Parashat Chayei Sarah, immediately following the story of the Binding of Isaac (Akeidah), opens with the account of Sarah’s death and burial, describing life after her passing. Isaac, who appears quiet and introverted—especially in comparison to Abraham and Jacob—emerges as the one who brings healing to a broken family. Later, we read of Isaac reopening the wells that his father Abraham had dug, finding there a “well of living water” (Genesis 26:19). This symbolizes Isaac’s nature—seeking and discovering “living water” even in closed, hardened relationships and hearts. He seems to do so quietly and modestly, working behind the scenes.
When Eliezer returns with Isaac’s intended bride, we encounter one of the most romantic and touching scenes in the Torah: “Now Yitzhak had gone out from where you come to the Well of the Living-One Seeing-Me, for he had settled in the Negev. And Yitzhak went out to stroll in the field around the turning of sunset. He lifted up his eyes and saw: here, camels coming! And Rivka lifted up her eyes and saw Yitzhak; she got down from the camel and said to the servant: Who is the man over there that is walking in the field to meet us? The servant said: That is my lord. So she took a veil and covered herself. And the servant recounted to Yitzhak all the things that he had done. Yitzhak brought her into the tent of Sara his mother; he took Rivka and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus was Yitzhak comforted after his mother.” (Genesis 24:62–67)
Here we see a story of shyness, encounter, and great love—and also the healing of a wounded, grieving heart. Isaac lives in the Negev, near Be’er Lachai Ro’i—the well associated with Hagar, his father’s wife and his brother Ishmael’s mother.
Near this well, Isaac goes out to meditate (lasuach) in the field—perhaps seeking solace for his broken heart. But Isaac’s concern extends beyond himself; he acts for the sake of the wider family.
Midrash Bereishit Rabbah (60:14) teaches that Isaac went to Be’er Lachai Ro’i to bring Hagar back home—the same Hagar who had twice been cast out from Abraham’s tent: “Isaac came from coming to Be’er Lachai Ro’i—he went to bring Hagar, who had sat by the well and said to the Eternal, ‘See my humiliation.’” Rabbi Yehuda adds that when the Torah later says, “And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah” (Genesis 25:1), this in fact refers to Hagar herself: “‘And her name was Keturah’—Rabbi Yehuda said: This is Hagar.” (Bereishit Rabbah 61:4). Similarly, Midrash Tanchuma (Chayei Sarah 8) explains:“Isaac said: I have taken a wife, and my father stands without one! What did he do? He went and brought him a wife.”
Through this act, Isaac repairs a broken family—he restores an old-new love to his father, soothes Hagar’s pain and humiliation, heals the rift with his brother Ishmael, and perhaps even tends to his own trauma from the Akeidah.
Some of the great biblical commentators write harshly about Sarah’s treatment of Hagar. Thus, Radak comments on the verse “And Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her” (Genesis 16:6): “Sarah did not act here according to proper moral conduct, nor according to pious behavior.” And Ramban adds: “Our mother sinned by afflicting her, and also Abraham by allowing it; therefore God heard her affliction.”
It is the angel of God who hears and sees Hagar: “And the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness” (Genesis 16:7), and who tells her to name her son Ishmael—“for the Lord has heard your affliction” (Genesis 16:11). Hagar, in response, gives God a name as well: “She called the name of the Lord who spoke to her: You are El-Roi [God who sees me].” (Genesis 16:13).
From this comes the well’s name: Be’er Lachai Ro’i—“the well of the Living One who sees me.” The woman who nearly died in the desert gives voice to the profound feeling that there is One who sees her, who gives her dignity and the chance to live. That same Be’er Lachai Ro’i appears once more in the Torah, around the account of Abraham’s death, where Isaac and Ishmael are mentioned together: “And Abraham expired and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah.” (Genesis 25:8–9)
Isaac continues to dwell there, near Be’er Lachai Ro’i (Genesis 25:11).
Did he choose that place to live near his brother Ishmael?
Will we too—children of Ishmael and children of Isaac—find the understanding that it is possible to bring repair, that water and prayer and love can give life to all, even in a barren desert?
May a moment of grace arise before You, God,
May we, children of Isaac and children of Ishmael,
Drink together from the waters of Be’er Lachai Ro’i—
Not a knife,
But an angel bearing good tidings:
Do not raise your hand against the boy,
Nor do anything to him.
— Menashe Noy
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Rabbi Tamir Nir serves as the congregational rabbi for Congregation Achva Ba'Kerem, which he founded in 2007.Tamir teaches Jewish and Islamic thought in a high school for religious and secular Israelis. Tamir recently served as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, where he bridged differences between the diverse communities that make up the city. Additionally, he headed the BINA Secular Yeshiva and chaired the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He is an ordained Reform Rabbi, has an MA in Jewish Education and a BA in Architecture and Urban Planning.
When Eliezer returns with Isaac’s intended bride, we encounter one of the most romantic and touching scenes in the Torah: “Now Yitzhak had gone out from where you come to the Well of the Living-One Seeing-Me, for he had settled in the Negev. And Yitzhak went out to stroll in the field around the turning of sunset. He lifted up his eyes and saw: here, camels coming! And Rivka lifted up her eyes and saw Yitzhak; she got down from the camel and said to the servant: Who is the man over there that is walking in the field to meet us? The servant said: That is my lord. So she took a veil and covered herself. And the servant recounted to Yitzhak all the things that he had done. Yitzhak brought her into the tent of Sara his mother; he took Rivka and she became his wife, and he loved her. Thus was Yitzhak comforted after his mother.” (Genesis 24:62–67)
Here we see a story of shyness, encounter, and great love—and also the healing of a wounded, grieving heart. Isaac lives in the Negev, near Be’er Lachai Ro’i—the well associated with Hagar, his father’s wife and his brother Ishmael’s mother.
Near this well, Isaac goes out to meditate (lasuach) in the field—perhaps seeking solace for his broken heart. But Isaac’s concern extends beyond himself; he acts for the sake of the wider family.
Midrash Bereishit Rabbah (60:14) teaches that Isaac went to Be’er Lachai Ro’i to bring Hagar back home—the same Hagar who had twice been cast out from Abraham’s tent: “Isaac came from coming to Be’er Lachai Ro’i—he went to bring Hagar, who had sat by the well and said to the Eternal, ‘See my humiliation.’” Rabbi Yehuda adds that when the Torah later says, “And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Keturah” (Genesis 25:1), this in fact refers to Hagar herself: “‘And her name was Keturah’—Rabbi Yehuda said: This is Hagar.” (Bereishit Rabbah 61:4). Similarly, Midrash Tanchuma (Chayei Sarah 8) explains:“Isaac said: I have taken a wife, and my father stands without one! What did he do? He went and brought him a wife.”
Through this act, Isaac repairs a broken family—he restores an old-new love to his father, soothes Hagar’s pain and humiliation, heals the rift with his brother Ishmael, and perhaps even tends to his own trauma from the Akeidah.
Some of the great biblical commentators write harshly about Sarah’s treatment of Hagar. Thus, Radak comments on the verse “And Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her” (Genesis 16:6): “Sarah did not act here according to proper moral conduct, nor according to pious behavior.” And Ramban adds: “Our mother sinned by afflicting her, and also Abraham by allowing it; therefore God heard her affliction.”
It is the angel of God who hears and sees Hagar: “And the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness” (Genesis 16:7), and who tells her to name her son Ishmael—“for the Lord has heard your affliction” (Genesis 16:11). Hagar, in response, gives God a name as well: “She called the name of the Lord who spoke to her: You are El-Roi [God who sees me].” (Genesis 16:13).
From this comes the well’s name: Be’er Lachai Ro’i—“the well of the Living One who sees me.” The woman who nearly died in the desert gives voice to the profound feeling that there is One who sees her, who gives her dignity and the chance to live. That same Be’er Lachai Ro’i appears once more in the Torah, around the account of Abraham’s death, where Isaac and Ishmael are mentioned together: “And Abraham expired and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah.” (Genesis 25:8–9)
Isaac continues to dwell there, near Be’er Lachai Ro’i (Genesis 25:11).
Did he choose that place to live near his brother Ishmael?
Will we too—children of Ishmael and children of Isaac—find the understanding that it is possible to bring repair, that water and prayer and love can give life to all, even in a barren desert?
May a moment of grace arise before You, God,
May we, children of Isaac and children of Ishmael,
Drink together from the waters of Be’er Lachai Ro’i—
Not a knife,
But an angel bearing good tidings:
Do not raise your hand against the boy,
Nor do anything to him.
— Menashe Noy
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rabbi Tamir Nir serves as the congregational rabbi for Congregation Achva Ba'Kerem, which he founded in 2007.Tamir teaches Jewish and Islamic thought in a high school for religious and secular Israelis. Tamir recently served as Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, where he bridged differences between the diverse communities that make up the city. Additionally, he headed the BINA Secular Yeshiva and chaired the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He is an ordained Reform Rabbi, has an MA in Jewish Education and a BA in Architecture and Urban Planning.