GrowTorah Core Value: Incubating Emunah
When Miriam dies in the desert, Bnei Israel complains again, several times, about their lack of water. The first time Moses strikes the rock, the second time Hashem sends serpents against them. What can we learn from this progression of complaints? How can we show gratitude for the water in our gardens?
Lesson Title: Water in the Desert
(ב) וְלֹא־הָ֥יָה מַ֖יִם לָעֵדָ֑ה וַיִּקָּ֣הֲל֔וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֖ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹֽן׃ (ג) וַיָּ֥רֶב הָעָ֖ם עִם־מֹשֶׁ֑ה וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ לֵאמֹ֔ר וְל֥וּ גָוַ֛עְנוּ בִּגְוַ֥ע אַחֵ֖ינוּ לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃ (ד) וְלָמָ֤ה הֲבֵאתֶם֙ אֶת־קְהַ֣ל יְהֹוָ֔ה אֶל־הַמִּדְבָּ֖ר הַזֶּ֑ה לָמ֣וּת שָׁ֔ם אֲנַ֖חְנוּ וּבְעִירֵֽנוּ׃ (ה) וְלָמָ֤ה הֶֽעֱלִיתֻ֙נוּ֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם לְהָבִ֣יא אֹתָ֔נוּ אֶל־הַמָּק֥וֹם הָרָ֖ע הַזֶּ֑ה לֹ֣א ׀ מְק֣וֹם זֶ֗רַע וּתְאֵנָ֤ה וְגֶ֙פֶן֙ וְרִמּ֔וֹן וּמַ֥יִם אַ֖יִן לִשְׁתּֽוֹת׃ (ו) וַיָּבֹא֩ מֹשֶׁ֨ה וְאַהֲרֹ֜ן מִפְּנֵ֣י הַקָּהָ֗ל אֶל־פֶּ֙תַח֙ אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֔ד וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיֵּרָ֥א כְבוֹד־יְהֹוָ֖ה אֲלֵיהֶֽם׃ {פ}
(ז) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ח) קַ֣ח אֶת־הַמַּטֶּ֗ה וְהַקְהֵ֤ל אֶת־הָעֵדָה֙ אַתָּה֙ וְאַהֲרֹ֣ן אָחִ֔יךָ וְדִבַּרְתֶּ֧ם אֶל־הַסֶּ֛לַע לְעֵינֵיהֶ֖ם וְנָתַ֣ן מֵימָ֑יו וְהוֹצֵאתָ֨ לָהֶ֥ם מַ֙יִם֙ מִן־הַסֶּ֔לַע וְהִשְׁקִיתָ֥ אֶת־הָעֵדָ֖ה וְאֶת־בְּעִירָֽם׃ (ט) וַיִּקַּ֥ח מֹשֶׁ֛ה אֶת־הַמַּטֶּ֖ה מִלִּפְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר צִוָּֽהוּ׃ (י) וַיַּקְהִ֜לוּ מֹשֶׁ֧ה וְאַהֲרֹ֛ן אֶת־הַקָּהָ֖ל אֶל־פְּנֵ֣י הַסָּ֑לַע וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָהֶ֗ם שִׁמְעוּ־נָא֙ הַמֹּרִ֔ים הֲמִן־הַסֶּ֣לַע הַזֶּ֔ה נוֹצִ֥יא לָכֶ֖ם מָֽיִם׃ (יא) וַיָּ֨רֶם מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶת־יָד֗וֹ וַיַּ֧ךְ אֶת־הַסֶּ֛לַע בְּמַטֵּ֖הוּ פַּעֲמָ֑יִם וַיֵּצְאוּ֙ מַ֣יִם רַבִּ֔ים וַתֵּ֥שְׁתְּ הָעֵדָ֖ה וּבְעִירָֽם׃ {ס} (יב) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהֹוָה֮ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְאֶֽל־אַהֲרֹן֒ יַ֚עַן לֹא־הֶאֱמַנְתֶּ֣ם בִּ֔י לְהַ֨קְדִּישֵׁ֔נִי לְעֵינֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לָכֵ֗ן לֹ֤א תָבִ֙יאוּ֙ אֶת־הַקָּהָ֣ל הַזֶּ֔ה אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תִּי לָהֶֽם׃ (יג) הֵ֚מָּה מֵ֣י מְרִיבָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־רָב֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶת־יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיִּקָּדֵ֖שׁ בָּֽם׃ {ס}
(2) The community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron. (3) The people quarreled with Moses, saying, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished at the instance of the LORD! (4) Why have you brought the LORD’s congregation into this wilderness for us and our beasts to die there? (5) 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!” (6) Moses and Aaron came away from the congregation to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and fell on their faces. The Presence of the LORD appeared to them, (7) and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (8) “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.” (9) Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as He had commanded him. (10) Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation in front of the rock; and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?” (11) And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank. (12) But the LORD 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.” (13) Those are the Waters of Meribah—meaning that the Israelites quarrelled with the LORD—through which He affirmed His sanctity.
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
What details of the story stick out to you?
How do each of the characters relate to the nature around them? Bnei Israel, Moshe, Hashem?
- Bnei Israel takes nature for granted, complains about its lack, Moshe makes demands from it, and Hashem wants to coax it, to speak to it and trust it to provide
(ב) וטעם ונתן מימיו שיהיו מיד מים רבים נובעים ממנו כמו שאמר (במדבר כ׳:י״א) ויצאו מים רבים כי הנתינה תאמר על הרבוי כמו ונתנה הארץ יבולה ועץ השדה יתן פריו (ויקרא כו ד) כי זרע השלום הגפן תתן פריה והארץ תתן את יבולה והשמים יתנו טלם (זכריה ח יב) כלם על הריבוי יבטיחם וכן כתוב (תהלים עח כ) ונחלים ישטפו ואין טעם מימיו כמו תתן יבולה ויתן פריו שאין בטבע הסלע להיות בו מים אבל טעמו המים אשר יצאו ממנו כי בהפוך השם החלמיש למעינו מים ובו יהיו וממנו יצאו יקראו על שמו מימיו וכן וברך את לחמך ואת מימיך (שמות כג כה) לחמו נתן מימיו נאמנים (ישעיהו לג טז) ואמר כן להודיע שמגוף הסלע יצאו לא מן הארץ אשר תחתיו כמנהג מעינות רבים רק מאמצעו וכן כתוב (תהלים קיד ח) ההופכי הצור אגם מים חלמיש למעינו מים וחזר ואמר והוצאת להם מים מן הסלע כי אתה בעודך שם תוציא להם המים מן הסלע להם שכולם יראו אותם נובעים
THAT IT GIVE FORTH ITS WATER. The meaning thereof is that a large amount of water should immediately spring forth, just as it is said, and water came forth abundantly, for the term “giving” denotes abundance, as in [the verses]: and the Land shall ‘give’ her produce, and the trees of the field shall ‘give’ their fruit; For as the seed of peace, the vine shall ‘give’ her fruit, and the Land shall ‘give’ her increase, and the heavens shall ‘give’ their dew. In all these [verses] He was promising them abundance. And so, it is written, [Behold, He smote the rock, that waters gushed out], and streams overflowed. Now the meaning of ‘its’ water [that it give forth ‘its’ water] is not like [the Land] shall give ‘her’ produce, and [the trees] shall give ‘their’ fruit, since it is not in the nature of a rock to have water in it. But its meaning is [that it will give forth] the water which will come out of it, for when G-d turns the flint into a fountain of waters, so that they are [contained] in it and come forth out of it, the waters may [indeed] be called ‘its’ water. Similarly, and He will bless ‘thy’ bread, and ‘thy’ water; ‘his’ bread shall be given, ‘his’ waters shall be sure. He stated it in this way [that it give forth ‘its’ water] in order to inform us that the waters will come forth from the very rock itself, not from the ground beneath it, as occurs naturally in the case of many fountains; but [these waters] will come forth from the middle of the rock. And so it is written, Who turneth the rock into a pool of water, the flint into a fountain of waters. He repeated a second time [in this verse], and thou shalt bring forth to them water, meaning that “while you [Moses] are still there, you should bring them forth water from the rock, so that they should all see it gushing forth.”
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
How do these Midrashim add to our picture of Bnei Israel's life in the desert?
- Highlight and exaggerates the miraculous abundance that Hashem provided for them – he even made it so that fruit trees could grow in the desert, etc.
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
How does this story compare and contrast to the first?
- Israelites complain about water again, miraculous intercession. But here it is to punish them and not to provide for them. The complaint itself is slightly different: they loathe the food they have instead of longing for what they lack
(יז) אָ֚ז יָשִׁ֣יר יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את עֲלִ֥י בְאֵ֖ר עֱנוּ־לָֽהּ׃ (יח) בְּאֵ֞ר חֲפָר֣וּהָ שָׂרִ֗ים כָּר֙וּהָ֙ נְדִיבֵ֣י הָעָ֔ם בִּמְחֹקֵ֖ק בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָ֑ם וּמִמִּדְבָּ֖ר מַתָּנָֽה׃
אז ישיר ישראל וגו'. צריך לרעת שירה זו מה טיבה, גם למה לא אמרו שירה על המן כמו שאמרו שירה על המים, גם כל הפרשה צריכה ביאור, ואפשר כי שירה זו על התורה אמרוה, ובזה גם כן לא נקרא תגר על הדור ההוא למה לא שוררו שירה חדשה כשנתנה להם תורה מורשה אשר לה נאוה תהלה, כי ודאי היא זאת שירת התורה שנקראת באר מים, נקראת באר על שם המקור שהיא שכינה עליונה שנקראת באר, גם (מים) לפי שהתורה נמשלה למים, ואומרו עלי באר לשון עליה כי לא על באר שלמטה הם אומרים אלא על באר עלי פירוש עליון, ענו לה על דרך אומרו (שמות ט״ו:כ״א) ותען להם מרים שהוא דרך השיר:
אז ישיר ישראל, Then Israel sang, etc. What precisely was the point of this song? Besides, why had the Israelites not acknowledged the mannah by a song just as they acknowledged the water? The entire paragraph needs explaining. Perhaps the entire song really was an acknowledgement of the Torah. This is why one cannot criticise that generation for not breaking out in a song of thanksgiving when the Torah was described as its מורשה, something precious left to them as an ongoing possession (Deut. 33,4). The reason is that the people had already acknowledged the gift of the Torah in the song recorded here, the song acknowledging "water." After all, Torah has frequently been compared to a well of water. It is called "well" because it originates with G'd the ultimate well from which all springs forth. It is also called "water" as it symbolises water and its life-giving properties. When the people sang עלי באר, "arise o well," this was not a reference to the physical well and the waters beneath the earth's surface, but to a celestial well. The words ענו לה are similar to Exodus 15,23 ותען להם מרים, the responsive nature of the chant.
GUIDING QUESTIONS:
What role does song play here, especially in light of the two earlier stories?
- The song finally shows gratitude, and joy in what Hashem provides. The song itself requires a blessing before and afterwards, elevating its praise even more.
How does the Or HaChayim change our understanding of the song?
- Shifts it from the literal towards the figurative – water is Torah.
How can we incorporate gratitude and joy into our garden, and our relationship with water, Torah and Hashem?