Lead Tidbit
MAYIM, water, agua, mizu, vann, su
That's Hebrew, English, Spanish (and Portuguese), Japanese, Norwegian, and Turkish (more at the end, if there is room). It is amazing - and noteworthy - how much attention has been and is paid to water from Sukkot through B'reishit and No'ach. The mishna tells us that the world is judged by G-d for water (rainfall, but probably more inclusive than that) on CHAG (Sukkot). The mitzva of Nisuch HaMayim (water of libation) in the Beit HaMikdash on the seven days of Sukkot is tied into that judgment. Each of the Four Species has a well-known need for a lot of water. Striking the ground with ARAVOT on Hoshana Rabba involves water. We say T'filat Geshem on Shmini Atzeret (Simchat Torah), and begin to mention G-d's role as the Rainmaker.

On Simchat Torah morning, we begin reading the Torah from the beginning. And then, again, of course, on Shabbat B'reishit, which was only two days later (this year). Look at the account of Creation and the emphasis on water. Even before the organized formation of the world, the primordial chaos is described as "Ru'ach Elokim hovering over the face of the waters". Water is repeatedly mentioned in the accounts of the second, third, and fifth days of Creation. (Take a look at the number of times - it is telling us something.) And in the restatement of Creation in the second chapter of B'reishit, the Torah tells us of the mist that arose to water the plant life. And then there is the elaborate description of the river that flows from the Garden and divides into four parts.

And this week, we read Parshat No'ach. The references to water and its significance is quite obvious.

Water and what it means physically to all life forms on Earth is one thing. And the analogy of water to Torah and what that means to the spiritual life of the Jew is the other thing. Water is good but it can be harmful, too. The MABUL certainly shows that to us. Water is LIFE. Torah is LIFE. Rain and dew are part of G-d's blessings to us. We need to pray for them and we need to deserve them. Water's importance cannot be understated.