Yitzchak's Three Wells and the Middos of the Avos

רמז הבארות עשק ושטנה ורחובות י"ל על בחי' הג' אבות כי בחי' אהבה וחסד לאברהם.

The hint of the wells — Eisek, Sitnah, and Rechovos — can be said to allude to the aspect of the three Avos (forefathers), for the aspect of love and chesed (kindness) belongs to Avraham.

The Sefas Emes opens by reading Yitzchak's three wells as symbols of the three Avos, each well corresponding to a particular middah (character trait). The first well, Eisek, reflects Avraham, whose defining middah was ahavah and chesed.

בזה מתערב עוד פסולת.

In this [middah of chesed] there is still an admixture of dross.

Pure chesed alone is not flawless; when kindness is unrestrained it can become mixed with elements that are not entirely holy.

ויריבו לנו המים.

"And they quarreled with us over the water." (Bereishis 26:20)

The very name Eisek means contention — the quarrel over the first well reflects how the middah of chesed invites dispute and impurity.

וחסד לאומים חטאת.

"And the kindness of the nations is sin." (Mishlei 14:34)

He brings a verse showing that chesed by itself, when not properly channeled, can even amount to sin — proof that this middah carries an admixture of pesoles (dross).

וגם בחי' היראה ופחד יצחק.

And likewise the aspect of yirah (fear/awe) and the "Pachad Yitzchak" (the Dread of Yitzchak).

The second well, Sitnah, corresponds to Yitzchak, whose middah was yirah and pachad — awe and trembling before Hashem, the strength of din (judgment).

בזה מתעורר הדינים וקטרוגים כשאדם רוצה להתנהג רק עפ"י הדין.

In this [middah], harsh judgments and accusations are aroused when a person wishes to conduct himself solely according to strict din (judgment).

Yitzchak's path of yirah is rooted in din, and din alone awakens prosecution from Above — for the world cannot endure when measured by strict justice without mercy.

וכמ"ש רז"ל שראה שאין העולם מתקיים בדין וזה שטנה.

And as Chazal said, that [Hashem] saw the world could not endure with [strict] din [alone], and this is the meaning of Sitnah.

Chazal teach that Hashem joined mercy with judgment because the world cannot stand on din alone. The name Sitnah (from satan, "accusation") expresses how unmitigated din produces prosecution and cannot sustain the world.

ובחי' הרחמים אמת ליעקב היא המובחרת שבה מתדבק האדם לעורר רחמים משמים שיסייעו לו.

And the aspect of rachamim (mercy), the "truth of Yaakov," is the choicest, for through it a person cleaves [to Hashem] to arouse mercy from Heaven so that they will assist him.

The third well, Rechovos, corresponds to Yaakov, whose middah was rachamim and emes (truth). This is the finest of the three, because through mercy a person attaches himself to Hashem and draws down Heavenly help.

ובזה אין תערובות ולא קטרוג.

And in this [middah of rachamim] there is no admixture and no accusation.

Unlike chesed (which has dross) and din (which arouses prosecution), the middah of rachamim is pure — free of any foreign admixture and immune to accusation.

ולכן ולא רבו עליה.

Therefore [it says], "and they did not quarrel over it." (Bereishis 26:22)

Because Rechovos represents the unblemished middah of mercy, no one contended over this well — there was no strife, paralleling the conflict-free nature of rachamim.

ונקרא שמה רחובות הרחיב ה' לנו הוא שיהי' בכח סייעתא דשמיא.

"And he called its name Rechovos [(broad expanses)], [saying,] 'For now Hashem has made room for us'" (Bereishis 26:22) — this means that it should be through the power of siyata diShmaya (Heavenly assistance).

The name Rechovos, "broad spaces," signifies the expansiveness that comes when a person merits siyata diShmaya — the Divine help that flows specifically through the middah of rachamim.

ולא חסד בלבד רק בחי' רחמים.

And [this is] not chesed alone, but rather the aspect of rachamim.

The help drawn down here is not mere kindness, which carries admixture, but true mercy — the higher and purer relationship between Hashem and the person.

והיא מדה המיוחדת לבנ"י כרחם אב על בנים.

And it is the middah unique to Bnei Yisrael, "as a father has mercy on his children." (Tehillim 103:13)

Rachamim is the trait that distinguishes Bnei Yisrael, mirroring the way a father shows compassion to his children — a quality planted in them by Yaakov.

והג' בחי' הנ"ל הם הג' מדות שנטעו האבות בבנ"י גומלי חסדים.

And the three aspects mentioned above are the three middos that the Avos planted in Bnei Yisrael: those who perform acts of chesed (gomlei chasadim).

The three Avos implanted their three middos as enduring traits in Bnei Yisrael. The first, from Avraham, is being gomlei chasadim — people who bestow kindness on one another.

ביישנים.

Those who are bashful (bayshanim).

The second trait, from Yitzchak, is being bayshanim — possessing a sense of shame and modesty before Hashem and others.

רחמנים.

Those who are merciful (rachmanim).

The third trait, from Yaakov, is being rachmanim — having compassion, the choicest of the three middos.

כי בושה היא יראה.

For bashfulness is [a form of] yirah (fear/awe).

He explains why bayshanim corresponds to Yitzchak: the sense of shame is itself rooted in yiras Shomayim (fear of Heaven), Yitzchak's defining middah.

כמ"ש ז"ל יראתו על פניכם זו הבושת ורחמנים הוא בחי' יעקב.

As Chazal said: "His fear shall be upon your faces" (Shemos 20:17) — this refers to bashfulness; and the merciful ones are the aspect of Yaakov.

Chazal interpret the "fear" written on people's faces as the trait of shame, confirming that bushah equals yirah (Yitzchak). And rachmanim, mercy, belongs to Yaakov.

ועליו אמרו במדרש כי מי שיש לו בן יגע בתורה מתמלא עליו רחמים.

And concerning him [Yaakov] the Midrash said that whoever has a son who toils in Torah is filled with mercy upon him.

The Midrash links Yaakov's mercy to Torah: a father who sees his son laboring in Torah is overcome with compassion — connecting the middah of rachamim directly to Torah study.

דכתיב תתן אמת ליעקב ואין אמת אלא תורה.

As it is written, "You shall grant truth to Yaakov" (Michah 7:20), and "truth" means nothing other than Torah.

Yaakov's middah of emes (truth) is identified with Torah, since Chazal teach that "truth" refers to Torah. Thus Yaakov's mercy and his Torah are bound together.

ועיקר פתיחת הבאר הוא ע"י התורה דאיתא במדרש שה"ש בפסוק מעין גנים באר מים חיים מ"ח פעמים באר בתורה נגד מ"ח דברים שהתורה נקנית בהם ע"ש.

And the main opening of the well is through the Torah, as it is brought in the Midrash on Shir HaShirim, on the verse "a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters" (Shir HaShirim 4:15): the word "well" appears forty-eight times in the Torah, corresponding to the forty-eight things through which the Torah is acquired — see there.

The "opening of the well" — drawing forth living waters — happens through Torah. The Midrash notes that "be'er" (well) occurs 48 times, paralleling the 48 ways through which Torah is acquired (the kinyanei Torah enumerated in Pirkei Avos 6:6).

וכמו שיש בתורה שבכתב ג"ן סדרים וחמשה מהם הם בראש חמשה חומשי תורה.

And just as in the Written Torah there are fifty-three (gan = ג"ן) sedarim (sections), five of which stand at the head of the five Chumashim of the Torah.

He notes that the Written Torah contains 53 sedarim — the numerical value of the word "gan" (גן, garden). Five of these begin the five Books of the Torah.

נשאר עוד מ"ח סדרים שכל סדר הוא דרך מיוחד.

There remain forty-eight sedarim, each section being its own distinct path.

Subtracting the five opening sections leaves 48 sedarim — again matching the 48 ways Torah is acquired, each one a unique avenue of approach to Torah.

כן יש בנפשות בנ"י בחי' תורה שבע"פ ה' מוצאות שבפה הם בראש.

So too, in the souls of Bnei Yisrael there is the aspect of the Oral Torah: the five places of articulation in the mouth (the five motza'os) are at the head.

Paralleling the Written Torah's structure, the Oral Torah is rooted in the souls of Bnei Yisrael. Corresponding to the five opening sections are the five "motza'os" — the five points in the mouth from which speech is produced.

ומ"ח דברים שהתורה נקנית בהם.

And the forty-eight things through which the Torah is acquired.

Corresponding to the remaining 48 sedarim of the Written Torah are the 48 ways through which Torah is acquired — the means by which a person makes the Oral Torah his own.

ובאלה הג"ן דרכים זוכין לג"ן סדרים דאורייתא ולגן עדן:

And through these fifty-three (gan) paths one merits the fifty-three (gan) sedarim of the Torah and Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden).

By traversing all 53 paths — the five motza'os plus the 48 ways of acquiring Torah — a person attains the full "gan" of Torah's sedarim, and ultimately merits "Gan Eden," the wordplay on gan (53) tying the whole structure together.

Summary: Yitzchak's three wells — Eisek, Sitnah, and Rechovos — correspond to the three Avos and their middos: the chesed of Avraham (which carries an admixture of dross), the yirah/din of Yitzchak (which arouses accusation), and the rachamim/emes of Yaakov (the choicest, pure and free of any admixture or prosecution). These three traits — gomlei chasadim, bayshanim, and rachmanim — were planted in Bnei Yisrael. The well is opened through Torah, identified with Yaakov's emes; and just as the word "be'er" appears 48 times paralleling the 48 ways Torah is acquired, and the Torah's 53 (gan) sedarim mirror the five motza'os of speech plus those 48 ways, traveling these gan paths brings one to the full sedarim of Torah and to Gan Eden.