Water. We all know that life depends on it. A little over 2/3 of the Earth's surface is covered by water. Sixty to seventy percent of the human body is composed of water. It is no wonder, that the first plague designed to convince Pharoah to let the Israelites go from bondage, was related to water. Moses was told to tell Pharoah, "Behold with the staff that is in my hand I shall strike the waters that are in the River and they shall change to blood. The fish life that is in the water shall die and the River shall become foul. Egypt will grow weary of trying to drink water from the River."
Ibn Ezra, an 11th century commentator on the Torah, suggested that the water of the Nile River was the key to Egypt's economic life. Hence, its well-being should have had an impact on Pharoah. The text alludes that only the Egyptians were affected by the plague of blood (v'lo yochlu mitzrayim lishtot mayim min ha-y'ore). And the Egyptians could not drink water from the river. A midrash states that if the Egyptians needed water, they had to buy it from the Israelites. If they tried to take it by force, the water turned to blood as soon as it came into their possession. Ibn Ezra's interpretation of the plague stated it was only the above ground water that was turned to blood. So when the magicians of Pharoah's court tried to simulate the plague, they dug a well to gather water.
Another aspect of this plague that one rarely thinks about is that Pharoah did not respond to it. Did he believe his life was not threatened because he could buy water from other sources? Did he find other water by digging new wells, so he could ignore the plight of his people?
Sometimes I wonder if we somehow tend to respond to a similar environmental crisis in our world in the same manner that Pharoah responded to the lack of drinkable water in his country. Even though more than 2/3 of the Earth is covered by water, only 3% of that water is fresh water that can sustain human and animal life. The competition for water is a major threat among societies. (Israel is attempting to deal with its water shortage by desalinizing ocean water). In developing countries, less than 50% of the population in rural areas have access to safe drinking water and only 25% of those individuals have access to sanitary systems. What this means is that over one billion men, women, and children suffer from not having enough safe water to drink. This situation directly causes hunger because without water, crops and livestock die. It also causes illness, because typhoid, cholera, and diarrheal diseases develop and we know that these diseases kill as many as 6 million children each year world-wide.
When we read about the plague of blood in the Torah, we note that it was preceded by a warning. Yet, Pharoah remained hard-hearted and did not respond even though he knew it would bring suffering to those who would lack water. Was his response any different than the response of those who ignore the plight of those in other parts of the world where the water is not drinkable? Haven't we received warnings about the effects of water shortages? Haven't we seen how providing clean water can change life for the better?
We need to recognize that it is possible to take actions by supporting organizations that bring water resource relief to developing rural areas. The American Jewish World Services is currently working in Haiti to try to alleviate the suffering caused by contaminated water sources. In addition, there are two other organizations that you might want to check out, Global Water and The Water Project. All three of these organizations attempt to create a more just world by recognizing that water access is not just an environmental issue but a human rights issue. May we learn from the first plague that we cannot afford to harden our hearts as did Pharoah. We need to respond now so that the projection of 120 countries being water stressed by the year 2015 will not become a reality.
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