The biblical patriarch Jacob is on his way to Haran, to get away from his brother Esau’s murderous anger and to find a wife for himself from among his mother’s kin. He comes to a well, where the local shepherds get water for their flocks of sheep. There is a large stone covering the well, which normally takes several men to move. He sees Rachel arriving with her sheep. Here’s how the Torah tells what happens next: “When Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Lavan his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Lavan his mother’s brother, Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Lavan his mother’s brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and raised his voice and wept.” Jacob tells Rachel who he is, and she runs to tell her father. It’s a great love story, isn’t it? The power of love is a wondrous thing. Now here’s another way of understanding the story: Our ancient sages make a link between scriptural images of water and Torah as the wellspring of wisdom. So in t...