Thursday, February 9, 2017

The Blessing Of Water

Shaloommm sweeeet friends!!!

This Dvar Torah is dedicated l'zchus my beloved friend R' Yehuda Yaakov ben Dina Chasha and his special wife Chana Rochel. May Hashem grant them bracha and simcha in all that they do!!

In this weeks parsha we read about the Jews complaint that there is no water. They were THOISTY!!

Reminds me of the old joke:

The Italian says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have wine."

The Mexican says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have tequila."

The Scot says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have Scotch."

The Swede says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have aquavit."

The Japanese says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have sake."

The Russian says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have vodka."

The German says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have beer."

The Greek says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have ouzo."

The Jew says, "I'm tired and thirsty. I must have diabetes."

But think about what had happened. They left Egypt ברכוש גדול!! They were RICH!! Gold, Silver, clothing - whatever you want. The gemara says that everybody left with at least ninety donkeys laden with gold and silver [Bechoros 5]. 

Then came Kriyas Yam Suf. They became even richer. Chazal say that the bounty of Kriyas Yam Suf was GREATER than what they took out of Mitzrayim. 

SUPER RICH!! The Jews made it. מעשה אבות סימן לבנים. For the generations, the Jews are often [although not always] going to find a way to hit it rich, wherever they go. 

OK - so you have this nation of rich Jews. They are free, they are rich, they have nice sized families [ששה בכרס אחד]. AWE-SOME!!

But wait. They are missing one thing. A little bit of water to drink. Millions of dollars. But no water. 

There are many lessons here, 2 of them:

1] Don't forget to be thankful for the little things, no matter what you have. Just because you may live in a million dollar home - don't forget to be thankful that you have shoes to wear. Remember - there are things we take for granted that many people only DREAM of having. There are tens of millions of people today who don't have access to a clean drink of water.

2] Money isn't everything. I once knew a man with millions of dollars. He just lacked one thing. Vision. He was blind. He didn't enjoy his money at all. I once read about a Saudi Prince. He had all of the pleasures of this world but he lacked working kidneys so he was on dialysis. Don't put all of your focus on money for while it buys a lot of things ultimately - there are many things it can't buy. If one lacks love in his or her life, all of the money in the world won't make them happy. I remember hearing Sheryl Sandburg [of Facebook fame] talk about how shattered she was after her husband died. I kept thinking - but you have over a billion dollars?? Yes - but what she wants most - her husband - she doesn't have.    

Money is important - but not everything. 

May Hashem bless us with EVERYTHING we need, in ruchniyus and gashmiyus!

Bi-ahava rabba and blessings for a sweet Shabbos filled with uplifting song and juicy fruits,

Me 