(סב) וְיִצְחָק֙ בָּ֣א מִבּ֔וֹא בְּאֵ֥ר לַחַ֖י רֹאִ֑י וְה֥וּא יוֹשֵׁ֖ב בְּאֶ֥רֶץ הַנֶּֽגֶב׃ (סג) וַיֵּצֵ֥א יִצְחָ֛ק לָשׂ֥וּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶ֖ה לִפְנ֣וֹת עָ֑רֶב וַיִּשָּׂ֤א עֵינָיו֙ וַיַּ֔רְא וְהִנֵּ֥ה גְמַלִּ֖ים בָּאִֽים׃
(62) Isaac had just come back from the vicinity of Be'er-lahai-roi, for he was settled in the region of the Negev. (63) And Isaac went out walking in the field toward evening and, looking up, he saw camels approaching.
(1) לשוח TO MEDITATE — this means “to pray” (Genesis Rabbah 60:14), as we find (Psalms 102:1) “[A prayer of the afflicted …] when he pours out his plaint / sicho.
... וַיֵּצֵא יִצְחָק לָשׂוּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶה לִפְנוֹת עָרֶב, אֵין שִׂיחָה אֶלָּא תְּפִלָּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (תהלים קב, א): תְּפִלָּה לְעָנִי כִי יַעֲטֹף וְלִפְנֵי ה' יִשְׁפֹּךְ שִׂיחוֹ, וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר (תהלים נה, יח): עֶרֶב וָבֹקֶר וְצָהֳרָיִם אָשִׂיחָה וגו'.
And Isaac went out lasuach in the field towards evening. Sichah only means prayer, as it says: "A prayer of the lowly one when faint, who pours forth a Sichah before the Eternal" (Psalm 102:1) and thus it says: "Evening, morning and noon I speak..."
(1) A prayer of the lowly one when faint, who pours forth a plea before the Eternal.
(18) Evening, morning, and noon, I complain and moan, and God hears my voice.
AND ISAAC WENT OUT TO MEDITATE. The word la-su’ach means to walk among the trees / sichim.
What Is Isaac Doing in the Field When He Encounters Rebecca?
by Prof. Aaron Demsky
It seems to me that Ibn Ezra recognized in the Hebrew verb לָשׂוּחַ a cognate of the Arabic saḥa ( ﺴﺎﺡ ﺴﻭﺡ saḥa u), “to travel about." In the medieval context, this Arabic term was used to refer to a long distance spiritual journey. Ibn Ezra, who was fluent in Arabic, often referred to that language as leshon Yishmael or leshon Hagari in his commentary and his grammatical studies.
ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה, the word לשוח is basically the same as שיח השדה, “the plants that grow in the field,” (Genesis 2,5). Yitzchok went out to plant useful vegetation, trees, etc., and to check the work of his employees, and then when he was in the field, he saw camels coming, and went towards then to see if they were the his father's camels that the servant was leading.
Rashbam and his audience did not know Arabic and could not have been influenced by the cognate. Thus, even if Rashbam did encounter Ibn Ezra's explanation, he took license to explain the context and not the etymology and so substituted “to plant trees” for Ibn Ezra’s “walking about the bushes.” Perhaps there is even a hidden critique in Rashbam’s comment dismissing the implication that Isaac was a meditative mystic rather than a careful farmer inspecting his orchard. It is noteworthy that Rashbam goes one step further in avoiding the traditional interpretation. He now attributes to Isaac a purely secular motivation for going out to the field.
(טו) וַיִּכְל֥וּ הַמַּ֖יִם מִן־הַחֵ֑מֶת וַתַּשְׁלֵ֣ךְ אֶת־הַיֶּ֔לֶד תַּ֖חַת אַחַ֥ד הַשִּׂיחִֽם׃
(15) When the water was gone from the skin, [Hagar] left the child under one of the bushes (Sichim).
(13) And [Hagar] called the Eternal who spoke to her, “You Are El-roi,” by which she meant, “Have I not gone on seeing after God saw me!” (14) Therefore the well was called Be'er-lahai-roi; it is between Kadesh and Bered.
(13) Abraham looked up, and his eye fell upon a ram, caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.
Rather, the Temple will not be referred to as it was referred to by Abraham. It is written of him 'mountain', as it is stated: “As it is said on this day: On the mountain where the Eternal is seen” (Genesis 22:14). And it will not be referred to as it was referred to by Isaac. It is written of him 'field', as it is stated: “And Isaac went out to meditate in the field” (Genesis 24:63). Rather, it will be described as it was referred to by Jacob, who called it house, as it is stated: “And he called the name of that place Beth-El” (Genesis 28:19), which means house of God.
(10) Ephron was present among the Hittites; so Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, all who entered the gate of his town, saying, (11) “No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and I give you the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.” (12) Then Abraham bowed low before the people of the land,
(9) His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, (10) the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; there Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. (11) After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled near Be'er-lahai-roi.
(27) When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in camp. (28) Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for game; but Rebecca loved Jacob.
Dr. Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg from "The Beginning of Desire - Reflections on Genesis"
The paradoxical similarity of Isaac and Esau is indicated by the notation of "the field". Isaac is first encountered by Rebecca, "meditating in the field toward evening" (24:63). "Meditating" translates the word la-suach, for which many translations are offered, ranging from "walking among the shrubbery" to "praying". The more mystical understandings of the phrase include in their palette the melancholy coloring of "toward evening", and the midrashic decodings of "the field" as referring to Mount Moriah, the site of the Akedah.
What emerges from such a subtle layering of meaning is a portrait of Isaac imprinted with the deep death-knowledge of his Binding, face turned toward the dying of the light, darkly narrating his story to God. The field in which Isaac walks, he transforms into the language of prayer. The field of Esau's darkness, however, is a field of silence; the tension of ambush, the release of bloodshed provides the illusion of a vital heartbeat in emptiness. Isaac's love for Esau is a knowing love that seeks to bless - that is, to animate and populate - that emptiness.
Genesis 24,63. “Isaac took a walk to meditate in the open field;” It is a rule: people who practice submissiveness, (in the sense of humility) are liable to become depressed, due to the constant awareness that they cannot act freely in accordance with their desires, as they constantly defer to the wishes of others. When a person reserves their submissiveness for their Creator, by serving God exclusively, they thereby attach themselves to the source of Joy. It follows that instead of becoming morose and depressed, that person will walk through life in a spirit of happiness and joy. This is hinted at by the verse "Isaac went out lasuach in the field", which is to say when did he go out happy? For Isaac (lit. laughter) is connected to happiness and suach is connected to submission. In the field, which is to say that the field is associated with holiness, and when the submission is before holiness, from this comes happiness and joy.