעֵ֥י יִצְחָ֛ק לֵאמֹ֖ר לָ֣נוּ הַמָּ֑יִם וַיִּקְרָ֤א שֵֽׁם־הַבְּאֵר֙ עֵ֔שֶׂק כִּ֥י הִֽתְעַשְּׂק֖וּ עִמּֽוֹ׃ (כא) וַֽיַּחְפְּרוּ֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת וַיָּרִ֖יבוּ גַּם־עָלֶ֑יהָ וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמָ֖הּ שִׂטְנָֽה׃ (כב) וַיַּעְתֵּ֣ק מִשָּׁ֗ם וַיַּחְפֹּר֙ בְּאֵ֣ר אַחֶ֔רֶת וְלֹ֥א רָב֖וּ עָלֶ֑יהָ וַיִּקְרָ֤א שְׁמָהּ֙ רְחֹב֔וֹת וַיֹּ֗אמֶר כִּֽי־עַתָּ֞ה הִרְחִ֧יב יְהוָ֛ה לָ֖נוּ וּפָרִ֥ינוּ בָאָֽרֶץ׃ (כג) וַיַּ֥עַל מִשָּׁ֖ם בְּאֵ֥ר שָֽׁבַע׃ (כד) וַיֵּרָ֨א אֵלָ֤יו יְהוָה֙ בַּלַּ֣יְלָה הַה֔וּא וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָנֹכִ֕י אֱלֹהֵ֖י אַבְרָהָ֣ם אָבִ֑יךָ אַל־תִּירָא֙ כִּֽי־אִתְּךָ֣ אָנֹ֔כִי וּבֵֽרַכְתִּ֙יךָ֙ וְהִרְבֵּיתִ֣י אֶֽת־זַרְעֲךָ֔ בַּעֲב֖וּר אַבְרָהָ֥ם עַבְדִּֽי׃ (כה) וַיִּ֧בֶן שָׁ֣ם מִזְבֵּ֗חַ וַיִּקְרָא֙ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֔ה וַיֶּט־שָׁ֖ם אָהֳל֑וֹ וַיִּכְרוּ־שָׁ֥ם עַבְדֵי־יִצְחָ֖ק בְּאֵֽר׃...וַיְהִ֣י ׀ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֗וּא וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ עַבְדֵ֣י יִצְחָ֔ק וַיַּגִּ֣דוּ ל֔וֹ עַל־אֹד֥וֹת הַבְּאֵ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֣ר חָפָ֑רוּ וַיֹּ֥אמְרוּ ל֖וֹ מָצָ֥אנוּ מָֽיִם׃ (לג) וַיִּקְרָ֥א אֹתָ֖הּ שִׁבְעָ֑ה עַל־כֵּ֤ן שֵׁם־הָעִיר֙ בְּאֵ֣ר שֶׁ֔בַע עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ (ס)
(18) Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham’s death; and he gave them the same names that his father had given them. (19) But when Isaac’s servants, digging in the wadi, found there a well of spring water, (20) the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” He named that well Esek, because they contended with him. (21) And when they dug another well, they disputed over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. (22) He moved from there and dug yet another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, “Now at last the Eternal has granted us ample space to increase in the land.” (23) From there he went up to Beer-sheba. (24) That night the Eternal appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Fear not, for I am with you, and I will bless you and increase your offspring for the sake of My servant Abraham.” (25) So he built an altar there and invoked the Eternal by name. Isaac pitched his tent there and his servants started digging a well. ...(32) That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water!” (33) He named it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day.
Peter Pitzele, in his book “Our Father’s Wells, points to the mythic power of Isaac’s act; it is only after Isaac re-digs his father’s wells is he is finally able to create a legacy of his own:
"This enterprise of re-digging his father’s wells is the sum total of the work of Isaac’s maturity; yet there is something important enough in it to earn him the place as the second patriarch. In his sonship some myth is being constructed that hallows and sanctifies his labor." (p. 149)
"Regarding the digging of the wells, my father (R. Abraham of Sochaczew) interpreted along the lines of Chovot Halevavot on the verse: “The designs in a man’s mind are deep waters, but a man of understanding can draw them out
מַ֣יִם עֲ֭מֻקִּים עֵצָ֣ה בְלֶב־אִ֑ישׁ וְאִ֖ישׁ תְּבוּנָ֣ה יִדְלֶֽנָּה
” (Prov. 20:5).
There actually are deep waters but they are concealed and hidden in the depths of the earth. A person of understanding (binah) is someone who [knows this and] removes whatever conceals them and then draws them up to the surface.
In the same way, there is also actually great wisdom in a person’s mind and heart. One needs only remove the clay that covers it and hides it. This is the real meaning of the digging of the wells: it is a hint and metaphor for the lifework and influence of Isaac. For him the vulgar clay was not enough to conceal the holy wisdom in the heart of Israel (aka Jacob)
What do you think that was Isaac able to "see" in Jacob/Israel that others could not see? That he could not "see" in himself?
Do you have anyone in your own life who is able to "get" you, to see beneath the clay that conceals the holy wisdom that is in your heart? Who is that person? In what ways do they "get" you?
What practices do you have to dig beneath the “material” – the physical experience in your body, the emotional “stuff” of your life, the psychological matter of your history – so that you might draw from the deep waters of truth?
Let us think of the journey to God as a journey inward, where the goal is an ultimately deep level within the self rather than the top of the mountain or a ride in the clouds. The Torah tells us that our earliest ancestors were diggers of wells. Let us try to reach for the understanding that flowed as water from the depths of Abraham’s well, rather, for the moment than the one that came down in stone from the top of Moses’ mountain. This journey inward would be one that peels off layer after layer of externals, striving ever for the inward truth, rather than one that consists of climbing rung after rung, reaching ever and ever higher. Spiritual growth, in this metaphor, is a matter of uncovering new depths rather than attaining new heights. Perhaps we could even try to think of Torah itself as having been given at the deepest level of inner encounter, rather than from the top of the highest mountain, the mountain serving as a vertical metaphor for an inward event. (From “Seek My Face, Speak my Name,” p. 12)