"Now Isaac was coming from the way of the well Lahai Ro'i, for he dwelt in the land of the south" Genesis 24:62
November 5, 2015 13:24ByAnonymous, Anonymous
Rebecca had the longer journey, from Haran in northern Mesopotamia, but just as she is about to meet her husband-to-be Isaac, the Torah tells us he, too, has been on a journey.
The poetry of the verse, ba mi-bo be'er, suggests this journey has been significant for him, and indeed, this is the first we have heard of Isaac since he was almost sacrificed by his father, Abraham.
The well of Lahai Ro'i, "the Living One who sees me", was named by Hagar, Abraham's Egyptian concubine (Genesis 16:14), when she had fallen pregnant and fled the anger of her mistress Sarah. At the well an angel comforted her and foretold the birth and future militancy of Ishmael. Why is it important for us to know that, on the eve of his marriage, Isaac has come from this particular place?
The Italian commentator Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865) suggests that Isaac was a deeply spiritual, contemplative person and had journeyed to this place of revelation to meditate.
Rashi gives a midrashic explanation, that Isaac had gone to fetch Hagar and bring her back to Abraham so that he could marry her. The irony and pathos of the situation are striking.
Hagar and Ishmael were driven out to make way for Isaac, then Isaac himself nearly perished at his father's hand. Now Isaac is returning to the place of Hagar's suffering and bringing her to become his father's wife.
Perhaps before Isaac can embark on marriage and raising a family, he has to contemplate the suffering and dispossession of his half-brother and help the family heal.
In the next chapter we learn that Isaac and Ishmael come together to bury Abraham, and the rabbis deduce that Ishmael had repented his violent ways.
In times of violence and estrangement, we need to journey to the roots of each other's suffering and try to find reconciliation.