(כג) וַֽיְהִ֕י כַּֽאֲשֶׁר־בָּ֥א יוֹסֵ֖ף אֶל־אֶחָ֑יו וַיַּפְשִׁ֤יטוּ אֶת־יוֹסֵף֙ אֶת־כֻּתָּנְתּ֔וֹ אֶת־כְּתֹ֥נֶת הַפַּסִּ֖ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָלָֽיו׃ (כד) וַיִּ֨קָּחֻ֔הוּ וַיַּשְׁלִ֥כוּ אֹת֖וֹ הַבֹּ֑רָה וְהַבּ֣וֹר רֵ֔ק אֵ֥ין בּ֖וֹ מָֽיִם׃ (כה) וַיֵּשְׁבוּ֮ לֶֽאֱכָל־לֶחֶם֒ וַיִּשְׂא֤וּ עֵֽינֵיהֶם֙ וַיִּרְא֔וּ וְהִנֵּה֙ אֹרְחַ֣ת יִשְׁמְעֵאלִ֔ים בָּאָ֖ה מִגִּלְעָ֑ד וּגְמַלֵּיהֶ֣ם נֹֽשְׂאִ֗ים נְכֹאת֙ וּצְרִ֣י וָלֹ֔ט הוֹלְכִ֖ים לְהוֹרִ֥יד מִצְרָֽיְמָה׃
(23) And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colours that was on him; (24) and they took him, and cast him into the pit—and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. (25) And they sat down to eat bread; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and ladanum, going to carry it down to Egypt.
Like Water, Like Torah
Words of Torah are compared to water: “Everyone that thirsts come to the water” (Isaiah. 55:1). As water reaches from one end of the world to the other, so Torah reaches from one end of the world to the other. As water gives life to the world, so Torah gives life to the world. As water is given without cost to the world, so is Torah given without cost to the world. As water is given from heaven, so Torah is given from heaven. As water is given with thunder, so was Torah given to the accompaniment of thunder (at Sinai). As water restores a person's spirit, so Torah restores a person’s spirit. As water cleanses a person from uncleanness, so Torah cleanses an unclean person from his uncleanness. As water comes down in many drops and becomes a mighty river, so Torah; today a person learns two Halakhot, tomorrow two more, and so on, until he becomes like a bubbling brook. As water leaves a high place and flows to a low place, so Torah leaves him whose opinion of himself is high and cleaves to him whose spirit is lowly. As water is not kept in vessels of silver or gold, but only in the The Rabbinical Assembly Talmud Torah: Mitzvah, Mission and Meaning Page 3 cheapest of vessels, so Torah abides only in one who regards himself as lowly as an earthenware vessel. As when thirsty, a grown man is not ashamed to say to a child, "Let me have a drink of water," so in studying Torah a grown man who is unlearned should not be ashamed to say to a child, "Teach me a chapter or a verse or a word," or even "Teach me a single letter." As with water, if one does not know how to swim in it, he will end by drowning, so with words of Torah: if one does not know how to swim in them and teach them, he will drown in the end.
BT. Eruvin 54a
Like Water, Like Torah
For it was taught: 'And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water,15 upon which those who expound verses metaphorically16 said: water means nothing but Torah,17 as it says: Ho, everyone that thirsteth come ye for water.18 It thus means that as they went three days without Torah they immediately became exhausted. The prophets among them thereupon rose and enacted that they should publicly read the law on Sabbath, make a break on Sunday, read again on Monday, make a break again on Tuesday and Wednesday, read again on Thursday and then make a break on Friday so that they should not be kept for three days without Torah.'19 BT, Baba Kamma, 82A