‘Roka’ In the Present Tense
At the beginning of Creation, the waters covered the entire earth, until the third day, when they were commanded (Bereishis 1:9): “Yikavu hamayim mitachas hashamayim el makom echad vesera’eh hayabashah, let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dryness be seen.” Thus, the expanse of the earth was divided into sea and dry ground. Most of the area was covered with water and oceans, and a lesser part became the dry land upon which we live. From then to this day, although the dry land is surrounded by water on all sides, the Heavenly Decree stops the perpetually stormy waves of the sea from inundating the land, which is its natural state. It is only because of this Decree that the dry land remains habitable, and allows people to tend to fields and orchards that are necessary to sustain life.
We recall this tremendous chessed each morning, when we step onto terra firma, and the brachah of Roka Ha’aretz Al Hamayim was instituted so that we can properly thank Hashem for this. The brachah is based on the words of the passuk (Tehillim 136:6): “Leroka ha’aretz al hamayim ki l’olam chasdo.” Although the decree of “yikavu hamayim” was given during the Six Days of Creation, we do not say “sheraka”, in the past tense. Rather, we say “roka”, the present tense, because HaKadosh Baruch Hu renews creation each and every day, to this day, as we say in tefillah, “Hamechadesh betuvo bechol yom tamid ma’aseh bereishis, He renews in His Goodness each day the Act of Creation.” Each morning, when we arise from bed and step onto firm, dry ground, it behooves us to thank HaKadosh Baruch Hu for flattening and smoothing the land over the sea, and for decreeing that the water should not inundate the dry land, as was the case before Creation. As the passuk says (Yirmiyahu 5:22): “Ha’osi lo sira’u, Will you not fear Me? says Hashem, or, do you not quake from before Me, for I made sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it cannot pass, and [its waves] toss themselves, yet they cannot prevail; and its waves roar, but they do not pass it.” (Avudraham, Hashkamas Haboker; Radak Tehillim 136:6; Malbim ibid)
A Brachah That Denies Regularity
Some explain that we thank Hashem in this brachah for giving us the firm, dry land over the water that lies beneath it. Because the land upon which we live is all situated above water, as stated in Tehillim (24:2): “Ki hu al yamim yesadah v’al neharos yechoneneha, for He founded it upon seas and established it upon rivers.” Chazal say (Midrash Tehillim 93): “The land is beaten on the water like a ship that floats at sea.” According to the natural laws of gravity, the land should have sunk into the water from its weight alone, even before it is weighed down by the weight of billions of human beings, with all that they live with. In this brachah we thank Hashem for stabilizing the land in such a strong fashion over the depths that lie beneath it, and that it does not collapse and sink into those waters. (Levush 46 2; Aruch Hashulchan ibid 4) The Siach Yitzchak writes (printed in Siddur HaGra): “When he places his foot on the ground, he should take to heart: it is true that we have become used to walking on the land as though it is a firm wall, but is this existence self-understood? Is it not the nature of dirt and sand to sink into the water… Only Hashem in His great chessed is a ‘Roka ha’aretz al hamayim.’”
Walking on “Yabashah” As Though It Is “Besoch Hayam”
This fact that the land is flat over the water, while a tremendous miracle, has been accepted as a fact of nature, and we hardly sense this miracle in our daily lives. Sefer Alei Derech (p. 162) offers an idea that can intensify our feelings of gratitude when we make this brachah: “When you make the brachah of Roka Ha’aretz Al Hamayim, imagine the world inundated with sea water; mud covering the entire land, and passage from place to place only possible with a boat. And then, the land dries up and one can walk on it. The former scenario is the true state of the world if not for the constant assistance that Hashem provides in being ‘Roka ha’aretz al hamayim.’” Anyone who has experienced a long sea voyage or air flight, with all the turbulence involved, can easily understand this miracle and the tremendous benefit we have in that bechasdei Hashem, in our routine life, we step onto firm, solid land. If one thinks about this while making the brachah, he will surely be able to thank Hashem for this miracle with the fitting kavanah. The author of the Noam Elimelech (Likutei Shoshanah, beginning with ‘hafach yom’) writes on this subject: The passuk says (Shemos 14:29): “UBnei Yisrael halchu bayabashah besoch hayam” – and Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land in the sea.” We can explain this to mean that after the splitting of the Yam Suf, when Bnei Yisrael saw the tremendous miracles that Hashem performed for them, they attained such a deep understanding of the Hashgachah of Hashem on our world, that from that point on, they were walking on dry land as though it was in the sea. They understood that the fact that a person walks on yabashah, on dry ground, is in the merit of the miracle that Hashem solidified the land over the water. And that this is a wonder and miracle that is no smaller than Bnei Yisrael walking besoch hayam, in the sea. (Likutei Shoshanah [printed at the end of Noam Elimelech] according to Divrei Aviv, Vayeira)
Overpowering Nature
We can learn a powerful lesson from this the remarkable miracle of solidifying the ground over the water. HaKadosh Baruch Hu instilled in us the power to overcome the physical body and its desires, just like He restrained the waters of the sea with the directive of “yikavu hamayim” and since then, the water restrains its nature to inundate everything in its path. Through this, our land remains intact, and is not flooded by the water or does not collapse into the depths. The same is true with us: we can overpower our physical nature that drags us after desires, and channel all our efforts into doing the Will of Hashem. That is the reason that the generation of the Mabul was punished specifically by being flooded with the waters. It was middah knegged middah, measure for measure because they capitulated to their nature and did not control their yetzer. Therefore, the water returned to its natural state and inundated the entire world, as it would be if not for the commandment of Hashem. (Zichron Moshe [Rav Moshe Tarashchansky of Kremenczug] p. 87; Ohr Pnei Yehoshua, Parashas Noach) allowing the water to cover it. This makes it possible for life to exist on the land. [עלון בני אמונים]
