“Dwell in the land which I will tell you.” And immediately afterward He said, “Sojourn in this land,” so what is meant by “which I will tell you,” which implies that after some time He will tell him which land to dwell in, when immediately and forthwith He told him which land it is? This is a puzzling verse. What seems most likely to me is that He prevented him from going outside the Land [of Israel] because there, there is no place for the Divine Presence to be revealed. Therefore, He would not be able to speak to him there prophetically according to the needs of the moment. For this reason, [God said] “dwell in the land where My Divine Presence is revealed, and there I will tell you whenever I wish to communicate some prophetic message to you.” This explains why He first said “dwell [shkhon] in the land” and afterward said “sojourn [gur] in the land,” because “shkhon” implies more of a permanent residence than “gur” which is an expression of temporary dwelling. This is because from the perspective of acquiring spiritual perfection in this land, you shall dwell in it as a permanent resident, but from the perspective of acquiring physical blessings, you shall be in it as a temporary resident. This is what is meant by “sojourn in this land,” etc., because everything mentioned afterward speaks of physical promises. This is also what is meant by “I am a stranger [ger] and a resident [toshav] among you” — a stranger from one perspective and a resident from another perspective.

“And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time…” Therefore, Abimelech pondered in his heart, saying: “If she is truly his sister, then why hasn’t he taken a wife during all this extended period of time?” Indeed, there must be something more to this matter. Therefore, Abimelech looked out through the window to observe his conduct and affairs.

And he said, ‘What is this that you have done to us, etc.’ With Abimelech, it is written ‘you have done to us’ in the plural form, and similarly Abimelech said to Abraham ‘What have you done to us, etc.’ However, Pharaoh said to Abraham ‘What is this that you have done to me’ in the singular form. In the book Toldot Yitzchak, he wrote to resolve this question: Since the Egyptians were steeped in sexual immorality, therefore there was no difference there whether he said ‘she is my sister’ or ‘she is my wife’ — either way they would have been promiscuous with her. ‘But to me alone you have sinned, for I am the king who judges the whole land — shall [I] not act justly?’ Therefore, you should have told me the truth. But Abimelech said ‘to us’ — meaning ‘you have sinned against all of us, for I and my people are all righteous,’ and they would not have touched her at all had you told the truth.

This explanation is insufficient, for we see that the Egyptians, even though they were steeped in immorality, did not touch her but rather said “She is fitting for the king,” as it is written And they praised her to Pharaoh. It seems to me that since the Egyptians were brothers to the Kushites and were dark-skinned, they were not accustomed to beautiful women, as Rashi explains in Parshat Lech Lecha (12:11). Presumably, they would not lay hands on a beautiful woman, and we see that this is indeed the case, for when they saw Sarah, they said among themselves “She is fitting for the king.” Therefore, they did not want to take what was not appropriate for them. Accordingly, Pharaoh was right to say “What have you done to me?” but not “to my people,” because either way, they would not have touched her. Out of fear of the monarchy, they certainly would not touch something that was fitting only for the king and not for them. However, Abimelech’s people were not dark-skinned and were accustomed to beautiful women, and they did not have the same fear of monarchy in this matter, and everyone would lay hands on a beautiful unmarried woman. Therefore, “you would have brought guilt upon all of us.” Evidence for this is that with Abimelech, it is not written that they praised her to Abimelech saying she is fitting for him. Certainly in such a matter, the people were like the king, therefore he said “What have you done to us?” As for what Pharaoh said, Here is your wife, take her and go, this was because he was concerned that after the king dismissed her from his house, people would say the king did not desire her and they would lay hands on her. This was not the case with Abimelech, for it was specifically the Egyptians who were steeped in immorality.

And Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of living waters. The Ramban writes, and so it is written in Sefer Toldot Yitzchak and in Sefer Menorat HaMaor, that since everything that happened to the forefathers was a sign for their descendants, therefore they found reason to interpret all these matters of the wells as referring to the three Holy Temples which were called ‘wells of living waters’. Just as there was quarreling over two wells, and the third was called Rechovot [wide spaces], similarly with the First and Second Temples, the nations quarreled with Israel until they destroyed them, but the Third Temple, which will be built speedily in our days, is called Rechovot.

And I will add my own interpretation to expand on the details of these matters that align with this exposition, and through it will be resolved what was said For now God has made room for us and we will be fruitful in the land. For apparently, the phrase and we will be fruitful in the land does not seem to be the reason for the name Rechovot [wide spaces]. Therefore, I will expand upon this matter with specific details that all correspond to what happened to us and what will be in the end of days. For it is known what our Sages said (Yoma 9b) that in the First Temple period there was strife, quarreling, and baseless hatred between the leaders of Israel who were called shepherds, as it is written And I will establish shepherds over them (Jeremiah 23:4). And the Temple was destroyed because of the quarreling between the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. And in the Second Temple period, the trait of baseless hatred was between all of Israel, for the affliction spread among everyone until there was no cure. Therefore, regarding the first well it is written And the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s shepherds, hinting also to the future when there would be quarreling between the shepherds of Israel, and incidentally, the shepherds of the nations also quarreled with Israel. Therefore, he called the name of the well Esek [contention] because they contended with him, for there is a difference between two people fighting over some issue between them, and two people fighting needlessly over nothing, as is common in our generation. And this is the difference between the First and Second Temples, for the hatred that existed between the shepherds of Israel in the First Temple period was over the issue of kingship, as the kingdom of Israel was divided, and the nature of the matter dictates that one kingdom cannot touch another, therefore each one thought that his fellow was encroaching on his territory, and through this issue, the animosity between them increased.

However, the baseless hatred during the Second Temple period was truly without cause, for even the lowest among them hated each other for no reason. This is why their hatred was called baseless hatred [sinat chinam], for one person had no dealings with another, and this was nothing but wickedness of heart. The Satan was dancing between them, causing them to stumble over one another, for God had found their sin from elsewhere and therefore incited them against each other to find reason for hatred. This is why they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, and he called it Sitnah [hatred/antagonism]. In this quarrel, the text doesn’t mention the shepherds, alluding to the quarrel of the Second Temple period which involved all of Israel. Therefore they called it Sitnah, for they found no reason for their quarrels, except that Satan was certainly dancing between their horns with which they would gore one another, as it is written And they shall stumble one over another (Leviticus 26:37).

And regarding the third well, they did not quarrel over it, because the Third Temple will be built by the King Messiah, about whom it is said Of the increase of His dominion and peace there shall be no end (Isaiah 9:6). For there will be only peace and truth in His days. Therefore it was called Rechovot [wide spaces], because then God will expand their territory. For in times when quarrels are prevalent, or when two Hebrews are fighting, even if they are in a city as large as Antioch, it cannot contain them dwelling together. Even in a very spacious place, the space becomes too narrow for them and cannot contain them, as unfortunately this behavior is still common among us today. Conversely, in times when there is peace upon Israel, even though we are fruitful in the land and those dwelling in it are extremely numerous, nevertheless the land is spacious for them and they are not cramped, as it is explained in the Tractate Sanhedrin 7a: “When our love was strong, we could lie together on the width of a sword blade; now that our love is not strong, a bed of 60 cubits is not enough for us.” Therefore it is said For God has made room for us, even though we are fruitful in the land and those dwelling in it are many, nevertheless the land before them is spacious. Furthermore, we find that in the Second Temple period, due to discord, wholesome people and many people left the land because of the evil of its inhabitants. Therefore, it states that in the time when peace is found and we are fruitful in the land they will not need to leave it.