Torah rolls away the stone of concealment

בפרשה והנה באר בשדה.

In the parsha it says: "And behold, a well in the field." (Bereishis 29:2)

The Sefas Emes begins from the scene of the well that Yaakov encounters, reading it as a remez (hint) to the spiritual structure of tefillah and Torah.

שלשה עדרי צאן רומז לג' תפלות בחי' ג' אבות.

"Three flocks of sheep" alludes to the three tefillos, corresponding to the aspect of the three Avos.

The three flocks lying by the well represent the three daily prayers — Shacharis, Minchah, and Maariv — which Chazal teach were instituted by Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.

ונאספו שמה כל העדרים רומז לי"ב שבטים שכל שבט נקרא קהל בפ"ע.

"And all the flocks were gathered there" alludes to the twelve Shevatim, for each tribe is called a congregation in its own right.

The gathering of all the flocks represents the twelve tribes, each of which is a complete kehillah (community) with its own distinct avodah.

וזה רמז הי"ב ברכות אמצעיות שבתפלה שהם בחי' חיי שעה.

And this is the hint of the twelve middle berachos of the tefillah, which are the aspect of "temporary life" (chayei sha'ah).

The twelve middle blessings of Shemoneh Esrei, in which we ask for our daily needs, correspond to the twelve tribes; they deal with the passing needs of this-worldly life.

ולכן וגללו והשקו הצאן והשיבו את האבן.

Therefore: "and they would roll [the stone], water the flocks, and return the stone."

Just as the shepherds rolled the stone off only temporarily to water the flock and then replaced it, so too the opening of tefillah for our daily needs is only momentary.

שהתפלה פתוחה לפי שעה לכן יש זמנים מיוחדים לתפלה.

For tefillah is open only for a given moment, and therefore there are designated times for prayer.

Because this avenue of drawing down shefa for temporal needs opens only at set moments, our tefillos are fixed to particular times of the day.

אבל קהלת יעקב הוא האסיפה הגדולה בחי' תורה וחיי עולם כמ"ש מורשה קהלת יעקב.

But the "congregation of Yaakov" is the great gathering — the aspect of Torah and eternal life — as it is written: "the inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov." (Devarim 33:4)

Beyond the temporal life of tefillah stands Torah, the "congregation of Yaakov," which is chayei olam (eternal life) and gathers everything into one enduring whole.

והוא גולל כל האבן.

And it rolls away the entire stone.

Whereas tefillah only momentarily lifts the stone, Torah removes the obstructing stone completely.

וכן איתא במד' בחוקותי היצה"ר נק' אבן והתורה נקראת אבן יבוא אבן וישמור את האבן.

So too it is brought in the Midrash on Bechukosai: the yetzer hara is called a "stone" and the Torah is called a "stone" — let the stone come and guard the stone.

The Midrash plays on two "stones": the yetzer hara, which blocks a person, and the Torah; the stone of Torah comes to overpower and guard against the stone of the yetzer hara.

והיא בחי' אמת כמ"ש תתן אמת ליעקב.

And it is the aspect of emes (truth), as it is written: "Grant truth to Yaakov." (Michah 7:20)

Torah is identified with the middah of emes, which belongs to Yaakov, the man of truth.

וכשבאין אל האמת. הוסר האבן מכל וכל.

And when one arrives at the truth, the stone is removed entirely.

Once a person reaches the truth of Torah, the obstructing stone of the yetzer hara is taken away completely, not merely for a moment.

והאבן גדולה הוא הטבע שהוא יסוד הבנין של עוה"ז.

And the "great stone" is nature (teva), which is the foundation of the structure of this world.

The large stone over the well symbolizes the natural order, the very foundation upon which olam hazeh is built.

והטבע יש בו חיזוק גדול שכל זה בכח הבורא ית' שהטבע יוכל להסתיר האמת וחיות הפנימיות בעלמא דשיקרא.

And nature has great strength — and all of this is by the power of the Creator, may He be blessed — that nature is able to conceal the truth and the inner vitality within the "world of falsehood" (alma d'shikra).

Teva possesses a mighty power of concealment, granted to it by Hashem Himself, enabling it to hide the inner truth and the penimiyus (inner vitality) within this world of illusion.

אך ע"י התורה זוכין אל האמת ולכן נקראת תורת אמת כמו תורת חטאת תורת העולה שמלמדת דיני העולה.

But through the Torah one merits the truth, and therefore it is called "Toras Emes" (Torah of truth) — just as "Toras chatas" and "Toras olah" denote the laws of the chatas and olah offerings.

The Sefas Emes notes that just as "Toras ha'olah" means the instruction that teaches the laws of the olah, so "Toras Emes" means the instruction that teaches the way of truth.

כמו כן תורת אמת שהתורה מלמדת דרך האמת וכל ההוגה בתורה בא אל האמת והוסר לב האבן ממנו:

So too "Toras Emes," for the Torah teaches the path of truth, and everyone who toils in the Torah arrives at the truth, and the "heart of stone" is removed from him.

One who immerses himself in Torah is brought to the truth, and the lev ha'even — the hardened, concealing stone of the natural self and the yetzer hara — is taken away from him.

Summary: The well, the three flocks, and the great stone hint at the structure of avodah. The three flocks are the three tefillos of the Avos and the twelve middle berachos are the twelve Shevatim — but tefillah only momentarily lifts the stone, dealing with chayei sha'ah. Torah, the "congregation of Yaakov" and chayei olam, is the middah of emes that rolls the stone away entirely, removing the concealing power of teva and the yetzer hara so that one who toils in it arrives at the truth.