Mati Kirschenbaum
In 1997 along with the other residents of my hometown of Wrocław I experienced the so called “Flood of the Millennium”. Fortunately our home had not been flooded; we found ourselves on a peninsula surrounded from three sides by the waters of the Odra river. One of the consequences of Wrocław’s “Great Water” was the lack of potable water in faucets, from which only a brown liquid was dripping. The only place in the neighborhood where one could get potable water was a drilled well located at a nearby square. All the local residents were waiting in line for potable water, especially women with children. The men were busy piling up sacks with sand in order to protect our little island from being flooded by the ever-raising waves of the Odra river.
The memory of the line of women from Wrocław waiting for the possibility to draw water from the well accompanies me as I read about the key role of Biblical women in supplying the people of Israel with water. In the Book of Genesis the first verses dedicated both to Rivka and to Rachel describe their eagerness to help during their meetings with Eleasar, Abraham’s servant, and Jacob. These verses seem to suggest to us that women in ancient Israel were tasked with a special role: making sure that the household members as well as the household animals would have enough water. This was an extremely important task, since a shortage of water on the desert resulted in fights for access to the wells and in social tensions. We can find a description of such tensions in this week’s Torah portion Chukat:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“The Israelites arrived in a body at the wilderness of Zin on the first new moon, and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there. The community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron. The people quarreled with Moses, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished at the instance of the [Eternal]! Why have you brought the [Eternal’s] congregation into this wilderness for us and our beasts to die there? Why did you make us leave Egypt to bring us to this wretched place, a place with no grain or figs or vines or pomegranates? There is not even water to drink!” (Numbers 20: 1-5.)[/perfectpullquote]
A Midrash explains that the sudden lack of water was connected to Miriam’s death, since that was when Miriam’s well – the miraculous source of water which accompanied the Israelites in their wanderings throughout the desert – dried off. Moses and Aaron had a hard time coping with this new situation. Feeling despaired, they turned for help to the Eternal. And then the Eternal gave them the following instructions:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“You and your brother Aaron take the rod and assemble the community, and before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water. Thus you shall produce water for them from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their beasts.” (Leviticus 20:8.)[/perfectpullquote]
Moses and Aaron obediently carried out the first order of the Eternal and assembled the entire community by the rock. Then Moses acted as follows:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Moses… said to them, ‘Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?’ And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank.” (Numbers 20:10-11.)[/perfectpullquote]
The Eternal was definitely not happy with Moses’ behavior:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“But the [Eternal] said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them.’ Those are the Waters of Meribah [bitterness]—meaning that the Israelites quarrelled with the [Eternal]—through which He affirmed His sanctity.” (Numbers 20:12-13.)[/perfectpullquote]
The Eternal’s punishment for Moses and Aaron seems very severe. After all, Moses did draw water from the rock just as the Eternal had instructed him. The great interpreters of the Torah provided various explanations for the Eternal’s severity. Rashi claimed that Moses’ mistake consisted of hitting the rock, since he should have ordered the rock to yield water instead. In Rashi’s opinion ordering the rock before hitting it could have shown the Israelites that since even rocks obey the Eternal’s instructions – all the more reason for them to do the same. Maimonides believed that Moses was punished for losing his temper, as shown by his words “Listen, you rebels”. Maimonides believed that such a behavior contradicted the Eternal’s expectations towards Moses, who was supposed to serve as an example to be followed by the Israelites. Nachmanides in turn was convinced that Moses’ mistake consisted of saying the following words: “Shall we get water for you out of this rock?,” which could have implied that it was Moses’ and Aaron’s abilities (and not the Eternal’s power) that let them draw water out of the rock.
The above mentioned interpretations seem to suggest to us that Moses’ and Aaron’s mistake, as a result of which they did not enter the Land of Israel, consisted of forgetting for a moment that water is a gift coming from the Eternal. If that was indeed the case, then many of us have reasons to be concerned. In our everyday life we often forget what a precious gift from the Eternal water is. We tend to waste it in our households and we do not care about its excessive use in many sectors of the industry. Only in times of floods or other great natural disasters do we remember what a true miracle the possibility to turn on the faucet and pour ourselves a glass of water is. Our matriarchs Rivka and Rachel, who had to walk a long way in order to reach a well, would certainly appreciate such a possibility. I encourage you to remember about this miracle this Shabbat as you recite the blessing over washing one’s hands (netilat yadaim) or as you take a shower in the morning. Since water – while we tend to take it for granted – is in fact a great life-giving gift, which we should not waste and for which we should give thanks to the Eternal.
Translated from Polish by: Marzena Szymańska-Błotnicka
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