In Dedication to Rabbi Yehuda Simes

Thursday was the 5th yahrzeit of our beloved friend and teacher Rabbi Yehuda Simes. It brought to mind a thought I said at the dedication ceremony for the Torah that is in his memory. I recalled that Yehuda was a man with a positive attitude even in the face of his personal challenges. And how that is brought out by something we find in this week’s Torah reading. Shortly after the Jewish people miraculously emerge unscathed after the splitting of the sea, they are faced with a water challenge.

(22) Moses led Israel onward from the Red Sea , and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

(23) When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink from the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. 

(24) The people murmured against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

(25) Then he cried to Hashem. Hashem showed him a tree, and he threw it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet.

The Kotzker Rebbe provides a unique homiletic interpretation. He says the problem wasn’t with the water. It was with the people. If we look at the words of verse 23 carefully, it doesn’t say that the waters were bitter, it says “they” were bitter. The Kotzker explains that the people were bitter, they had a negative attitude and as a result, the water wasn’t good enough for them. We know that attitude is crucial. There are some people who can never be pleased no matter what you give them. And there are others who are satisfied with whatever they have and they are happy. At the time, I commented how this was one of the many admirable traits of Rabbi Simes. He was always content with his lot because he had a positive outlook.. He looked to find good in everything and we should emulate him in this trait.

If we take another look at the story, we see there is more. The solution that Hashem provided was to show Moshe a tree and have him throw it into the waters and make them sweet. Why did Hashem choose this unusual method to solve their problem? 

Rav Shalom Rosner in his book Shalom Rav explains that we have to look at the beginning and end of the story. The Torah describes how they went three days in the wilderness without finding water. Our sages comment that this is an allegory for travelling 3 days without Torah. After they left the sea, three days went by and they had no direct communication from Hashem and they felt lost. They became afraid that maybe this was it. Hashem had taken them out of Egypt and now they were on their own. As a result they became bitter and depressed and nothing tasted good. Hashem told Moshe to take a tree. A tree is representative of the Torah – The Tree of Life. Hashem wanted to teach them and us that we don’t need to experience miracles every day to feel close to Hashem. Through the Torah we can achieve that closeness. And immediately after this Hashem provides the Jewish people with a few Mitzvos and the opportunity to study some parts of Torah even before the revelation at Mount Sinai. He showed them how to achieve closeness to Him through the Torah and the Mitzvos.

Tu B’Shvat, the New Year of the trees is this Sunday night. Just like Rosh Hashanah, Tu B’Shvat is an opportunity to rededicate ourselves and awaken our souls just like the tree that represents Torah is continuously renewed each year.

 Shabbat Shalom