Water or a Moral Code...Which was Needed?

The story of the crossing of the Sea of Reeds is one of the Torah’s most well-known stories.  We talk about it on Pesach as we retell our Exodus from Egypt.  It is recited at Peseukei Dzimrah each morning and once a year during parashat B’Shallach. The story fill us with awe and a sense of reverence for the miracle that befell the Israelites in the wilderness.  It reminds us of G-d’s redemptive powers.

But, the story does not end with the crossing of the sea.  If you read further today, you noticed that the Israelites traveled on for three days in the wilderness although they lacked water.  Finally they came to Marah where they did find water, but it was bitter and they could not drink it.  Of course there was grumbling against Moses and he called out to the Lord.  Moses was told to take a piece of wood, throw it into the water, and the water would become sweet.  Then G-d made a “fixed rule, CHOK U MISHPAT, and put the Israelites to the test saying, “If you will heed the Lord your G-d diligently, doing what is upright in His sight, giving ear to His commandments, and keeping His laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I the Lord am your healer.”

This section, Ex. 15:22-26, might leave you with several questions.  First, why did Hashem take them to Marah if there was no water there that was potable.  Second, which mitzvoth did G-d give the Israelites while they were in Marah?  And finally, what was the biggest necessity that the Israelites had when they left Egypt, was it physical or spiritual?

Why take the Israelites to Marah where the water could not be drunk,  if they already lacked water on their journey?  Some commentators felt that the real “water” that the Israelites lacked was Torah.  Since Moshe himself could not work wonders, he had to call upon G-d for Divine instructions.  When Moshe carried out G-d’s wishes, the water became drinkable.  The Israelites were once again reminded of the nature of G-d’s power and the faith that they could place in G-d.  Their lack of water can be seen as a metaphor for a spiritual deficiency that kept them from recognizing their relationship with G-d.  Seen this way, their biggest necessity on their journey would be to recognize that relationship and become accustomed to fulfilling Divine commands.

What were the mitzvoth, the chukim and mishpatim, given to the Israelites in Marah? A commentary on this passage states that 10 mitzvot were actually given at Marah.  They included the 7 Noahide laws and three others which included  the establishment of courts of justice, rules about honoring parents, and the commandment to keep the Shabbat.  Mind you this scene took place before Sinai, yet the statement that they were given fixed rules.  The phrase “put to the test” refers to these commandments that were given pre-Sinai.  The explanation often given for why these three mitzvoth were given is that the establishment of the courts tied the people to different levels of society in their midst, the rule about Shabbat helped the Israelites relate to G-d, and the rule about honoring one’s parents helped the people relate to their individual families. 

When you think about a band of individuals needing to learn how to live together in the wilderness, it is not inconceivable to think that first and foremost what they needed to learn was how to live amongst themselves.  That was Rambam’s take on this part of the parasha. He felt the three laws they were given were not the ones I just mentioned.  Instead they were mitzvoth that commanded loving their neighbors, listening to their elders, and acting in peace toward those trying to sell them things.  Such laws in his mind, were designed to provide them with inner controls and moral discipline.  If water and food were going to be scarce, the Israelites’ challenge would be to divvy up those resources. If they did not have self-control and a moral code by which to live such an expectation would be self-defeating.

Finally, one could argue that the Israelites’ experience of G-d in Egypt was that of a Divine Being whom they saw inflict pain and suffering on the Egyptians.  G-d in some ways was seen as a source of evil, in their eyes.  There were plagues, followed by the drowning of the Egyptians in Yam Suf.  When the Torah says , “If you will heed the Lord, your G-d, diligently doing what is upright in His sight, giving ear to His commandments and keeping all His laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians…” we are led to believe that G-d wants to clear up this misconception of G-d’s  place in the Universe.  G-d is not the source of evil as the Israelites might have believed…there are more aspects of G-d’s being….G-d will take care of their physical needs, provide them with food to eat and water to drink, but the bottom line from a Torah point of view is that G-d’s desire for justice and righteousness as seen through the chukim and mishpatim must be followed.

Perhaps what we can glean from these short lines of Torah, is that G-d cared about the physical as well as the spiritual needs of the Israelites who left Egypt.  Being in Marah, could have allowed the Israelites an opportunity to adapt to the idea that they had to have a moral code by which to live if they were going to be successful in their journey in the wilderness and in their journey in life.  For this motley crew, who had been living in a spiritual vacuum, Marah was perhaps a necessary first stop to help them acclimate to the concept that they needed Torah as much as they needed water for their existence.

Shabbat Shalom.

(This d'var Torah was based on learning from the Pardes Institute)