Let All Who Are Thirsty Come and Drink: Finding Spirituality/Torah in Places You Might Not Expect

(28) Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt, so that the span of Jacob’s life came to one hundred and forty-seven years.

(1) Ho, all who are thirsty, Come for water, Even if you have no money; Come, break off some food and eat: You need not money, for there is no price, Wine and milk are without cost. (2) Why do you spend money for what is not bread, Your earnings for what does not satisfy? Listen closely, And you shall eat food that is good. Let your souls delight in fatness (3) Incline your ear and come to Me;

Listen, and your soul shall truly live And I will make with you an everlasting covenant, The enduring loyalty promised to David.

(24) and took him and cast him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

God spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt. Why does it say "in the land of Egypt?" Where else would they be? The text means to say, outside the Egyptian cities. . . . And more specifically, where outside the cities did God speak to them. He did so only in a clean place, one of water. As it is written (Daniel 10:4) "And I was by the stream Ulai," (Ibid. 10:4) "and I was by the great river, the Tigris," (Ezekiel 1:3) "The word of YHWH came to Ezekiel … by the river Kevar."

(22) Then Moses caused Israel to set out from the Sea of Reeds. They went on into the wilderness of Shur; they traveled three days in the wilderness and found no water. (23) They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; that is why it was named Marah. (24) And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” (25) So he cried out to יהוה, and יהוה showed him a piece of wood; he threw it into the water and the water became sweet. There [God] made for them a fixed rule; there they were put to the test. (26) [God] said, “If you will heed your God יהוה diligently, doing what is upright in God’s sight, giving ear to God’s commandments and keeping all God’s laws, then I will not bring upon you any of the diseases that I brought upon the Egyptians, for I יהוה am your healer.” (27) And they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there beside the water.

(1) Happy is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked, or taken the path of sinners, or joined the company of the insolent; (2) rather, the teaching of YHVH is his delight, and he studies that teaching day and night. (3) He is like a tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose foliage never fades, and whatever it produces thrives. (4) Not so the wicked; rather, they are like chaff that wind blows away. (5) Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, nor will sinners, in the assembly of the righteous. (6) For YHVH cherishes the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.

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].

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Just as water restores the soul, so too does Torah, as it is written, "The Torah is pure, restoring the soul (Psalms 19)

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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.