Love of the Land

Love of the Land - Rechovot

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Love of the Land
Selections from classical Torah sources
which express the special relationship between
the People of Israel and Eretz Yisrael

RECHOVOT

"They dug another well and did not quarrel over it, so he (Yitzchak) called it Rechovot (expanses) and he said: 'For now Hashem has made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land.'" (Bereishis 26:22)

After bitter disputes with the Philistines over the right to two wells Yitzchak's shepherds had dug, the third well is named Rechovot (expanses) to signify that this one was not contested.

The great Biblical commentaries, Nachmanides and Sforno, interpret the first two wells as symbols of the first two Temples, whose histories were marred by internal and external strife, while the third well represents the Third Temple which will be blessed with universal peace.

The name and its significance was adopted by Polish settlers in 1890 for the settlement which they established, and which has developed into one of Israel's major cities, Rechovot.


The Love of the Land Archives

Written by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach, Dean, Ohr Somayach Institutions
General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
HTML Production: Eli Ballon
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