Vayeshev

In an attempt to save Yosef, when Reuvain heard the brothers plotting to kill him, he said, “let's not kill him; rather let's throw him in a pit, for he planned on coming back to save Yosef. The brothers listened to him. The posuk tells us ויקחהו וישלכו אתו הברה והבור רק אין בו מים,that, as Yosef approached, they took him & threw him into the pit & the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

When the גר"א was nine years old, one of the rabbis in the Beis Medrish asked this question: why did the posuk first spell the word pit , הברה without the letter "ו" while the next word is also pit,  והבור & it is spelled with a "ו"? No one was able to answer until little Elyahu said that Rashi quotes the gemara which asks why does the Torah continue by saying there was no water in it? From the fact that the posuk said the pit was empty, I already knew there was no water in it. It answers that the Torah is teaching us that, while there was no water, there were snakes & scorpions in the pit.

However, Ramban maintains that the brothers didn't know there were snakes & scorpions in there. Explains the  גר"א that this is what the Torah is telling us; the brothers didn't really know that there were snakes & scorpions in the pit. Therefore, the posuk says ויקחהו וישלכו אתו הברה spelling pit without the  "ו" to show that brothers thought that the pit was without anything.

This answers the obvious question: if Reuvain was trying to save Yosef, why would he throw him in a pit with snakes? Obviously then, the brothers didn't know the pit’s contents. Then, in the next word, the Torah alludes to the truth  והבור רק אין בו מים spelling pit in full with the "ו" to show that it was full, not of water but snakes & scorpions.

One does have to wonder about the significance of the Torah telling us what was in the pit. We know that the brothers tried to kill Yosef & Hashem saved him. What difference does it make to us what was in the pit that we needed all these allusions to what was really inside?

The Even Azel explains Rashi to be teaching us a life lesson. The only way to escape the clutches of the Yetzer Hara is by the study of Torah. One who studies Torah can gain clarity in understanding what He wants us to do, for without Torah, one is vulnerable to the figurative snake. This is what the Torah is teaching us. As we know, the Torah is often compared to water as stated in the gemara אין מים אלא תורה , water is nothing but Torah. The forces of sin, on the other hand, are symbolic of the נחש , the snake. The Torah is therefore alluding to that fact that if there is no מים , no Torah, then there will be  נחשים ועקרבים , snakes & scorpions which are symbolic of sin.

The message is quite clear: the way to keep ourselves away from sin is to immerse ourselves in the Torah. The more time we put into learning the more we understand our purpose & that will be what saves us from sin!