Parashat Vayeitzei begins with Jacob departing Be’er Sheva to travel to Haran, where he is expected to find a wife. The Zohar on our parashah begins with a disagreement between Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and one of his students, Rabbi Chiya, regarding the symbolism of Be’er Sheva. The Mikdash Melech on the Zohar explains that the substance of their disagreement is whether like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai symbolizes the sefirah of kingdom (malchut), or whether, like Rabbi Chiya, it symbolizes the sefirah of understanding (binah).
If we take a close look at the naming of the city as “Be’er Sheva,” we find that it was named twice. The first time was when Abraham made an oath with Avimelech over a well he had dug:
He [Abraham] replied: “You are to accept these seven ewes from me as proof that I dug this well.” Hence that place was called Be’er Sheva, for there the two of them swore an oath.
Later, when Isaac digs new wells to replace his father’s wells that the Philistines had obstructed, when he digs the family’s seventh well...
