וַיַּסַּע מֹשֶׁה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִיַּם סוּף וַיֵּצְאוּ אֶל מִדְבַּר שׁוּר וַיֵּלְכוּ שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים בַּמִּדְבָּר וְלֹא מָצְאוּ מָיִם׃

Then Moses caused Israel to set out from the Sea of Reeds. They went on into the wilderness of Shur; they traveled three days in the wilderness and found no water. (15:22)

Moshe caused Israel to travel because they didn’t want to. Rashi explains that the Egyptians had adorned their horses with ornaments of gold and silver and with precious stones. After the Egyptians were drowned the Jewish people found these in the sea and collected them. There was plenty to get, so they didn’t want to leave! Therefore Moshe had to force them to journey on.

The result of this was, as the verse concludes, that they found no water. The commentary of Kli Yakar explains that the Talmud in Bava Kamma 82a states that water is used as a metaphor for Torah. They found no water because they didn’t desire the waters of Torah. It was more important to remain at the sea to gather riches instead of continuing on to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. Therefore they were treated measure for measure. If you don’t want to quench the thirst of your neshamos (souls) with the spiritual water of Torah, you will not be able to quench your physical thirst.

The message to the Jewish people was that you were not freed from the bondage of Egypt to aggrandize yourselves with material wealth. You left Egypt to amass the true wealth of Torah.

The story is told of a man who traveled to do business. He was running around the entire day doing business deals and making money. One day he was rushing to his next deal when he heard a banging on a window. He looks and is shocked to find his rabbi glaring at him through the window. The rabbi calls him in and begins to berate him. “Is this how a Torah Jew behaves?” thundered the rabbi. “Was man created to make lots of money or to learn Torah and perform mitzvos?” The man was very moved by the rabbi’s words and as the rabbi continued to rebuke him he took all the money he had in his pockets, threw it to the floor, and stomped on it. It was now worthless to him! When the rabbi saw this he exclaimed, "What in the world are you doing? That’s not how you treat something valuable like money! Pick up that money immediately and put it back in your pocket!"

The man stood completely befuddled. First the rabbi berates for persuing wealth and now when he shows that he has had a complete change of heart the rabbi berates for that. Seeing his confusion the rabbi said, "Let me explain with a tale."

Two simple villagers were sitting around the table when one noticed that his friend looked very disturbed.

“What’s bothering you?” he asked. His friend sheepishly answered, "I’ve been having this dream that anyone who eats from next year’s crops will go crazy. Now I need to eat but I don’t want to go crazy. But if everyone else will be crazy from eating the crops then I don’t want to be the only normal one around!"

“Wow,” said his friend. "I’ve been having the same dream and I have the same concerns. You know, we should go to the village elder and tell him about our dilemma. I’m sure with his great wisdom he’ll find a solution."

After they told the elder about their dreams, he chuckled and said, "I’ve been having the same dream! Here’s what should be done. Tie a knot at the end of the rope you wear as a belt. Before you eat from the new crop, hold that knot in your hand and say to yourselves that you were once normal. This way everyone else will be crazy but not realize it. You will also be crazy but you’ll have the knot to remind you that you were once normal!"

The rabbi explained. "We all have to involve ourselves in the craziness of making money to support ourselves. The challenge is to realize that what we’re doing is crazy. If you are aware of that you have a chance of remaining normal. If you don’t realize that, you’ll be lost!"

This new nation of the Jewish people was being taught an essential lesson for its future. If you want to fulfill the mission and destiny of Hashem’s chosen nation- get your priorities straight!

Shabbat Shalom!
Yitzchak