Last week, we mentioned a mashal that the Hovot HaLevavot gave, to teach us the concept that a person will always get what he’s supposed to get, and that sometimes it can even be in a better way than anticipated. The mashal was about a person in the desert who was thirsty. He found bitter waters and drank, but was disappointed when shortly thereafter he found an oasis of sweet water.
In truth, this is more than just a mashal. This story actually happened to our ancestors, and we learn about it in Shemot (chapter 15). After the splitting of the sea, the Jewish people traveled for 3 days without water. They came to a place called Marah, and complained to Moshe that they had nothing to drink because the water there was bitter. Moshe called out to Hashem, and Hashem showed him a piece of wood (which the Midrash says was actually bitter) that he threw into the bitter water. The water became sweetened, and they drank.
At this place, Moshe taught them some laws, and told them if they listen to the voice of G-d, do what’s proper in His eyes, and keep the Mitzvot, then..
כָּל הַמַּחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר שַׂמְתִּי בְמִצְרַיִם לֹא אָשִׂים עָלֶיךָ כִּי אֲנִי ה' רֹפְאֶךָ
“All of the diseases I brought upon Mitzrayim, I won’t do to you. Because I am G-d your Healer.”
Then they came to a place called, Elim, where they found an oasis of 12 wellsprings and 70 date-palm trees, and they dwelled there.
There are many lessons to learn from this. One lesson is that of the Hovot HaLevavot’s mashal, that they came to place with bitter water and complained.
The Chafetz Chaim says, had they waited, a little bit further down the road there was an oasis waiting for them.
Rashi explains that there were 12 wellsprings, one for each of the tribes, and the 70 date-palms were for the 70 elders.
The Yalkut Shemoni says
מיום שברא ה׳ את עולמו ברא שנים עשר מבועין כנגד שנים עשר שבטים שבעים דלקים כנגד שבעים זקנים
From the time of creation, these 12 well-springs were designated and prepared for the 12 tribes, and the 70 palm trees were prepared for the 70 elders.
The Chafetz Chaim says that we learn from this that in life we are sometimes short-sighted. We can’t see everything. We often complain because we don’t realize that a bit further down the road there are sweet waters awaiting us. We can’t see what is behind us or ahead of us and that’s why we complain.
That’s the lesson of the Hovot Halevavot. But how important is this lesson?
It’s true that it’s a story in the Torah, but not everyone knows every story mentioned in the Torah. Although we mentioned last week that it’s a good idea to go through the weekly Parasha, not everyone is familiar, for example, with the story of Lemech and his two wives Ada and Sila. It’s not that popular.
Of course, we should know the Torah, but we don’t have to have every story on our minds constantly.
Believe it or not, however, according to many, it’s a mitzvah from the Torah to remember this story of the Jewish people traveling through the desert and coming to the bitter waters and later to the sweet, every single day.
How so?
In Devarim, Moshe Rabbenu tells us,
זְכֹר֙ אַל־תִּשְׁכַּ֔ח אֵ֧ת אֲשֶׁר־הִקְצַ֛פְתָּ אֶת־יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר
Remember, don’t forget, how you angered G-d in the desert:
And then it says,
וּבְחֹרֵ֥ב הִקְצַפְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־ה....
And then you got Hashem angry with the Het Ha’Egel (the Golden Calf)
Many Siddurim have a list of 10 remembrances that we are supposed to recall daily.
Beside remembering the sin of the Golden Calf, we are also supposed to remember an event that happened before the sin of the golden calf.
Rav Yaakov Kaminetzsky says that event is this story of the bitter waters, where they complained, Hashem made it sweet and then they found oasis waiting for them further down the road.
This is something we must remember every single day. It’s one of the ten remembrances.
We must know, as we go through life, that whenever we get to a temporary drought or lacking, we invoke this mindset:
There is an oasis waiting for me further down the road and G-d is capable of doing two things:
1- either making the bitter waters sweet, or
2-if I wait a little longer, I won’t need to go through any tactics or ways of turning around the current situation, because G-d has an oasis waiting for me down the road.
If we think like that every day, we’re fulfilling a positive commandment no different than putting on tefilin or shaking a lulav and etrog.
There are 10 important mindsets to remember every day. (We will beH attach the list of these 10 daily remembrances) Each one is truly a whole class on its own, but for now we walk away with this:
Remember daily, that G-d can make bitter waters sweet, and remember that there is a hidden oasis down the road.
Have a great day.