Bitter Waters

Rabbi Melanie Aron

Saturday, February 7, 2009

My husband Michael and I have been at odds a bit this winter over rain. Michael has been monitoring the water levels and has responded gloomily to every weather report that calls for a blue sky. Even when it rains a little, he calculates how many days of that accumulation of rain we would need to be up to normal levels.

I have my eyes on our construction project and I’ve been grateful for every dry day that allows work to proceed. But last weekend up in Sacramento with our Confirmation students, we got an earful about the seriousness of the potential drought situation. We also heard a lot about the need for investment in the state’s water infrastructure and the disaster that could result if this problem is not addressed.

California’s climate is a lot like Israel. In Israel too water is scarce and precious. Water conservation is a big issue as is the threat to underground aqueducts. Water issues significantly complicate peace negotiations and are a big part of the significance of Israel’s relationship with Turkey.

In ancient times too, water resources were a source of conflict. In Genesis we have several stories that revolve around the control of wells, a major source of the community’s water. In this week’s Torah portion, it is the lack of water, as Hannah has mentioned, that is at the root of some of the Israelites complaints.

The movement of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, proceeded from oasis to oasis. That is why modern commentators are surprised that at the oasis near Shur, which was their first stop after the crossing of the Sea of Reeds, the water was undrinkable. For there to be trees and green growth, there had to be water. What had polluted the water to make it brackish?

Earlier commentators offer another perspective. The Kotsker Rebbe suggests a very careful reading of the Hebrew text. He notes the Torah says: “They were not able to drink the waters at Marah, for they were bitter.” Perhaps, he suggests, the second “they”, refers not to the waters, but to the people. When someone is bitter, he suggests, everything tastes bitter.

Rabbi Mosheh Helfan, applies this to his life experience in the Yeshivah, but perhaps we can relate this also to our own school experiences. He writes:

“When school is going well, the teachers are wise, the other students are friendly, the classroom is comfortable, and even the food tastes good.

But when someone is not doing well with their studies, the teachers have many faults, the other students are unfriendly, the classroom is uncomfortable, and the food tastes bad.”

The Israelites had been on a high when they were saved at the Sea. They sang and celebrated. But then they faced the reality of the desert, and realized the challenges that awaited them. Exodus Rabbah suggests that they became full of self- pity at the thought of what they would have to go through: they borrowed future troubles and this embittered them.

How then did the waters become sweet? According to the midrash, the wood that Moses put in the water to sweeten it, was none other than the Tree of Life, that is Torah.

Torah, representing here religion in general, cannot necessarily remove or even always explain the bitter aspects of our lives. But it can sweeten our lives. Religion can give us a sense of meaning and can prevent us from feeling alone in our troubles. In that sense Torah makes the bitter waters more palatable.

“Ushovtem mayim besasson mi-mayanei hayeshua, Joyously we shall draw from the waters of redemption” , means not only the great miracles like the miracle at the sea, but also the daily miracles from which we draw a sustaining sense of gratitude and support and which help us overcome the bitter aspects of our lives.