5786/2025
When Rivkah Imeinu was on her way to meet Yitzchak Avinu for the very first time, the Torah says that Yitzchak was, “"בָּ֣א מִבּ֔וֹא בְּאֵ֥ר לַחַ֖י רֹאִ֑י,” which means that he was “Returning from Be’er Lachai Ro’i.” Be’er Lachai Ro’i was previously mentioned in Sefer Bereishit as the place where Hashem sent an angel to both reassure Hagar that she would have a son and instruct Hagar to return to the house of Sarah and Avraham. In other words, Be’er Lachai Ro’I was a place where Hashem had answered Hagar’s tefillah while she was experiencing a painful challenge in her lifetime.
The Mefarshim offer different explanations as to why Yitzchak Avinu went to Be’er Lachai Ro’I at the end of this week’s parsha. For example, Rashi argues that Yitzchak went there “in order to bring Hagar to Avraham so that he could marry her.” Rashi’s explanation makes sense in light of the fact that Hagar had previously been in that location, and it is logical to assume that Hagar felt connected to Be’er Lachai Ro’i. However, the Sforno suggests that Yitzchak went there to daven himself. Specifically, Yitzchak felt that Be’er Lachai Ro’I was an ideal place to daven because Hashem had previously answered Hagar’s tefilla in that location. Along the same explanation of the Sforno, the Ramban goes one step further and argues that Yitzchak, “regularly went to Be’er Lachai Ro’i to daven because a malach of Hashem had appeared there.” From the Ramban, we see that Yitzchak was able to associate Be’er Lachai Ro’i with Hashem, and he felt that it was a unique place for him to daven. In other words, Be’er Lachai Ro’i was Yitzchak’s special place to connect with Hashem.
From the words of the Ramban, we learn that it is important to identify places where we can feel close to Hashem. In a similar vein, the Shulchan Aruch rules that when one sees a place where he experienced a miracle, he should recite the bracha of “שעשה לי נס במקום הזה.” Like the explanation of the Ramban in this week’s Parashah, this Halachah teaches us that a person who had once experienced Hashem’s presence in a particular location should always associate that location with the presence of Hashem. In a way, a person who was saved miraculously in a certain place can return to that place and view it as his own “Be’er Lachai Ro’i.”
Not everybody connects to Hashem in the same way, and not everybody connects to Hashem in the same locations. This being said, the Ramban’s explanation of Yitzchak Avinu’s visits to Be’er Lachai Ro’i remind us to search for Hashem where we feel His presence. It is so important for everyone to have a place where they feel close to Hashem. Whether we find it easier to connect with Hashem in a particular shul, Beit Midrash, or other location, I believe that Yitzchak Avinu reminds us to embrace those places and visit them as often as we can.