After Sarah deals harshly with Hagar she flees to the desert. An angel appears to her at a spring of water. Asking her where she came from, she responds she ran away from her mistress Sarah. He tells her to return and bear it, promising her she will give birth to a son who will develop into a powerful nation. He directs her to call him ישמעאל —Yishmael, to commemorate how ישמע א-ל — He [G-d] heard her prayers.
Seeing G-d's providence where she least expected it, she exclaims, "You are the G-d of Vision," for she said, "Could I have seen even here after having seen [angels in the home of Avraham]?"
The well was subsequently called, "The באר — Well, לחי רואי — of the Living One Who Sees Me."
When Yishmael is later sent away by Avraham from his home, he becomes deathly ill in desperate need of water. He cries out to G-d, Who dispatches an angel that directs Hagar to lift up and grasp the hand of her son, promising he will become a great nation, revealing a well of water to revive the child. The Midrash Sechel Tov tells us that once again, it was the 'Well to the Living One Who Sees Me' — which represented G-d seeing always and in all places the plight of those who feel humiliated — that comes to their rescue.
The Targum Yonoson adds how Hagar when naming this 'holy place' marveled how דחמי ולא מתחמי — although G-d is 'not visible' to us, yet we are aware that He sees us. That is why she accented the 'Living One, רואי — Who Sees Me.
In this week's portion another reference to this well is made.
After Eliezer succeeds in finding the perfect match for Yitzchak, and sealing the deal, the Torah reports how Yitzchak who suddenly appears on the horizon, בא — came, מבוא — from having gone to Be'er-Lachai-Roi.
Nachmanides ponders this unusual syntax — 'he came from having gone' — which is seemingly superfluous as obviously a person comes from where he had gone. He therefore interprets the verse more specifically as Yitzchak coming from a place 'he often frequented'.
This 'shrine' projected a powerful message to mankind that G-d is attentive to one's pain and needs constantly, not only in the homes of the righteous.
It became a place of prayer and consolation for those who felt diminished, giving them hope that they too are cared for by the Almighty.
Why is this fact relevant specifically at this juncture?
Upon returning from Be'er-Lachai-Roi, Yitzchak goes out לשוח בשדה — to supplicate in the field towards evening. We are taught that he established the afternoon prayer of Mincha for posterity at this moment.
The Talmud also adds that he prayed at the location he been placed on the altar to be slaughtered, הר המוריה — Mount Moriah the future location of the Holy Temple.
Yitzchak had reached the peak of perfection, ready to take Rivkah as his wife and bring the Divine Presence into his home.
Earlier we read that upon the successful conclusion of the trial of the Akeidah, Avraham 'called the name of that site השם יראה — "G-d will see", as it is said this day, on the mountain השם יֵרָאֶה — "G-d will be seen".'
Until Yitzchak was ready to forge forward with the mission of building the Jewish nation, he maintained a steadfast commitment to Avraham's legacy as the Father of Nations to promote an absolute belief in a benevolent G-d Who is devoted to every individual.
Now it was time to focus on generating the Chosen Nation who would take this belief to a higher plateau.
We not only believe that G-d 'sees us' but, as it were possible to say, we 'see G-d'.
The first law in the Jewish Code of Law is שויתי השם — I have set G-d before me, always…
We don't simply call on Him to save us when we are distressed, we see an imperative to see Him in every action that we do, emulating His traits, implementing His honor in our every breath, action, and thought.
At the Akeidah — the height of diminishing one's interest for a higher sense of devotion to the will of G-d — we elevated ourselves from simply being seen, to seeing the 'will of G-d' as the sole motivator in the privileged relationship with G-d.
In the morning, we pray Shacharis with an intensified consciousness of our needs for the day ahead, acknowledging our hope G-d will supply us with all that we need.
Mincha which we attend to in the middle towards the end of the day, engrossed in a flurry of activity, taking out a few moments, to reflect on our joy and duty to infuse our actions with the spirit of Torah and good character, we must focus on 'seeing G-d' in every nuance and circumstance.
No wonder our Rabbis taught that Mincha is the most potent of the three daily prayers.
May we always find encouragement in the awareness that G-d sees us, but may we be compelled, and thrilled to discover and 'see' G-d in every step we take.
באהבה,
צבי יהודה טייכמאן
