Like a well, for instance. It's more than just a source of water; it’s often a meeting place, a place of destiny. Our sages point this out in Shemot Rabbah, noting how the well is a recurring motif when finding a partner in the stories of our patriarchs.
Think about it. We're told, "He settled in the land of Midyan, and sat alongside the well." The Midrash sees in this a continuation of a pattern established by the patriarchs. Isaac, Jacob, and Moses – all were connected to their wives at a well.
The Midrash reminds us, "Isaac came from going to Be’er laḥai ro’i" (Genesis 24:62). Be’er laḥai ro’i, "the well of the Living One who sees me," was where God appeared to Hagar. It was near this very spring that Isaac met Rebecca, who was returning with Abraham’s servant, Eliezer, and eventually became his wife (Genesis 24:63-67).
Then there's Jacob. "He saw, and behold, there was a well in the field" (Genesis 29:2). It was at that well that Jacob first laid eyes on Rachel (Genesis 29:10-11), the woman he would work fourteen years to marry.
And now, we have Moses. "And he sat alongside the well." The story unfolds: "The priest of Midian had seven daughters; they came and they drew water and filled the troughs to give their father’s flock to drink" (Exodus 2:16).
This brings up an interesting question. The Midrash asks, "But doesn’t the Holy One blessed be He hate idol worship, and yet He provided Moses haven with an idol worshipper?" This is where the story of Yitro, Moses' future father-in-law, takes a fascinating turn.
Our Rabbis teach that Yitro, initially a priest of idol worship, realized the emptiness of his practices. He renounced idolatry and, according to the Midrash, even offered his position to the townspeople. When they rejected him and ostracized him, his daughters were forced to tend the flocks themselves.
"They came and they drew." The Midrash explains that they arrived early because they feared the shepherds. "The shepherds came and drove them away; Moses rose and rescued them and gave their flocks to drink" (Genesis 2:17). But wait, if Yitro was the priest, why were his daughters being driven away?
The Shemot Rabbah explains that because Yitro had rejected idolatry, the townspeople treated his daughters as outcasts, much like a divorced woman. "He drove out the man" (Genesis 3:24) – just as humanity was banished from Eden, Yitro's daughters were being banished from the community.
"Moses rose and rescued them." The Midrash emphasizes that Moses wasn't just helping; he was enacting justice. He saw an injustice and acted. Rabbi Yoḥanan, in the name of Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili, even suggests the shepherds' intentions were sexually inappropriate, aligning with the verse "The betrothed young woman screamed, and there was no one to rescue her" (Deuteronomy 22:27). Alternatively, some Rabbis say that the shepherds actually cast them into the water and Moses saved them. Vayoshian, the text notes, is an expression of saving from water.
Moses not only rescued them but also "gave their flocks to drink," mirroring Jacob's actions for Rachel. When the daughters returned home early, their father, Reuel (another name for Yitro, meaning "companion to God"), questioned them. "Why were you quick to come today?" (Exodus 2:18).
"They said: An Egyptian man saved us from the shepherds and also drew water for us and gave the flock to drink" (Exodus 2:19). But was Moses really an Egyptian? The Midrash offers a clever interpretation: either he was dressed as an Egyptian, or the daughters were speaking metaphorically. Just as someone bitten by a snake might inadvertently save another while seeking relief, Moses' past actions (killing the Egyptian) led him to this encounter.
"He said to his daughters: Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Call him so that he will eat bread" (Exodus 2:20). Yitro recognized something special in Moses. According to the Midrash, he saw a connection to the patriarchs, those who found blessing at the well. He also hoped that Moses might marry one of his daughters, as "eating bread" can be a euphemism for marriage, like in Genesis 39:6.
And so, Tzipora, meaning "bird," ran after Moses and brought him back. The Midrash adds that she was named Tzipora because she purified the house like a bird – a reference to the bird's role in purifying a house afflicted with leprosy (Leviticus 14:48-53).
What can we glean from this rich tapestry of a story? It seems the well is more than just a place to quench thirst. It is a place of encounter, a place of destiny, a place where righteous action can change the course of history. And sometimes, the most unexpected places, even those associated with the pain of exile and rejection, can become the very place where redemption begins.