The Ocean

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The Wonders of the Ocean

TANAKH

The ocean's vastness and diversity are a testament to the wonders of creation, filled with innumerable creatures both great and small. The Book of Psalms, an anthology of 150 poems, includes vivid descriptions of the natural world, including the sea and its myriad inhabitants.

There is the sea, vast and wide,
with its creatures beyond number,
living things, small and great.

Psalms 104:25

The Covenant of the Waters

COMMENTARY

The mystical relationship between the 'lower' and 'upper' waters reveals a profound spiritual connection and yearning for closeness to God. Rabbeinu Bachya’s commentary on Leviticus incorporates Midrashic and Kabbalistic interpretations to explain the covenant made with the 'lower' waters and their role in sacrificial rites.

A Midrashic approach tinged with kabbalah: G’d had concluded a covenant with the waters in the “lower” regions of the universe .at the time these waters were separated from the “upper” waters (Genesis 1,7) that on Sukkot some of these waters laced with salt would be used as a libation on G’d’s altar. This is confirmed by Bereshit Rabbah 5,5 according to which the “lower” waters were called “crying waters” as they accepted the separation from the upper waters only after shedding salty tears. This is reflected in Job 28,11: “He dammed up the streams because they cried so much…

Rabbeinu Bahya, Vayikra 2:13:4

The Miraculous Ocean

MIDRASH

The ocean's miraculous ability to absorb additional water without overflowing is a fascinating phenomenon. Kohelet Rabbah, an early medieval midrashic commentary on Ecclesiastes, includes a story involving Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua that illustrates this unique nature of ocean water.

Another matter, “all the rivers go to the sea,” this is the ocean, “yet the sea is not full,” this is the ocean that is never full. There was an incident involving Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua who were sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. The ship entered a place where the water does not flow. Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Yehoshua: We came here only for the purposes of an ordeal. They filled a barrel full with water. When they arrived in Rome, Hadrian said to them: ‘What is the nature of ocean water?’ They said to him: ‘It is water that swallows water…

Kohelet Rabbah 1:7:3

Divine Forces and the Ocean

KABBALAH

The Zohar reveals the mystical forces that govern the ocean, emphasizing the divine role in maintaining cosmic order. This foundational Kabbalistic text, traditionally attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, explores the esoteric aspects of the Torah and the universe.

which is a certain thread from the “left” that causes the sea to heave, and rises with it. And if not for the thread of the “right side” it would never be removed, for as soon as this thread descends into the sea, and is fairly grasped by it, then the waves of the sea are stirred up, and begin to roar for prey, until the Holy One, blessed be He, thrusts them back to their own place,

Zohar, Noach 29:219

From Ocean to Rain

TALMUD

Rabbi Eliezer offers a fascinating explanation of how salty ocean water becomes sweet rainwater. In the Talmudic tractate Taanit, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua debate the origins of rainwater, with Rabbi Eliezer asserting that it is sweetened in the clouds.

§ The Gemara discusses the source of rain. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer says: The entire world drinks from the waters of the ocean [okeyanos], i.e., evaporated ocean water is the source of rain. As it is stated: “And there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground” (Genesis 2:6). Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: But the waters of the ocean are salty, whereas rainwater is sweet. Rabbi Eliezer said to Rabbi Yehoshua: The waters are sweetened in the clouds, before they fall to the earth.

Taanit 9b:10

Jonah's Deep Dive

JEWISH THOUGHT

Jonah's descent into the ocean offers a profound introspective perspective on the consequences of fleeing from one's divine mission. The Book of Jonah, traditionally read on Yom Kippur, includes Jonah's prayer from the belly of the fish, reflecting themes of repentance and human struggle with divine mission.

Chapter two of Jonah has been regarded by many Bible scholars as a literary interpolation of a psalm-like passage, oddly interrupting the narrative arc of the story. And yet, Jonah’s prayer itself offers great insight into the interior of a person running away from his mission. Jonah takes us on a virtual tour of the drowning process, frightening as it was. He first relays how the flood water swallowed him on the crest of the waves as he was heaved over. He then describes how “breakers and billows swept over” him…

Return; Daily Inspiration for the Days of Awe, Day Five; Compassion 13

The Ocean's Mysteries and Challenges

COMMENTARY

The ocean's ecology and the challenges faced by fishermen in medieval times offer a unique perspective on the natural world. Radak, a medieval Jewish commentator, provides insights into the practical and ecological aspects of the ocean in his commentary on Genesis.

אשר שרצו המים, you should know that in parts of the oceans which are far distant from the dry land there are no fish, seeing the waters by themselves are unable to sustain their lives by supplying the fish with additional food such as plants which grow on land or vegetation on rocks which are close to land, or refuse left by man as food for the fish by the passing ships. Fishermen do not explore the areas we have mentioned, as it is impossible for their boats to enter such waters without risking their lives…

Radak on Genesis 1:21:2

The Ocean's Divine Boundaries

JEWISH THOUGHT

The ocean, with its powerful waves and winds, remains within its set limits as decreed by God, showcasing divine wisdom and order. In the 11th-century ethical work, Duties of the Heart, Bachya ibn Pekudah uses the ocean as a metaphor to illustrate the balance and boundaries set by divine decree.

One of these is the mark of wisdom apparent in the primary and fundamental elements of the universe. The Earth, we observe is at the center; close to it and above it is water; close to the water is the atmosphere; above all is fire in a just and unchanging balance and measure. Everyone of these elements maintains its proper position appointed for it. The ocean bed, with the waters imprisoned therein, stays in its place and does not pass beyond its boundaries despite the roaring of the waves and the raging of the winds, as it is written "And I prescribed for it My decree, and set bars and doors…

Duties of the Heart, Second Treatise on Examination 4:3

The Ocean's Garment

COMMENTARY

The ocean, often seen as a vast and untamed force, is poetically described as being clothed in clouds and fog, offering a unique visual representation. In the Book of Job, God responds to Job by emphasizing divine power and wisdom in creation, using the imagery of the ocean wrapped in clouds.

when I placed a cloud as its garment, when I dressed the sea with a cloud, and fog I placed as its swaddling? It appears as though the great sea reaches to the edges of heaven, with the clouds and fog wrapped around it like a garment.

Steinsaltz on Job 38:9

Exploring the Depths

COMMENTARY

The 12th-century commentator Ibn Ezra provides a philological and rational analysis of the term 'Metzolot' in his commentary on Exodus.

THE DEPTHS. Metzolot (the depths) means the deep waters. Similarly va-tashlikheni metuzlah, (for thou did cast me into the deep waters) (Jonah 2:4).

Ibn Ezra on Exodus 15:5:3

The Sea Under Divine Control

COMMENTARY

The sea, despite its vastness and the fear it instills, is ultimately under the control of God, demonstrating His supreme power and authority over all creation. Samuel David Luzzatto, a 19th-century Italian Jewish scholar, offers a rationalist approach to biblical exegesis, blending traditional Jewish thought with modern scholarship.

And God said, "let the waters gather:" Because the sea is something big and bewildering, to the point that some ancient nations attributed a specific god to it; it was also something bewildering in early thought, [the fear being] that it should not [overflow] and flood the earth, as the prophet said (Jeremiah 5:22), "Do you not fear me, says the Lord, from before Me do you not tremble; since I put sand as the border of the sea, it is a permanent law and it may not trespass it;" and in Job 38:11, it states, "And He said, until here may you come but no further, etc…

Shadal on Genesis 1:9:1

Throwing Objects into the Ocean on Shabbat

TALMUD

The Jerusalem Talmud, in Tractate Shabbat, discusses the legal implications of throwing objects into the ocean in the context of Shabbat, focusing on the prohibition of carrying objects over certain distances.

MISHNAH: One who throws four cubits in the ocean is not liable. If there was a shallow spot in the water and a public thoroughfare passed through it, one who throws four cubits into it is liable. What is a shallow spot in the water? Less than ten hand-breadths. Shallow water and a public thoroughfare passed through it: one who throws four cubits in it is liable.

Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 11:4:1

Sunset, John Frederick Kensett, 1872

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