Torah and Water

Found 5 Search results

1. Falling Water: Moshe's Transgression and Akiva's Transformation

   Rabbi Michael Hattin

   תאריך פרסום: תשע"ב | |

   The Israelites are standing at the cusp of the entrance to the Land of Israel, and we are faced with a tragic story in which Moshe and Aharon receive the message that they will not enter the Land. What is Moshe’s indiscretion in the “rock and water” story in Hukkat? In searching for a response, we examine  related narratives involving water, rock, and ideas of transformation found in the Bible and in the story of Rabbi Akiva’s transformation from shepherd to Torah giant.

2. The Waters of Sinai

   Rabbi Chanoch Waxman

   Why does the Torah repeat the requirement to distance the nation from the mountain? Is this the first arrival of Bnei Yisrael at Sinai, or had they been there before, in the story of Massa u-Meriva? Why does the Torah parallel God's revelation at Sinai with the nation's previous request for water?

3. Bemidbar - "Hefker" like the Wilderness

   Rabbi David Silverberg

4. Flowing Water vs. Broken Cisterns - The Second "Three Weeks" Haftarah

   Rabbi David Silverberg

5. Mishlei - Part 8: The Cisterns and The Strange Woman

   Rabbi Shlomo Dov Rosen | 40 minutes

   In the eighth part of our series, we will focus on the end of the fourth chapter of Mishlei. Three poems are interconnected to form one long poem that builds on the ideas developed from the last parts of our series. Our poem uses the familiar motifs of the cisterns and  the “strange woman”- what is she an allegory for? It deals with the question of how to express one’s creativity in the world in a healthy and successful manner, and the difference between simplicity in religious life and more complex approaches when one is faced with more complex problems.