The inner well of tefillah

בפסוק והנה באר בשדה כו'.

On the pasuk: "And behold, a well in the field…" (Bereishis 29:2).

The Sefas Emes begins with the scene of the well in the field that Yaakov encountered, reading it as a hint to a deeper avodah.

זה הבאר היא בכלל.

This well is, in the collective sense —

On one level the well represents the spiritual wellspring of the entire nation.

ובפרט כל איש ישראל והיא כחן של ישראל בפה.

— and in the particular sense, [the well within] every individual Jew; and it is the power of Yisrael, which lies in the mouth.

Each person too has an inner well, and the unique strength of Yisrael is the power of the mouth — speech, and above all tefillah.

רק והאבן גדולה על פי הבאר כמ"ש במ"א הדיוק דלא כתיב ואבן רק והאבן.

Only, "and the stone was great upon the mouth of the well" — as I have noted elsewhere, the precise inference that the verse does not say "and a stone" but "and the stone."

The definite article ("the stone") signals a specific, known obstacle, not just any stone, blocking the well's mouth.

פי' שהיצה"ר מתגבר ומתגדל ביותר ע"פ הבאר כענין שאמרו הגדול מחבירו יצרו גדול.

The meaning is that the yetzer hara grows strong and looms especially large over the mouth of the well, as in the saying: "one who is greater than his fellow, his yetzer is greater."

The "great stone" is the yetzer hara, which masses its strength precisely at the opening of the inner well — and the holier the place, the fiercer the yetzer.

ולכן בעת התפלה מתגבר ביותר היצה"ר לבלבל במחשבות זרות.

Therefore, at the time of tefillah the yetzer hara grows especially strong, to confuse one with machshavos zaros (foreign thoughts).

Since tefillah is the very mouth of the inner well, the yetzer concentrates its assault there, flooding the mind with distractions.

אך שצריכין לאסוף כל הכחות כמ"ש ונאספו.

But one must gather all one's powers together, as it is written "and they were gathered" (Bereishis 29:3).

Just as the shepherds gathered to roll the stone off the well, a person must collect all his faculties to overcome the yetzer at the moment of tefillah.

וזו האסיפה שייך גם בכל פרט לאסוף כל הכחות ורמ"ח אברים.

And this gathering applies also to each individual — to gather all his powers and his 248 limbs.

On the personal level, this means concentrating one's entire being — all the koros and all 248 eivarim — into the act of prayer.

ג' עדרי צאן הוא בחי' מחשבה דיבור ומעשה כמו שניתקן מצות מעשיות קודם התפלה כמ"ש בזוה"ק ואח"כ מבקשין ה' שפתי תפתח הוא פתיחת פי הבאר:

The three flocks of sheep correspond to the aspects of machshavah, dibbur, and maaseh (thought, speech, and deed) — just as the practical mitzvos are arranged before tefillah, as stated in the Zohar, and afterward we ask "Hashem, open my lips," which is the opening of the mouth of the well.

The three flocks symbolize thought, speech, and action; one first readies oneself with deeds (mitzvos) and proper thought before davening, and the plea "Hashem, open my lips" is the act of rolling the stone off and opening the inner well to let its waters flow in tefillah.

Summary: The well in the field is the inner wellspring of Yisrael, whose distinctive strength lies in the power of the mouth — speech and tefillah. The "great stone" upon its mouth is the yetzer hara, which masses its force precisely at the holy point of prayer to flood the mind with foreign thoughts. To draw the well's waters, a person must gather all his powers and all 248 limbs — aligning thought, speech, and deed, preparing through mitzvos as the Zohar teaches — and then the plea "Hashem, open my lips" rolls away the stone and opens the mouth of the inner well.