A DOUBLE HIT

PARSHA

HUKKAT 06

“Shall we bring forth Mayyim water for you out of this Sela rock?” (Num.20.10)

Those who are wise in the field of Remez – allusion, teach that it is possible to extract Mayyim – water, from the letters constituting the term Sela – rock. How may this be done?

Set out the letters of Sela constituted as syllables:- Samech = Samech, Mem, Chaf, Lamed = Lamed, Mem, Dalet; Ayyin = Ayyin, Yod, Nun.

Extract the middle letters of each of these three syllables, viz. Mem from Samech, Mem from Lamed, and Yod from Ayyin. In combination they yield Mayyim – water.

Moshe had to strike the rock twice, once to remove the initial letters, and once to remove the final letters, to leave the middle letters Mayyim – water. (Likute Nisim)

Mayyim is the life-giving water of Torah. To ensure a plentiful supply of such valuable water, we need to extract it from Sela in its fullness, i.e. Samech – support, Lamed – learning and teaching, and Ayyin – the eye.

We need to support the institutions that produce the teachers capable of transmitting knowledge. Knowledge on how to eye (Le’ayen), that is, how to study, reflect and perceive the content of living waters surging up from the wellsprings of Torah, to enable us to cope with the challenges of our day.

As the final punch-line of this rocky subject, we should learn that no matter how difficult the problem may be, the solution will always be found by setting out the content of the matter in full and examining the subject holistically.