Water, Source of Life

(1) 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. (2) The community was without water, and they joined against Moses and Aaron.

(6) Ten things were created on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight, and these are they: [1] the mouth of the earth, [2] the mouth of the well, [3] the mouth of the donkey, [4] the rainbow, [5] the manna, [6] the staff [of Moses], [7] the shamir, [8] the letters, [9] the writing, [10] and the tablets. And some say: also the demons, the grave of Moses, and the ram of Abraham, our father. And some say: and also tongs, made with tongs.

Rabbi Ḥiyya said: One who wants to see Miriam’s well, should do the following: He should climb to the top of Mount Carmel and look out, and he will see a rock that looks like a sieve in the sea, and that is Miriam’s well. Rav said: A spring that is portable, i.e., that moves from place to place, is ritually pure and is regarded as an actual spring and not as drawn water. And what is a movable spring? It is Miriam’s well.

(3) and the mouth of the well: The well of Miriam that went with Israel in the wilderness on all of the journeys. And some say, that it opened its mouth and uttered song, as it stated (Numbers 21:17), "rise up, O well; answer it."

There is a story of Shihin (a town near Sepphoris) about a certain blind person who went down to bathe in the waters in a cave. He happened upon the well of Miriam, immersed [himself in it], and was healed.

(1) ולא היה מים לעדה, “The congregation had no water.” When Miriam died, the well disappeared, because the well was due to the merit of Miriam who merited the water through [watching over] Moses [at the Nile], as it is written, "And his sister was stationed at a distance" (Exodus 2:4). And because it disappeared now, with her death, [Israel] realized that it was with them through her merit, and from here [we can infer] that the well was with them for the whole 40 years [of their wandering].

RAMA: ... And there are those who say to draw water from wells or natural springs every Saturday night, because the well of Miriam passes through all the wells and natural springs every Saturday night. And one who touches it and drinks from it will be healed from all his afflictions [Kol Bo]. And I did not see (anything) about this custom.

(1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (2) Now the earth was unformed and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.

"And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water." The explanation above was that the well was in her eyes only when she saw it, and when God opened her eyes she saw it, and this is consistent with the meaning of another verse (Numbers 20:8)
"and you shall speak to the rock before their eyes" - they didn't see it for the water was spiritual, from the source of God, so sometimes you see it and sometimes you don't, so understand this!

(15) He had scarcely finished speaking, when Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. (16) The maiden was very beautiful, a virgin whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. (17) The servant ran toward her and said, “Please, let me sip a little water from your jar.” (18) “Drink, my lord,” she said, and she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and let him drink. (19) When she had let him drink his fill, she said, “I will also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking.”

(19) Just as the face of water [reflects] a face, so does the heart of a human [reflect] a person.

§ The Sages taught: Four entered the orchard [pardes], i.e., dealt with the loftiest secrets of Torah, and they are as follows: Ben Azzai; and ben Zoma; Aḥer, the other, a name for Elisha ben Avuya; and Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva, the senior among them, said to them: When, upon your arrival in the upper worlds, you reach pure marble stones, do not say: Water, water, although they appear to be water, because it is stated: “He who speaks falsehood shall not be established before My eyes” (Psalms 101:7).The Gemara proceeds to relate what happened to each of them: Ben Azzai glimpsed at the Divine Presence and died. And with regard to him the verse states: “Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His pious ones” (Psalms 116:15). Ben Zoma glimpsed at the Divine Presence and was harmed, i.e., he lost his mind. And with regard to him the verse states: “Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you become full from it and vomit it” (Proverbs 25:16). Aḥer chopped down the shoots of saplings. In other words, he became a heretic. Rabbi Akiva came out safely.

Another matter: your love is better than wine [Song of Songs 1:2]; Words of Torah can be compared to water, wine, oil, honey, and milk. To water: O all who thirst, come for water [Is. 55:1]

Just as water goes from one end of the earth to the other, as it is written, to the one who spread forth the earth above the waters [Psalms 136:6], so does Torah go from one end of the earth to the other, as it is written, the measure is longer than the earth [Job 11:9].

Just as water is forever-living, as it is written, a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters [Song of Songs 4:15], so is Torah is forever-living, as it is written, for they are alive to those that find them [Proverbs 4:22], and also come, buy and eat [Isaiah 55:1]. [prooftexts suppressed going forward]

Just as water comes from the heavens, so too does Torah come from the heavens.

Just as the water has many voices, so too does Torah have many voices.

Just as water restores the soul, so too does Torah...

Just as water cleanses the body from tumah (ritual impurity), so too does Torah cleanse impurity.

Just as water originates in tiny drops and accumulates into mighty streams and rivers, so the Torah is acquired word by word today, verse by verse tomorrow;

Just as water covers the shamefulness (erva) of the sea, so too does Torah cover the shamefulness of Israel, as it is written, love covers up all faults [Proverbs 10:12].

Just as water descends drop by drop to form rivers, so too does a person learn Torah two halakhot each day until it is a flowing stream.

Just as water is not pleasing to a person who is not thirsty, so too Torah not appreciated unless a person [has struggled with it enough to be] tired from it.

Just as water leaves high places alone and runs in low places, so too Torah leaves alone someone with a haughty attitude and clings to someone with a modest self-image.

Just as water is not kept in silver or gold vessels, but the simplest [clay] vessels, so Torah is sustained by one who makes him/herself like a clay vessel.

Just as a scholar is not embarrassed to ask a student, ‘pass me some water,’ a scholar is not embarrassed to learn from a student a chapter, a verse, a word, or even a letter.

Just as one who does not know how to float in water will eventually drown, so too will one who cannot float on and point out (l'horot) words of Torah eventually drown.

ירי, יָרָה (b. h.; cmp. אֲרִי I) to permeate, penetrate; to shoot forth.

Sifré Deut. 42 יוֹרֶה שמתכון … יורד וכ׳ the rain is called yoreh (shooting), for it is aimed at the earth with deliberation, and does not come down in a storm; Taan. 6ᵃ יורה שיורד בנחת.—2) to throw, shoot. Yalk. Gen. 133 לִירוֹת בב׳ ידיו to throw spears with both hands; v. infra.

Hif. - הוֹרָה 1) to permeate. Sifré l. c. שמוֹרֶה ומרוה הארץ וכ׳ for it (the yoreh, v. supra) pervades and satisfies the earth and gives her drink down to the deep

2) to point, aim at, shoot, cast. Lam. R. to I, 18 שלש … הוֹרוּ בו three hundred arrows did they shoot into his body;

3) to point out, to direct, teach, instruct; to decide. Hor. I, 1 הוֹרוּ ב"ד וכ׳ if a court has (through error) directed to transgress one of the commands &c. Ib. 2 ה׳ ב"ד וידעו וכ׳ if a court has given a decision and finding out its mistake reversed it.

§ The Gemara returns to the topic of rain. The Sages taught in a baraita: The first rain [yoreh] is called by this name due to the fact that it instructs [moreh] people to plaster their roofs and to bring in their produce from the fields to their houses and to attend to all their needs in the field before more rain falls. Alternatively, yoreh is referring to the fact that it moistens [marve] the earth and waters it to the depths, as it is stated: “Watering [ravvei] its ridges abundantly, settling down its furrows, You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth” (Psalms 65:11). Alternatively, yoreh means that it falls gently and it does not fall vehemently. Or perhaps that is not the case; rather, yoreh means that the rain causes the fruit to drop from the trees, washes the seeds away, and washes the trees away in a destructive manner. According to this interpretation, yoreh is related to yeriya, shooting.

Rabbi Hannina Bar Idi said "Why are words of Torah likened to water, as it is written "woe, all that are thirsty go to water (Isaiah 55:1)"? To say to you just as water descends from a high place to a low place, so to words of Torah endure only in someone whose mind is lowly.

. וירא והנה באר בשדה, “he looked, and behold here there was a well on a field.” Every single one of our patriarchs had an encounter with a well and in each case the well was an allusion to future happenings. In Yitzchak’s case the well he encountered was called באר מים חיים. (26,19) Bereshit Rabbah 70,8 explains that to the Jewish people Torah is equivalent to spring water.

(17) אז ישיר ישראל, At that point Israel broke out in a song of thanksgiving; when the people took possession of this well their hearts were full of gratitude, as they had previously been afraid of if not dying from thirst themselves, their livestock dying due to a shortage of drinking water. According to Rashi, Moses did not join in that song, seeing that according to Onkelos as well as Targum Yonathan ben Uzziel, Moses and Aaron had dug that well.