(2006/5766)

In Parshat Beshalach, the Torah states (15:22-24): “They went three days in the wilderness, and they found no water.  And they came to Marah, but they could not drink the waters of Marah because they were bitter…The people complained against Moshe, saying, ‘What shall we drink?’”  Why did Bnei Yisrael complain to Moshe; did Bnei Yisroel not realize that Moshe could do nothing without the help of Hashem?

Bava Kama 82a teaches that water can also refer to Torah.  With this explanation of the word “water,” we see that the big problem was not Bnei Yisrael’s lack of water, but their lack of Torah.  When Klal Yisrael stopped learning Torah and their spiritual height fell, they were prepared to rebel against Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Who had just saved them at the Yam Suf a few days earlier.  We learn from this episode that if one stops learning Torah, one’s morals will fall.  One must be “Kovei’a Itim LaTorah” – one must set a time to learn Torah every day.  Whether one learns for 5 minutes or 5 hours, the most essential thing is that one at least learn something every day.  Only by consistently learning Torah can we improve ourselves and achieve our full potential.

--Adapted from a Dvar Torah in Thinking Outside the Box