“Water, water everywhere, nor any a drop to drink.” So says the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge’s famous poem of mortal guilt. Just imagine the tortured thirst of the sailors surrounded by oceans of water, but unable to relieve their thirst.
This image rings familiar to those reading Parashat Beshallach, our Torah reading for this week. There is no shortage of water, as the Children of Israel are surrounded by the Red Sea, first trapped by it, then protected by it, as the water forms a wall on their right and on their left. But when they emerge from the Sea, leaving slavery behind, they have no water to drink.
“And Moses led the people out of the Red Sea, and they emerged toward the desert of Shur, and travelled three days in the desert, and found no water. When they reached Marah, they could not drink the water there either, for it was bitter, hence they called the place Marah (bitter)” [Exodus 15: 22-25].
This passage is the source upon which the Sages build one of the most characteristic Jewish practices: Regular public Torah reading. The Sages taught on this verse of thirst [Bava Kamma 82a]:
“Those who expound the Torah’s hints said: They found no water means they found no words of Torah, which are metaphorically compared to water. Because they went three days without Torah, they grew parched and weary. Then the prophets among them decreed that Jewish communities should never go three days without Torah, but should read it aloud each Shabbat, Monday and Thursday.”
Amidst their suffering, the Israelites cry to God, who teaches Moses how to cast a tree into the bitter water to sweeten it, and slake their thirst. What is this unusual tree that makes it possible to drink desert waters? None other than the Eitz Hayim, of course, the tree of life, the Torah itself, according to the Midrash [Mekhilta].
Lacking Torah is like dying of thirst in a dry and unforgiving world. Taking hold of Torah is like a cool drink of water. And Camp Ramah in the Berkshires is one of the best, deepest, most refreshing wells you’ll ever find.
At Camp Ramah in the Berkshires, our kids experience the rich fullness of the Torah all day long, in the well-rounded, fun and serious, engaging and deep Jewish community we build every summer.
Now we need to make sure that the well stays open and accessible to all who want it. We must be able to repeat what Isaiah the prophet said: Come all you who thirst, and enjoy water! [Isaiah 55.1] In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that our institutions raise the funds that enable all families to be able to participate in the best Jewish community and Jewish living we can offer. That is one of the most important jobs of any Jewish community.
Please join us at the upcoming scholarship dinner Sunday, March 7 at Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City and contribute to the scholarship fund so that we can ensure that our families have free and regular access to the Torah, the life-giving water, they can find at Camp Ramah in the Berkshires.
