Moses and Water

By Rabbi Alex Freedman.

We can’t tell the Passover story without Moses. As we mention him at the Seder next week, let’s pay attention to a literary motif that frames his life at pivotal moments literally from his beginning to end: water.

Water frames Moses’ life at seven pivotal moments:
1. Moses is born and placed in a wicker basket to float on the Nile River because Pharaoh declared that Israelite boys were to be drowned.
2. Moses runs away from Egypt to Midian, where he goes to a well and intercedes to protect strangers.
3. Moses returns to Egypt, confronts Pharaoh, and activates the Ten Plagues, which commence with turning the Nile River into blood.
4. Moses liberates the Israelites by splitting the Red Sea.
5. Moses leads the Israelites to receive the Torah at Mt. Sinai, where he went 40 days without eating or drinking water; the Torah is later compared to water as both provide essential nourishment.
6. Moses, angered by the Israelites’ complaints for lack of water, hits the rock twice instead of speaking to it to procure water.
7. Moses ascends Mt. Nebo before dying, where he is able to see the Promised Land in its splendor; sadly he cannot cross over the metaphoric finish line, the Jordan River.

Consider all the different things water did for Moses: it protected him; validated his commitment to social justice; cemented his authority as a leader to Pharaoh and the Israelites; liberated his people physically from Egypt and spiritually at Sinai; caused his downfall as a leader; and marked his failure to enter Canaan.

Water was there at every crucial moment.

Water has reflective properties. When we look into a pond we see through the water, while we also see our reflection. Perhaps the Torah places water here to prompt us to reflect on Moses as a character. When we examine him at these different moments, we find that he grows over time and matures as a leader. For example, the man who tells G-d “I am not a man of words” is the same man who speaks the entire Book of Deuteronomy! (Exodus 4:10).

But one thing never changed until near the end. Moses always reflected the will of G-d. His mission wasn’t ever about himself, but his people and his G-d.

Like a mirror, water reflects an image back at us.

When you take Moses’ Hebrew name and refract it, as if it’s held over water, Mem Shin Hay becomes Hay Shin Mem. משה becomes השם. Moses and G-d are two halves of a whole. One was an extension of the Other, so much so this was encoded into his name.

Like Moses, each of us grows and matures over time. As water does for Moses, certain touchpoints for us can highlight this. Maybe it’s celebrating birthdays or returning to a favorite vacation spot. Perhaps it’s Jewish holidays that offer us a chance to reflect and check in. It’s important to look in the mirror and say “Last year I was there, but this year I’m here.”

As we embark on this regular self-reflection – and the Seder provides another good opportunity – let Moses inspire us to make our own missions for the year ahead not just about ourselves, but our people and G-d too.