כב וַיַּסַּע מֹשֶׁה אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּם-סוּף, וַיֵּצְאוּ אֶל-מִדְבַּר-שׁוּר; וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת-יָמִים בַּמִּדְבָּר, וְלֹא-מָצְאוּ מָיִם.
כג וַיָּבֹאוּ מָרָתָה--וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לִשְׁתֹּת מַיִם מִמָּרָה, כִּי מָרִים הֵם; עַל-כֵּן קָרָא-שְׁמָהּ, מָרָה.
כד וַיִּלֹּנוּ הָעָם עַל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר, מַה-נִּשְׁתֶּה.
כה וַיִּצְעַק אֶל-יְהוָה, וַיּוֹרֵהוּ יְהוָה עֵץ, וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ אֶל-הַמַּיִם, וַיִּמְתְּקוּ הַמָּיִם; שָׁם שָׂם לוֹ חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט, וְשָׁם נִסָּהוּ.
כו וַיֹּאמֶר אִם-שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע לְקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, וְהַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו תַּעֲשֶׂה, וְהַאֲזַנְתָּ לְמִצְוֺתָיו, וְשָׁמַרְתָּ כָּל-חֻקָּיו--כָּל-הַמַּחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר-שַׂמְתִּי בְמִצְרַיִם, לֹא-אָשִׂים עָלֶיךָ, כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, רֹפְאֶךָ. {ס}
כז וַיָּבֹאוּ אֵילִמָה--וְשָׁם שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה עֵינֹת מַיִם, וְשִׁבְעִים תְּמָרִים; וַיַּחֲנוּ-שָׁם, עַל-הַמָּיִם.
Moshe led Isra'el onward from the Sea of Suf . They went out into the Shur Desert; but after traveling three days in the desert, they had found no water. They arrived at Marah but couldn't drink the water there, because it was bitter. This is why they called it Marah [bitterness]. The people grumbled against Moshe and asked, "What are we to drink?" Moshe cried to Adonai; and Adonai showed him a certain piece of wood, which, when he threw it into the water, made the water taste good. There Adonai made laws and rules of life for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you will listen intently to the voice of Adonai your God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvot and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am Adonai your healer." They came to Eilim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and camped there by the water. (Exo 15:22-27)
LEADERSHIP JOB DESCRIPTION.
I heard someone say on time, “I know it pays to worry; most of the things you worry about never happen!” That may sound a little sarcastic, but if when we take stock of things, there is a truth to it. Most of the time, the things we worry about do not happen. Why do we worry then? In his book, “Growth Through Torah” Rabbi Zelig Pliskin says that “Patience decreases worry.” Worry is basically a lack of patience and trust that HaShem is ultimately in control of our lives.
The parasha this week takes us on the journey the Children of Israel started through the desert. They had to leave quickly. They did not even have time to let their bread rise so they could have something to eat on their way, much less bring water with them for nearly 3,000.000 people. The text tells us that, “Moshe led Isra'el onward from the Sea of Suf . They went out into the Shur Desert; but after traveling three days in the desert, they had found no water. They arrived at Marah but couldn't drink the water there, because it was bitter. This is why they called it Marah [bitterness]. The people grumbled against Moshe and asked, "What are we to drink?" (Exo 15:22-27)
Moshe Is now getting a bitter taste of one of the burdens of leadership, the one that says, “You can please some of the people all the time; you can please all the people some time; but you can never please all the people all the time!”
It is part of the job description for a leader to become the punching-ball of the disgruntled; the brunt of their ungrateful accusations. Any would-be leader has to realise that he does not get to win at this game; he has to “suck it up” as part of the job HaShem has called him to do. Yeshua did it, as well as all the leaders he left behind such as the disciples, and Paul.
WHAT DID MOSHE DO?
How did Moshe react to that situation as the leader? Did he get angry? Did he fly off the handle? Did he give up? The text tells us that, “Moshe cried to Adonai; and Adonai showed him a certain piece of wood, which, when he threw it into the water, made the water taste good.”
Moshe was the humblest of all men on the earth Numbers 12-3 says. As such, Moshe knew that he was not leading the Children of Israel, HaShem was. He knew that he was not responsible for providing food and water for 3,000.000 people in the desert, HaShem was. After all, to bring the Children of Israel into the captivity of the Egyptians was HaShem’s idea and way to allow His people to grow numerous enough so that they could become a nation. To deliver them through these very unconventional ways was also His idea. Moshe knew it, so all he had to do was to get back to HaShem for the next phase of a program that was beyond the capacity of any man.
A BITTER LESSON .
When they arrived at the bitter pool of water of Mara, the people had a very human reaction. Think of it as trying to give a spiritual answer concerning trusting HaShem about the situation to a frustrated mother with a crying thirsty and hungry 2-year-old in her arms.
In those situations, it is easy for one to imagine that HaShem has abandoned them. That everything is just random and without a plan. That Moshe is making it up as he goes (and he might be but shhhhh; don’t tell anyone!). But there wis a plan; there is a lesson to be learned. The text tells us, “There Adonai made laws and rules of life for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you will listen intently to the voice of Adonai your God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvot and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am Adonai your healer."
From Goshen, walking North-east through the Gaza Strip you can get to Israel in less than a month walking slowly. But we read that, “After Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not guide them to the highway that goes through the land of the P'lishtim, because it was close by -- God thought that the people, upon seeing war, might change their minds and return to Egypt. Rather, God led the people by a roundabout route, through the desert by the Sea of Suf.” (Exo 13:17-18) This shows us that life might not have been so hard in Egypt.They had everything, everything except the freedom to leave. But as they say, “Gold shackles are still shackles!”
The israelites had grown a slave mentality where everything was everything was provided for them. In the episode of the bitter waters of Marah, HaShem was getting their attention. He was telling them that now their fate and even their health had a lot to do with their integrity towards Him. That was different.
THE BLESSING COMES AFTER THE LESSON IS LEARNED.
After that we read, “They came to Eilim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and camped there by the water.” (Exo 15:22-27)
HaShem had a plan, but the plan required them to go through a lesson; a lesson that would be the foundation of their being the nation HaShem had destined them to be. A universal lesson that applies to us today: DEPENDENCE ON HIM.
After the lesson is learned HaShem brings the people to a place with plenty of water. The commentator, Chofetz Chayim says that, “Mortal have limited vision. Because of man’s limitations, people are always full of complaints. They whine and fret about things not being as they would wish. There is always something that they are missing. If the Israelites would have been aware that they would soon have water in Eilim, they would not have come with their complaints to Moshe that they were missing water. They just had to be a bit more patient. The source of people's complaints is that they are not able to see what will be in a short time. Many things that people complain and worry about turn out much better than they imagine.” Chofetz Chayim al HaTorah.
Here is a little poem to illustrate the point,
Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce.
Or a trouble is what you make it.
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts.
But only how did you take it? -
-Edmund Vance Cooke
And now a musician’s analogy.
A maker of violins searched all his life for wood that would serve for making violins with a certain beautiful and haunting resonance. At last he succeeded when he came into possession of wood gathered from the timberline, the last stand of the trees of the Rockies, 12,000 feet above sea level. Up there where the winds blow so fiercely and steadily that the bark to windward has no chance to grow, where the branches all point one way, and where a tree to live must stay on its knees all through its life, that is where the world's most resonant wood for violins is born and lives and dies.
Here is another article about the resilient wood that the famed luthier Antonius Stradivarius used to make the best violins in the world. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/making-violins/
Troubles makes some people whine, and it makes others sing. In their jails, Paul and Silas sang praises knowing that one way or another HaShem had a plan for therm. “Around midnight, Sha'ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose. (Act 16:25-26)
May we as we sing our way through trouble, that the world may hear our beautiful music and be blessed by it!
כג וַיָּבֹאוּ מָרָתָה--וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לִשְׁתֹּת מַיִם מִמָּרָה, כִּי מָרִים הֵם; עַל-כֵּן קָרָא-שְׁמָהּ, מָרָה.
כד וַיִּלֹּנוּ הָעָם עַל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר, מַה-נִּשְׁתֶּה.
כה וַיִּצְעַק אֶל-יְהוָה, וַיּוֹרֵהוּ יְהוָה עֵץ, וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ אֶל-הַמַּיִם, וַיִּמְתְּקוּ הַמָּיִם; שָׁם שָׂם לוֹ חֹק וּמִשְׁפָּט, וְשָׁם נִסָּהוּ.
כו וַיֹּאמֶר אִם-שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע לְקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, וְהַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו תַּעֲשֶׂה, וְהַאֲזַנְתָּ לְמִצְוֺתָיו, וְשָׁמַרְתָּ כָּל-חֻקָּיו--כָּל-הַמַּחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר-שַׂמְתִּי בְמִצְרַיִם, לֹא-אָשִׂים עָלֶיךָ, כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, רֹפְאֶךָ. {ס}
כז וַיָּבֹאוּ אֵילִמָה--וְשָׁם שְׁתֵּים עֶשְׂרֵה עֵינֹת מַיִם, וְשִׁבְעִים תְּמָרִים; וַיַּחֲנוּ-שָׁם, עַל-הַמָּיִם.
Moshe led Isra'el onward from the Sea of Suf . They went out into the Shur Desert; but after traveling three days in the desert, they had found no water. They arrived at Marah but couldn't drink the water there, because it was bitter. This is why they called it Marah [bitterness]. The people grumbled against Moshe and asked, "What are we to drink?" Moshe cried to Adonai; and Adonai showed him a certain piece of wood, which, when he threw it into the water, made the water taste good. There Adonai made laws and rules of life for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you will listen intently to the voice of Adonai your God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvot and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am Adonai your healer." They came to Eilim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and camped there by the water. (Exo 15:22-27)
LEADERSHIP JOB DESCRIPTION.
I heard someone say on time, “I know it pays to worry; most of the things you worry about never happen!” That may sound a little sarcastic, but if when we take stock of things, there is a truth to it. Most of the time, the things we worry about do not happen. Why do we worry then? In his book, “Growth Through Torah” Rabbi Zelig Pliskin says that “Patience decreases worry.” Worry is basically a lack of patience and trust that HaShem is ultimately in control of our lives.
The parasha this week takes us on the journey the Children of Israel started through the desert. They had to leave quickly. They did not even have time to let their bread rise so they could have something to eat on their way, much less bring water with them for nearly 3,000.000 people. The text tells us that, “Moshe led Isra'el onward from the Sea of Suf . They went out into the Shur Desert; but after traveling three days in the desert, they had found no water. They arrived at Marah but couldn't drink the water there, because it was bitter. This is why they called it Marah [bitterness]. The people grumbled against Moshe and asked, "What are we to drink?" (Exo 15:22-27)
Moshe Is now getting a bitter taste of one of the burdens of leadership, the one that says, “You can please some of the people all the time; you can please all the people some time; but you can never please all the people all the time!”
It is part of the job description for a leader to become the punching-ball of the disgruntled; the brunt of their ungrateful accusations. Any would-be leader has to realise that he does not get to win at this game; he has to “suck it up” as part of the job HaShem has called him to do. Yeshua did it, as well as all the leaders he left behind such as the disciples, and Paul.
WHAT DID MOSHE DO?
How did Moshe react to that situation as the leader? Did he get angry? Did he fly off the handle? Did he give up? The text tells us that, “Moshe cried to Adonai; and Adonai showed him a certain piece of wood, which, when he threw it into the water, made the water taste good.”
Moshe was the humblest of all men on the earth Numbers 12-3 says. As such, Moshe knew that he was not leading the Children of Israel, HaShem was. He knew that he was not responsible for providing food and water for 3,000.000 people in the desert, HaShem was. After all, to bring the Children of Israel into the captivity of the Egyptians was HaShem’s idea and way to allow His people to grow numerous enough so that they could become a nation. To deliver them through these very unconventional ways was also His idea. Moshe knew it, so all he had to do was to get back to HaShem for the next phase of a program that was beyond the capacity of any man.
A BITTER LESSON .
When they arrived at the bitter pool of water of Mara, the people had a very human reaction. Think of it as trying to give a spiritual answer concerning trusting HaShem about the situation to a frustrated mother with a crying thirsty and hungry 2-year-old in her arms.
In those situations, it is easy for one to imagine that HaShem has abandoned them. That everything is just random and without a plan. That Moshe is making it up as he goes (and he might be but shhhhh; don’t tell anyone!). But there wis a plan; there is a lesson to be learned. The text tells us, “There Adonai made laws and rules of life for them, and there he tested them. He said, "If you will listen intently to the voice of Adonai your God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvot and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am Adonai your healer."
From Goshen, walking North-east through the Gaza Strip you can get to Israel in less than a month walking slowly. But we read that, “After Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not guide them to the highway that goes through the land of the P'lishtim, because it was close by -- God thought that the people, upon seeing war, might change their minds and return to Egypt. Rather, God led the people by a roundabout route, through the desert by the Sea of Suf.” (Exo 13:17-18) This shows us that life might not have been so hard in Egypt.They had everything, everything except the freedom to leave. But as they say, “Gold shackles are still shackles!”
The israelites had grown a slave mentality where everything was everything was provided for them. In the episode of the bitter waters of Marah, HaShem was getting their attention. He was telling them that now their fate and even their health had a lot to do with their integrity towards Him. That was different.
THE BLESSING COMES AFTER THE LESSON IS LEARNED.
After that we read, “They came to Eilim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and camped there by the water.” (Exo 15:22-27)
HaShem had a plan, but the plan required them to go through a lesson; a lesson that would be the foundation of their being the nation HaShem had destined them to be. A universal lesson that applies to us today: DEPENDENCE ON HIM.
After the lesson is learned HaShem brings the people to a place with plenty of water. The commentator, Chofetz Chayim says that, “Mortal have limited vision. Because of man’s limitations, people are always full of complaints. They whine and fret about things not being as they would wish. There is always something that they are missing. If the Israelites would have been aware that they would soon have water in Eilim, they would not have come with their complaints to Moshe that they were missing water. They just had to be a bit more patient. The source of people's complaints is that they are not able to see what will be in a short time. Many things that people complain and worry about turn out much better than they imagine.” Chofetz Chayim al HaTorah.
Here is a little poem to illustrate the point,
Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce.
Or a trouble is what you make it.
And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts.
But only how did you take it? -
-Edmund Vance Cooke
And now a musician’s analogy.
A maker of violins searched all his life for wood that would serve for making violins with a certain beautiful and haunting resonance. At last he succeeded when he came into possession of wood gathered from the timberline, the last stand of the trees of the Rockies, 12,000 feet above sea level. Up there where the winds blow so fiercely and steadily that the bark to windward has no chance to grow, where the branches all point one way, and where a tree to live must stay on its knees all through its life, that is where the world's most resonant wood for violins is born and lives and dies.
Here is another article about the resilient wood that the famed luthier Antonius Stradivarius used to make the best violins in the world. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/making-violins/
Troubles makes some people whine, and it makes others sing. In their jails, Paul and Silas sang praises knowing that one way or another HaShem had a plan for therm. “Around midnight, Sha'ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively. Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose. (Act 16:25-26)
May we as we sing our way through trouble, that the world may hear our beautiful music and be blessed by it!
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