Tzaddikim reveal Torah hidden in creation

בפסוק וירא והנה באר כו'.

On the verse "And he saw, and behold a well [in the field]" (Bereishis 29:2).

The Sefas Emes examines why the Torah stresses that Yaakov "saw" the well, when anyone present would have seen it.

לכאורה וירא מיותר מאחר שהי' באר כולם ראו.

At first glance "and he saw" seems superfluous, since the well was there and everyone saw it.

If the well was plainly visible to all, the word "and he saw" appears unnecessary.

אכן ודאי הגם כי באר זו רומזת לכמה ענינים כדאיתא במד'.

However, certainly, although this well alludes to several matters, as is taught in the Midrash —

The Midrash reads the well as a symbol of many deeper things (the Beis Hamikdash, Torah, and more).

מ"מ אמת שהי' באר כפשוטו ג"כ.

— nevertheless it is true that it was a literal well as well.

The allegorical meanings do not cancel the plain fact that a real, physical well stood there.

אכן יעקב אבינו ראה באר זו שכתובה בתורה.

However, Yaakov Avinu saw this well as one that is written in the Torah.

Yaakov's special "seeing" was perceiving the inner, eternal significance of this well — that it would become a portion of the holy Torah.

ובכח זה שנעשה ממנה פרשה בתורה.

And by this power, a passage in the Torah was made from it.

Yaakov's perception of its inner meaning is precisely what caused this episode to become a written parsha of Torah.

וזה ענין כל המעשים הכתובים בתורה הקדושה דכתיב גדולים מעשי ה' דרושים לכל חפציהם.

And this is the matter of all the deeds recorded in the holy Torah, as it is written: "Great are the works of Hashem, sought out by all who desire them" (Tehillim 111:2).

Every event the Torah records carries inner divine meaning, "sought out" by those who desire to uncover it.

ובודאי נמצא בכל מעשה בראשית סודות התורה.

And surely within all of ma'aseh bereishis (the work of creation) are found the secrets of the Torah.

The entire created world is woven from the hidden sodos of Torah.

אך הצדיקים שמתגלה להם אלה הסודות מוציאים מכח אל הפועל שנעשה מזה פרשיות בתורה.

But the tzaddikim, to whom these secrets are revealed, bring them from potential into actuality, so that passages of Torah are made from them.

A tzaddik who perceives the hidden holiness in a created thing actualizes it, drawing it out so that it becomes Torah in the world.

וז"ש חז"ל לתת שכר טוב לצדיקים שמקיימים העולם שנברא בעשרה מאמרות שמכירין כח הפועל בנפעל ומבררין האותיות שנברא בהם מעשה בראשית.

This is what Chazal said: "to give good reward to the tzaddikim who sustain the world that was created with ten utterances" (Avos 5:1) — that they recognize the power of the Maker (ko'ach ha-po'el) within that which is made, and they clarify the letters with which the work of creation was created.

Tzaddikim sustain creation by recognizing the Creator's power hidden inside every created thing and by clarifying the holy "letters" of the ten utterances that formed the world.

ובאר רומז לברית מילה לכן אבן גדולה ע"פ הבאר שבכל מקום שיש פנימיות יש מכסה לעוור עיני הרשעים ובנ"י זכו לבריתו של אאע"ה וניתן להם מצות מילה להסיר הערלה ונתגלה להם חותם אות ברית קודש:

And the well alludes to the bris milah; therefore there was a great stone upon the mouth of the well — for wherever there is penimiyus (an inner dimension), there is a covering to blind the eyes of the wicked. And Bnei Yisrael merited the covenant of Avraham Avinu, and the mitzvah of milah was given to them to remove the orlah (foreskin), and the seal, the sign of the holy covenant, was revealed to them.

The well is the bris milah: its inner waters of holiness are sealed by a "great stone," for wherever there is penimiyus a concealment hides it from the unworthy. Through milah, Israel removes the orlah that conceals, uncovering the holy sign of the covenant — drawing the hidden inner point into revelation.

Summary: The word "and he saw" teaches that Yaakov perceived the inner, eternal meaning of the well, which is why it became a parsha of Torah. Every created thing holds hidden sodos of Torah, and the tzaddikim, recognizing the Creator's power within the created, draw these secrets from potential into actuality. The well alludes to bris milah: its inner holiness is sealed by a covering — like the orlah — that hides penimiyus from the wicked, and through the mitzvah of milah Bnei Yisrael uncover the holy sign of the covenant.