"Sanctified Water"

In this week's portion of Naso we learn the laws of the sotah, the suspected wayward wife. Concerning this woman the Torah states the following:[450]

"If a man's wife is suspected of acting foolishly ... the man must bring his wife to the priest... The priest shall take sanctified water in a clay bowl. He shall also take some earth from the Tabernacle floor and place it in the water... the woman will be proven innocent and will bear children."

In commenting on the verse "If a man's wife is suspected of acting foolishly," our Sages note:[451] "A person does not sin unless he is overcome by a spirit of folly."

Since our Sages expand the concept of "acting foolishly" to sin in general, we comprehend that all the laws that apply to the sotah also serve as lessons with regard to the soul's rectification from any and all sins -- all of which, similar to the sotah, result from "acting foolishly."

The first step in rectifying and amending one's foolish deeds consists of "the man must bring his wife to the priest." The Rambam explains[452] that the term "priest" may well apply to "any man whose spirit moves him to stand before G-d and serve Him." Thus, in the broader context, bringing "his wife to the priest" means appearing before a holy person who can assist in the sinner's spiritual rectification.

This is in keeping with the saying of our Sages,[453] that "Whoever has someone ill in his household, should go to a sage...." Just as this is so with regard to physical maladies, so too regarding spiritual maladies: one should appear before an individual who is able to heal him of his spiritual illness.[454]

The first thing that the priest is to do in order to purify the sotah from her impurity is: "The priest shall take sanctified water in a clay bowl. He shall also take some earth from the Tabernacle floor and place it in the water."

Water, say our rabbis, refers to Torah.[455] "Sanctified water" refers to Pnimiyus HaTorah, the inner, mystical and internal aspects of Torah.

"Water" and "sanctity" are in and of themselves entirely opposite: water descends,[456] while the entire aspect of sanctity and holiness is that of ascent -- separating oneself from the mundane and lifting oneself to the realms of holiness. As such, it would seem that the term "sanctified water" is an oxymoron.

Pnimiyus HaTorah, the inner aspect of Torah, is however comprised of these seemingly opposing aspects, incorporating them as one. For the discipline of Pnimiyus HaTorah consists of secret and mystical aspects of Torah which -- unlike the revealed portion of Torah -- are not clothed in nor comprehended by man's rational intellect, nor does it deal with physical matters. As such it is "holy," separated and removed from any and all things physical.

Nevertheless, at the same time (indeed, because of its rarefied and exalted state), Pnimiyus HaTorah -- like water -- possesses the ability to descend even lower than the revealed portion of Torah, having a positive effect on even the lowliest levels. This is because "Whatever is higher possesses the ability to descend ever lower."

This also explains why Pnimiyus HaTorah is referred to as the "oil" of Torah, for oil also possesses these opposite qualities: On the one hand oil rises above all other liquids, yet at the same time oil permeates and saturates all things; oil is to be found everywhere, even within inanimate matter.[457]

We are thus assured[458] that even when one's Torah learning is not as it should be, still "the luminary of Torah," i.e., Pnimiyus HaTorah, will bring about that the person will return to the path of goodness and righteousness.

The verse then goes on to inform us that after taking the "sanctified water," the priest must place this "sanctified water" in an earthen vessel, and moreover, place actual earth -- lower even than an earthen vessel, for earth is not a vessel at all -- so that the sotah be able to drink of this water.

In spiritual terms, this means that the wellsprings of Pnimiyus HaTorah, the wellsprings of Chassidus, are to be disseminated even unto the farthest and outermost levels -- even unto those whose spirituality is not of an earthen vessel, but merely of earth itself.

When this is done, we are assured that our efforts will surely be productive, it will "bear children," up to and including the fruits of our entire labor of exile, the speedy arrival of our Righteous Mashiach. For we have been promised by Mashiach himself[459] that he will arrive when the wellsprings of Pnimiyus HaTorah will have been disseminated even unto the farthest reaches.

Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. IV, pp. 1311-1312

   

Notes:

450. (Back to text) Bamidbar 5:11-29.

451. (Back to text) Sotah 3a.

452. (Back to text) Rambam, conclusion of Hilchos Shemitin veYovlos.

453. (Back to text) Bava Basra 116a.

454. (Back to text) Rambam, Hilchos De'os 2:1.

455. (Back to text) Bava Kamma 17a.

456. (Back to text) Tanya, ch. 4. See also Taanis 7a.

457. (Back to text) See Imrei Binah, Shaar HaKerias Shema ch. 56.

458. (Back to text) Beginning of Eichah Rabbah; Yerushalmi, Chagigah 1:7.

459. (Back to text) Kesser Shem Tov, p. 3.