That’s kind of what happened to Laban after Jacob left Haran.
The story goes that Jacob, after his... let's call it a complicated stay with Laban, finally packed up and headed towards Gilead. The text says he "set his face toward Gilead," a region east of the Jordan River. But why Gilead specifically? Well, according to Legends of the Jews, the holy spirit—the ruach hakodesh—revealed to Jacob that God would bring help to his children there, specifically during the time of Jephthah. (Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, 1:304) That’s a pretty specific destination!
Now, back in Haran, things took a turn. Remember that well? The one that had been overflowing ever since Jacob showed up? Suddenly, it ran dry. Can you imagine the panic?
The shepherds of Haran were baffled. They waited three whole days, hoping the water would return to its previous abundance. Nothing. Talk about a bad omen.
Finally, they went to Laban to tell him the bad news. And Laban, being the shrewd character that he was, figured it out right away. He understood that the blessing on Haran – the abundant water, the prosperity – it was all because of Jacob. It was all thanks to his son-in-law's zechut, his merit.
As Ginzberg tells it, Laban “divined at once that Jacob had departed thence, for he knew that the blessing had been conferred upon Haran only for the sake of his son-in-law's merits.” (Ginzberg, Legends of the Jews, 1:304). The moment Jacob left, the well dried up. Poof! The blessing was gone.
It makes you wonder, doesn't it? How much of what we experience is tied to the presence – or absence – of certain people in our lives? And what happens when they leave? Do the blessings leave with them? Or do we have the power to create our own overflowing wells?