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of rejuvenation that trees undergo, in general, and in this season, in the world, an existential problem became immediately apparent.
particular. Since no reality can exist beyond (or outside) the infiniteness of God,
where could a finite, “independent” world possibly find “space” to
After experiencing the miraculous salvation at the Reed Sea,
the Jewish people traveled for three days without water. When exist? The Arizal explains that God “contracted” Himself, as it were,
they finally discovered water it was too bitter to drink. God then in order to create, a “vacuum” or womb-like space in which a finite
showed Moses a tree which he threw into the water, causing it to be world could then be created. Although creation is an expression of
sweetened. Subsequently, God tells the people that if they listen to Divine revelation and giving, it is at the very same time predicated
His voice all the diseases of Egypt will not befall them for “I am God on God contracting His infinite essence in order to make space for a
that heals you” (Exodus 15:26). finite reality other than Himself.
On a peshat level the tree appears to have had healing properties The revelation of the Ten Commandments mirrors this same
sufficient to sweeten the bitter waters. On a deeper level, the use of paradoxical give and take of revelation and contraction. In order to
the tree in this episode and the juxtaposition of God’s blessing led reveal the Ten Commandments to the Jewish people, and ultimately
the commentators to conclude that the “tree” which Moses threw the entire world, God had to contract and condense His infinite will
into the water is a remez, an allusion to the Tree of Life, which in into finite letters and a limited number of statements that would
turn alludes to the Torah. Indeed, the verse in Proverbs teaches epitomize His moral and ethical teachings. In giving the Ten
the following: “It [the Torah] is a tree of life for those who grasp Commandments, God transforms the creative energy of creation into
it” (Proverbs 3:18). The curative powers of both the tree thrown a specific moral code for humanity by contracting and condensing
in and the Torah alluded to are made explicit by God’s promise to His will into concrete and finite letters and commands.
heal the people if they follow the Torah. The healing powers of the Commenting on the first word in the Torah, bereishit (“in the
Torah are further stressed by the Talmudic idiom, “I have created beginning”), Rashi declares the following: “For [the sake of] Torah
the evil inclination and Torah as an antidote” (Kiddushin 30b). Just which is called the beginning ... and for [the sake of] Israel which is
as the Torah sweetens reality and has spiritual, psychological, and called the beginning….” (Rashi on Genesis 1:1). Rashi stresses that
emotional healing qualities, trees also provide us with physical and the very essence of creation is bound up with the sense of newness
psychological succor: offering us healing barks, roots, and leaves, and purpose present in the Jewish soul and in the Torah; just as
shade, beauty, and sweet, nourishing fruits. creation is not a one-time event, but ongoing and continual, so is the
Based on the grammar of the verse, the Ba’al Shem Tov explains Jewish people’s learning of Torah. In the Morning Service each day,
that the water was not actually bitter, it only tasted that way we declare that God “renews in His goodness every day perpetually
because the people themselves were bitter. After experiencing the the work of creation.” Kabbalah and Chassidut teach that creation
miraculous redemption at the Reed Sea, they were shocked to find is renewed not just every day but at every moment. (As discussed in
themselves without fresh water to drink. Perhaps they expected that the portion of Bo, science now confirms this phenomenon; see “Time
the miracles they experienced in Egypt and at the Reed Sea would and the Secrets of Renewal and Innovation.”) Likewise, new insights
never end; that this was not so was a bitter pill to swallow. into Torah are constantly being revealed as well. When Israel came
to Sinai the Torah states that “on the [first day of the] third month
Our Sages, who in the Talmud (Bava Kamma 17a) presume that any from when the children of Israel left Egypt, on this day they came to
reference to water is a remez to the Torah, explain that the people were the desert of Sinai” (Exodus 19:1). Noting that it would have been
still so involved in thinking about the physical booty that washed up more appropriate grammatically for the verse to read “on that day,”
on the shores of the Reed Sea that it distracted them from immersing
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