There's something to that. In fact, the rabbis saw that connection way back when.
We find ourselves in (Genesis 29:1), where it says, "Jacob lifted his feet, and went to the land of the people of the east.” Seems simple enough. But the rabbis of Bereshit Rabbah, that incredible collection of interpretations on the book of Genesis, saw something deeper. Rabbi Aḥa points to (Proverbs 14:30), "A healing heart is the life of the flesh." He suggests that when someone receives good news – shenitbaser besorot – their heart literally carries their feet. It’s as if the joy itself propels them forward. The stomach, he says, bears the feet. Isn't that a beautiful image?
Then, Jacob sees a well. (Genesis 29:2) tells us, "He saw, and behold, a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep lying there alongside it, since from that well they watered the flocks and the great stone was on the mouth of the well.” And just one verse later: "All the flocks would gather there, they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, and water the sheep, and return the stone onto the well’s mouth in its place."
Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina, in Bereshit Rabbah, bless his heart, doesn't just see a well. He sees layers and layers of meaning. He interprets this single image in six different ways!
First, he says, the well is the well. You know, the one that miraculously accompanied the Israelites in the desert after the Exodus. The three flocks? Those are Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. The watering of the flocks represents how each leader drew water – wisdom, sustenance, guidance – for their banner, their tribe, their family. And that great stone? It was small, really, the size of a sieve. But it was "great" because of the miracle it represented. The gathering of the flocks? The times of encampment. And the returning of the stone? That was how things were during their journeys.
But wait, there's more!
Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina doesn't stop there. He sees the well as Zion, Jerusalem. The three flocks become the three pilgrimage festivals – Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Weeks), and Sukkot (Tabernacles). The water they draw is the Divine Spirit, and the great stone is the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water. As Rabbi Hoshaya explains, they called it the "Place of the Drawing" because they drew the Divine Spirit from there. All the flocks gathering? People coming from all over, from Levo Ḥamat in the north to the Ravine of Egypt in the south. And rolling the stone? That's drawing the Divine Spirit. Returning the stone? Putting it back for the next festival.
He keeps going! The well is Zion again, but this time the three flocks are the three courts: one on the Temple Mount, one at the entrance of the courtyard, and one in the Chamber of Hewn Stone. They hear the ruling from this "well," and the great stone is the High Court. The flocks gathering are the courts in the Land of Israel, rolling the stone is hearing the ruling, and returning it is deliberating until they establish it properly.
And again: the well is Zion; the flocks are the first three kingdoms (Babylon, Persia, and Greece) that ruled over Israel when there was a Temple. They got wealthy, he says, from the consecrations in the chambers. The great stone is the merit of the patriarchs. The Roman Empire is all the flocks gathering, and they got wealthy from those same consecrations. But in the future, he says, the merit of the patriarchs will prevail.
Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina is on a roll! Now the well is the Sanhedrin, the ancient rabbinic court. The three flocks are the three rows of students sitting before them, hearing the halakha, the Jewish law. The great stone is the most distinguished member of the Sanhedrin, analyzing the law. The flocks gathering are the Torah scholars in the Land of Israel, rolling the stone is hearing the halakha, and returning the stone is deliberating until they establish it properly.
Finally, the well is the synagogue; the flocks are the three people called to the Torah on Mondays, Thursdays, and Shabbat (the Sabbath) afternoons. They hear the Torah from the well, and the great stone is the evil inclination, the yetzer hara (the evil inclination). The congregation is all the flocks gathering, rolling the stone is hearing the Torah, and returning the stone is the evil inclination returning to its place when they leave. Hearing Torah keeps the evil inclination in check, he says.
Six interpretations! All from one little verse about a well.
What does it all mean? It means that our tradition sees layers of meaning everywhere. A simple image can be a gateway to understanding our history, our spirituality, and ourselves. And sometimes, all it takes is a little good news to lift our feet and carry us forward.
“Jacob lifted his feet, and went to the land of the people of the east” (Genesis 29:1). “Jacob lifted his feet” – Rabbi Aḥa said: “A healing heart is the life of the flesh [besarim]” (Proverbs 14:30) – when one is the recipient of good tidings [shenitbaser besorot], his heart bears his feet. That is what is said: The stomach bears the feet. “He saw, and behold, a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep lying there alongside it, since from that well they watered the flocks and the great stone was on the mouth of the well” (Genesis 29:2). “All the flocks would gather there, they would roll the stone from the well’s mouth, and water the sheep, and return the stone onto the well’s mouth in its place” (Genesis 29:3). “He saw, and behold, a well in the field” – Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina interpreted it in six ways: “Behold, a well in the field” – this is the well;17The well which accompanied Israel in the desert when they left Egypt. “behold, three flocks of sheep” – Moses, Aaron, and Miriam; “since from that well they watered the flocks” – as from there, each and every one would draw water for his banner, for his tribe, and for his family; “and the great stone was on the mouth of the well” – it was the size of the contents of a small sieve;18It was called “great” because of the water that miraculously flowed from it. “All the flocks would gather there” – at the time of the encampments; “and return the stone onto the well’s mouth in its place” – during the journeys it would be restored to its original state. “Behold, a well in the field” – this is Zion; “behold, three flocks of sheep” – these are the three pilgrimage festivals; “since from that well they watered” – as from there they would draw the Divine Spirit; “and the great stone” – this is the Celebration of the Place of the Drawing of the Water.19See Sukkah 51a. Rabbi Hoshaya said: ‘Why would they call it the “Place of the Drawing”? It is because they would draw the Divine Spirit from there.’ “All the flocks would gather there” – coming from Levo Ḥamat20In the north. to the Ravine of Egypt;21In the south. “and they would roll the stone…” – as they would draw the Divine Spirit from there. “And return the stone…” – it was replaced for the next pilgrimage festival. Another matter, “he saw, and behold, a well in the field” – this is Zion; “behold, three flocks of sheep” – these are the three courts, as we learned: Three courts were there; one on the Temple Mount, one at the entrance of the courtyard, and one in the Chamber of Hewn Stone. “Since from that well…” – as from there, they would hear the ruling; “and the great stone” – this is the High Court that was in the Chamber of Hewn Stone. “All the flocks would gather there” – these are the courts in the Land of Israel; “they would roll the stone…” – as they would hear the ruling from there; “and return the stone” – they would deliberate regarding the ruling until they would establish it properly. Another matter, “behold, three flocks of sheep,” “behold, a well,” – this is Zion; “behold, three flocks of sheep” – these are the first three kingdoms,22Babylon, Persia, and Greece, kingdoms that ruled over Israel when there was a Temple. “since from that well they watered the flocks” – as they became wealthy from the consecrations in the chambers; “and the great stone was on the mouth of the well” – this is the merit of the patriarchs. “All the flocks would gather there” – this is the Roman Empire, that conscripted troops from all the nations of the world; “they would roll the stone” – as they became wealthy from the consecrations in the chambers; “and return the stone onto the well’s mouth in its place” – in the future, the merit of the patriarchs will prevail. Another matter, “behold, a well in the field” – this is the Sanhedrin; “behold, three flocks of sheep” – these are the three rows of students who would sit before them; “since from that well they watered the flocks” – as from there, they would hear the halakha; “and the great stone was on the mouth of the well” – this is the most distinguished member of the Sanhedrin, who would analyze the halakha. “All the flocks would gather there” – these are the Torah scholars in the Land of Israel; “they would roll the stone” – as from there, they would hear the halakha; “and return the stone onto the well’s mouth” – they would deliberate regarding the halakha until they would establish it properly. Another matter, “He saw, and behold, a well in the field” – this is the synagogue; “behold, three flocks of sheep” – these are the three called to the Torah;23During morning prayers on Mondays and Thursdays and afternoon prayers on Shabbat, the Torah is read, and three people are called up to the Toah. “since from that well…” – as from there, they would hear the Torah; “and the great stone” – this is the evil inclination. “All the flocks would gather there” – this is the congregation; “they would roll the stone”– as from there, they would hear the Torah; “and return the stone…” – when they would exit, the evil inclination would return to its place.24Hearing the Torah keeps the evil inclination in check.
