The Hebrew Scriptures are not readily or easily understood by native English speakers, we post a weekly addition to regular Torah commentary. "Cutting to the Root" is intended to promote an understanding of the complexity of the Hebrew language and thereby gain a richer and deeper understanding of the Scriptures. It is our goal that these notes will teach tolerance and understanding.Please visit our web site at www.shefaisrael.com

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Parashat Re'e

Parasha: Re’eh – Deuteronomy 11:26 – 16:17
Haftara: Isaiah 54:11 – 55:5
Reading Date: 30th August 2008 – 29th Av 5768


"See, I set before you today a blessing and a curse."
Thus opens our parasha, the Torah reading of Re'eh ("See"). The blessing, Moses proceeds to explain, shall come about "because you will heed the commandments of YHVH your G-d that I command you today. And the curse, if you will not heed the commandments of YHVH your G-d, but turn away from the way I command you this day, to follow other gods that you did not know."[1]

Upon their entry into the Holy Land, the people of Israel are instructed to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim, and the curse on the nearby Mount Ebal. This pair of mountains, Moses directs, are "on the other side of the Jordan, way beyond in the direction of the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites, who dwell in the plain, opposite Gilgal, near the plains of Moreh."

Get Rid of the Idols, Build a Home for YHVH
Upon their entry into the Land, the Israelites are instructed to "utterly destroy from all the places where the nations that you shall possess worshipped their gods, upon the lofty mountains and upon the hills, and under every lush tree."
And you shall tear down their altars, smash their monuments, burn their asherim (idolatrous trees) with fire, cut down the graven images of their gods, and destroy their name from that place.

You shall not do so to YHVH, your G-d.
But only to the place which YHVH your G-d shall choose from all your tribes, to set His Name there; you shall inquire after His dwelling and come there.[2]
And there you shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the separation by your hand, and your vows and your donations, and the firstborn of your cattle and of your sheep.

And there you shall eat before YHVH, and you shall rejoice in all your endeavors you and your households, as YHVH has blessed you.

"Meat of Desire"
Throughout their 40 years in the desert, the people had been instructed on the various offerings that were brought in the Sanctuary, the meat of which was eaten -- under special conditions of sanctity -- by the person making the offering, and/or the Cohen ("priest"). Now Moses introduces a new dietary concept -- meat eaten as part of an ordinary meal rather than as an extension of the Temple service.

When YHVH, your G-d, expands your boundary, as He has promised you, and you say, "I will eat meat," because your soul desires to eat meat, you may eat meat, according to every desire of your soul.

If the place YHVH chooses to put His Name there will be distant from you, you may slaughter of your cattle and of your sheep, which YHVH has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat in your cities, according to every desire of your soul.
This meat needn't be eaten under conditions of ritual purity (taharah), as is the case with the meat of the offerings -- rather, "the impure and the pure may be eaten together." The only legal restrictions are that the animal be kosher (as specified further on in our parasha), that it be slaughtered "as I have commanded you" (i.e., in accordance with the laws of shechitah), and
You must be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the soul; and you shall not eat the soul with the flesh.

The False Prophet, the Inciter, and the Idolatrous City
If there will arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of a dream, and he gives you a sign or a wonder. And the sign or the wonder of which he spoke to you happens, [and he] says, "Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us worship them." You shall not heed the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of a dream; for YHVH your G-d is testing you, to know whether you really love YHVH your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul.[3]
You shall follow YHVH, your G-d, fear Him, keep His commandments, heed His voice, worship Him, and cleave to Him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of a dream shall be put to death; because he spoke falsehood about YHVH your G-d Who brought you out of the land of Egypt, and Who redeemed you from the house of bondage, to lead you astray from the way in which YHVH, your G-d, commanded you to go; so shall you eradicate the evil from your midst.
Nor should any compassion be shown toward the inciter who attempts to lead others to worship idols. And if an entire city falls prey to idolatry, the city should be utterly destroyed.

YHVH's Children
"You are children of YHVH your G-d," says Moses to the people. "You shall neither cut yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes [in mourning] for the dead.
"For you are a holy people to YHVH your G-d, and YHVH has chosen you to be a treasured people for Him, out of all the nations that are upon the earth."

The Kosher Laws
You shall not eat any abomination.
These are the animals that you may eat: ox, lamb, and kid; gazelle, deer, and antelope, ibex, chamois, bison, and giraffe. And every animal that has a split hoof and has a hoof cloven into two hoof sections, [and] chews the cud among the animals that you may eat.
Both kosher signs are necessary in order for the animal to be permissible for consumption. "The camel, the hyrax, and the hare," which chew the cud but do not have split hooves, are forbidden, as is the swine, which has split hooves but does not chew the cud.

These you may eat of all that are in the waters: all that have fins and scales, you may eat. But whatever does not have fins and scales, you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
In respect to fowl, the Torah does not give kosher signs, but rather lists twenty-one species of non-kosher birds to be excluded from our diet.

Also:
Every flying insect is unclean for you
You shall not eat any carcass (i.e., an animal not killed in accordance with the special slaughtering procedures and laws of "shechitah"). You may give it to the stranger who is in your cities, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; for you are a holy people to YHVH your G-d.[4]

You shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk. (i.e., the prohibition against mixing milk with meat).

Tithes and Suspensions
A tenth part of all crops should be taken to the holy city Jerusalem and eaten "before YHVH your G-d."

And if the way be too long for you, that you are unable to carry it, for the place which YHVH your G-d will choose to establish His Name therein is too far from you...

Then you shall turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and you shall go to the place YHVH your G-d will choose.

There the money can be turned back into "whatever your soul desires" -- "cattle, sheep, new wine or old wine... and you shall eat there before YHVH, and you shall rejoice, you and your household" -- remembering to invite also the Levite "for he has neither portion nor inheritance with you."

Every seventh year is shemitah, during which all work in fields ceases, and all debts are suspended. Though these laws seem to pose financial hardship to the Jew, G-d promises that, "there will be no needy among you... if you hearken to the voice of YHVH your G-d, to be careful to do all this commandment, which I am commanding you today... you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you."

Charity
If there will be among you a needy person, from one of your brothers in one of your cities... you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not close your hand from your needy brother.[5]
Rather, open, open your hand to him, and you shall lend him sufficient for his needs, which he is lacking...

You shall surely give him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him; for because of this thing YHVH will bless you in all your work and in all your endeavors.
Our parasha concludes with the laws requiring the giving of a gift to a freed servant, the offering of firstborn animals to YHVH, and the three pilgrimage festivals -- Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot.

Shabbat Shalom


I would like to include some interesting traditional thought on Torah and charity

What is the deeper significance of this law?
The student of Torah is comparable to a fish in water, as in Rabbi Akiva's famous parable. His fins are the means by which he moves forward through the water--the intellect and study skills with which he advances in wisdom and increases the Torah and makes it great with his own contributions (chiddushim) to Torah learning. His scales are his protective armor against predators and adverse elements--his fear of Heaven, which shields his learning from error and distortion.

One might think that the primary requirement for success in Torah is the "fins," while the "scales" serve a secondary function. It is the fins that move the fish forward, while the scales merely preserve what is. After all, learning is an intellectual exercise; piety and fear of G-d are lofty virtues, but are they of any use in navigating the complexities of a difficult Tosafot?
In truth, however, the very opposite is the case. A scholar with fins but no scales is a non-kosher fish. He might swim and frolic with his talent and genius, but his learning is corrupt; it is not Torah, but his egoistic arrogation of the divine wisdom. On the other hand, the Talmud tells us that while there are fish with fins and no scales, all fish with scales have fins (and are thus kosher). If a person approaches Torah with an awe of its divine author and the commitment to serve Him, he will certainly succeed. Regardless of the degree of his intellectual prowess, he will find the fins with which to advance in his learning and contribute to the growth of Torah.
(The Lubavitcher Rebbe)

Ten powerful things were created in the world: mountains are hard, but iron cuts through them; iron is hard, but fire melts it; fire is strong, but water extinguishes it; water is strong, but clouds bear it; clouds are strong, but wind scatters them; wind is strong, but the body contains it; the body is strong, bur fear breaks it; fear is potent, but wine dispels it; wine is powerful, but sleep assuages it; and stronger than all these is death. But charity delivers from death.
(Talmud, Shabbat 156b)

There are eight levels of charity, each greater than the next.
[1] The greatest level, above which there is no greater, is to support a fellow Jew by endowing him with a gift or loan, or entering into a partnership with him, or finding employment for him, in order to strengthen his hand until he need no longer be dependent upon others...

[2] A lesser level of charity than this is to give to the poor without knowing to whom one gives, and without the recipient knowing from who he received. For this is performing a mitzvah solely for the sake of Heaven. This is like the "anonymous fund" that was in the Holy Temple [in Jerusalem]. There the righteous gave in secret, and the good poor profited in secret. Giving to a charity fund is similar to this mode of charity, though one should not contribute to a charity fund unless one knows that the person appointed over the fund is trustworthy and wise and a proper administrator, like Rabbi Hananya ben Teradyon.

[3] A lesser level of charity than this is when one knows to whom one gives, but the recipient does not know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to walk about in secret and put coins in the doors of the poor. It is worthy and truly good to do this if those who are responsible for distributing charity are not trustworthy.

[4] A lesser level of charity than this is when one does not know to whom one gives, but the poor person does know his benefactor. The greatest sages used to tie coins into their robes and throw them behind their backs, and the poor would come up and pick the coins out of their robes so that they would not be ashamed.

[5] A lesser level than this is when one gives to the poor person directly into his hand, but gives before being asked.

[6] A lesser level than this is when one gives to the poor person after being asked.

[7] A lesser level than this is when one gives inadequately, but gives gladly and with a smile.

[8] A lesser level than this is when one gives unwillingly.

(Mishneh Torah, Laws of Gifts to the Poor 10:7-14)


[1] See, I give you today a blessing and a curse (Deuteronomy 11:26)
Freedom of choice has been granted to every man: if he desires to turn toward a good path and be righteous, the ability to do so is in his hands; and if he desires to turn toward an evil path and be wicked, the ability to do so is in his hands...
This concept is a fundamental principle and a pillar of the Torah and its commandments. As it is written [Deuteronomy 30:15]: "See, I have set before you life [and good, and death and evil]" and "See, I set before you today [a blessing and a curse]"... For were YHVH to decree that a person be righteous or wicked, of if there were to exist something in the very essence of a person's nature which would compel him toward a specific path, a specific conviction, a specific character trait or a specific deed...how could YHVH command us through the prophets "do this" and "do not do this,"...? What place would the entire Torah have? And by what measure of justice would YHVH punish the wicked and reward the righteous...?
(Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 5:1-3)

[2] Only to the place which YHVH your G-d shall choose (12:5)
The location of the Altar [in the Holy Temple] is very exactly defined... It is a commonly-held tradition that the place where David and Solomon built the Altar, on the threshing floor of Arona, is the very place where Abraham built an altar and bound Isaac upon it; this is where Noah built [an altar] when he came out from the Ark; this is where Cain and Abel brought their offerings; this is where Adam the First Man offered a korban when he was created -- and it is from [the earth of] this place that he was created...
(Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Holy Temple 2:1-2)

[3] If there will arise among you a prophet... and he gives you a sign or a wonder (13:2)
The people of Israel did not believe in Moses because of the miracles he performed. Indeed, one who believes because of miracles retains a measure of doubt in his heart, since a "miracle" can be done by trickery or sorcery. Rather, all the miracles he performed in the desert were by necessity, not to prove his prophecy: it was necessary to drown the Egyptians, so he split the sea and submerged them in it; they needed food, so he brought down the manna; they thirsted, so he split the rock; Korach and his company denied [his authority], so the earth swallowed them up; and the same with all the miracles.
So why did they believe in him? Because when we stood at Sinai, our own eyes saw and our own ears heard the fire, the sounds and the flames, and how Moses approached the cloud and YHVH's voice called to him, and we heard it say: "Moses! Moses! Tell them such and such..." As it is written [Deuteronomy 5:4]: "Face to face YHVH spoke with you," and [ibid. 5:3] "Not with our ancestors did YHVH make this covenant..." The event at Sinai alone is the proof that Moses' prophecy is true without the shadow of a doubt, as it is written [Exodus 19:9], "Behold, I shall come to you in a thick cloud, so that the people should hear Me speak to you and also believe in you forever." From this we see that prior to that, they did not believe in him with a faith that is everlasting, only with a faith that leaves a possibility for doubts and second thoughts.
Thus, the ones to whom Moses was sent are themselves the witnesses that his prophecy is authentic, so that he needn't perform any proofs for them. He and they both witnessed [his prophecy] together, like two witnesses who witnessed something together, each one of whom is a witness that his fellow is saying the truth, and neither of whom requires any proof of the other's honesty...
So if a prophet arises and performs signs and great wonders and seeks to deny Moses' prophecy, we do not listen to him, and we know with certainty that these signs are by trickery and sorcery. For Moses' prophecy is not based on proofs, that we should weigh these proofs against those proofs. Rather, we saw it with our eyes and heard it with our ears, just as Moses did. This is as if witnesses would testify to a person regarding something he saw with his own eyes that it was not as he saw it; this person would take no heed of them, but know surely that they are false witnesses...
(Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Fundamentals of Torah 8:1-3)

[4] And you shall slaughter of your cattle and flocks which G-d has given you, as I have commanded you (12:21)
We derive from this verse that there is a commandment regarding slaughtering, how one must slaughter. Since this commandment is not written anywhere in the Torah, we deduce that these are the laws of ritual slaughtering which were given orally to Moses on Mount Sinai.(Talmud, Chulin 28a; Sifri)
Here we have explicit proof for the Torah SheBaal Peh ("Oral Torah"), as we see how the "Written Torah" refers to it.
(Maimonides)

[5] If there will be among you a needy person, from one of your brothers in one of your cities... (15:7)
The poor of your city take precedence over the poor of a different city.
(Rashi)

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Parashat Ekev

Parasha: Ekev – Deuteronomy 7:12 – 11:25
Haftara: Isaiah 49:14 – 51:3
Reading Date: 23rd August 2008 – 22nd Av 5768


Like the other parashot in the Book of Deuteronomy, this parasha, Eikev ("Because") consists entirely of Moses' final address to the people of the nation of Israel.[1]

In this segment of his "repetition of the Torah" Moses extols the blessings of the land that the people are about to enter (without him), but warns that these blessings are dependent upon the people remaining faithful to the covenant they entered into with YHVH at Mount Sinai, to keep His Torah and fulfill its mitzvot:
And it shall come to pass, because you hear these laws, and keep, and do them; that YHVH your G-d shall keep the covenant and the kindness which He swore to your fathers.
And He will love you, and bless you, and multiply you; and He will bless the fruit of your womb, and the fruit of your land, your corn, and your wine, and your oil, the increase of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep, in the land which He swore to your fathers to give you.
You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a sterile man or barren woman among you, or among your cattle. And YHVH will take away from you all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which you know, upon you; but will lay them upon all those who hate you.

Confidence
If the people remain true to YHVH, they have nothing to fear from their powerful enemies:
If you should say in your heart: These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them...?

Do not be terrified by them; for YHVH your G-d is among you, a great and awesome G-d.
The only danger they pose is the spiritual one:
The carvings of their gods shall you burn with fire; you shall not desire the silver or gold that is on them, or take it to you, lest you be snared with it, for it is an abomination toYHVH your G-d. Neither shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you become accursed like it; you shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it, for it is taboo.

A 40-Year Lesson
All the mitzvah which I command you this day shall you observe to do, that you may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which YHVH swore to your fathers.[2]

And you shall remember all the way which YHVH your G-d led you these forty years in the wilderness... He afflicted you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you know not and which your fathers did not know; in order to make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by the word that proceeds out of the mouth of YHVH does man live.[3]
Your garment grew not worn upon you, nor did your foot swell, these forty years.

You shall consider in your heart that, as a man chastens his son, so YHVH your G-d chastens you.

The Blessed Land
YHVH is bringing you into a good land, a land of water courses, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills.
A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of olive oil, and [date] honey.

A land in which you shall eat bread without scarceness, you shall not lack any thing in it; a land the stones of which are iron, and out of whose hills you may dig brass.
You shall eaten and be replete, and bless YHVH your G-d for the good land which He has given you.

With abundance and plenty, however, come the danger that "your heart grow haughty," and
You will say in your heart: My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth...
No less dangerous is to begin to believe in one's own righteousness:
Speak not you in your heart: Because of my righteousness YHVH has brought me in to possess this land...

Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart do you go to possess their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations YHVH your G-d does drive them out from before you, and that He may perform the word which YHVH swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The land into which you go to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence you came out, where you did sow your seed, and did water it by foot, like a vegetable garden. [Rather,] the land into which you go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys, and drinks water of the rain of heaven.[4]

A land which YHVH your G-d cares for: the eyes of YHVH your G-d are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

The Sin of the Golden Calf
Moses reminds the people, "Also in Horeb you provoked YHVH to anger, so that YHVH was angry with you to have destroyed you."
When I was gone up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which YHVH made with you; then I abode in the mountain forty days and forty nights, I neither ate bread nor drank water...

And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that YHVH... said to me:
"Arise, get you down quickly from here; for your people which you have brought forth out of Egypt have become corrupt; they have quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image."

And YHVH spoke to me saying: "I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Let Me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they..."

And I fell down before YHVH, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water; because of all your sins which you sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of YHVH, to provoke Him to anger. For I feared the anger and wrath with which YHVH was angry against you to destroy you. But YHVH hearkened to me at that time also.[5]

Moses describes what happened when he came down from the mountain:
So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. And I looked, and, behold, you had sinned against YHVH your G-d, and had made a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly out of the way which YHVH had commanded you.

And I grabbed hold of the two tablets, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes...

After destroying the idol, Moses returns to the summit of Mount Sinai for a third 40 days to receive the Second Tablets from YHVH:
At that time YHVH said to me: "Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me into the mountain, and make for yourself an ark of wood. And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you did break, and you shall put them in the ark."
And I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up to the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand.

And He wrote on the tablets, according to the first writing, the ten Words which YHVH spoke to you in the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly: and YHVH gave them to me. And I turned and came down from the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they were, as YHVH commanded me.

Nor was this the only time that Moses had to intervene with YHVH to save them:
And at Tav'erah, and at Massah, and at Kivrot-Hatta'avah, you provokedYHVHd to anger. Likewise when YHVH sent you from Kadesh-Barnea, saying, "Go up and possess the land which I have given you"; then you rebelled against the commandment of YHVH your G-d, and you believed Him not, nor hearkened to His voice.
You have been rebellious against YHVH from the day that I knew you.[6]

YHVH's Way
"And now, Israel," says Moses, "what does YHVH your G-d require of you, only to fear YHVH your G-d, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve YHVH your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul; to keep the commandments of YHVH, and His statutes, which I command you this day for your good?"

Your generation, Moses also tells them, occupies a unique place in history: you saw it all yourselves.

I speak not with your children, who have not known, and have not seen the chastisement of YHVH your G-d, His greatness, His mighty hand, and His stretched out arm --
And His miracles, and His acts, which He did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and to all his land --

And what He did to the army of Egypt, to their horses, and to their chariots, how He made the water of the Sea of Suf overflow them as they pursued after you; and YHVH destroyed them unto this day --

And what He did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place...
"But your own eyes have seen all the great acts of YHVH which He did."

The 2nd Section of the Shma
And it shall come to pass, if you hearken diligently to My commandments which I command you this day, to love YHVH your G-d, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul;
that I will give you the rain of your land in its due season, the early rain and the late rain, that you may gather in your corn, and your wine, and your oil.

And I will give grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be full.

Take heed to yourselves, that your heart not be enticed, and you turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them. Then YHVH’s anger be inflamed against you, and He shut up the heavens that there be no rain, and that the land yield not its fruit; and you will perish quickly from off the good land which YHVH gives you.

And you shall place these words of Mine in your he art and in your soul; and bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they will be as tefillin between your eyes.

And you shall teach them your children, speaking of them when you sit in your home, and when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise.

And you shall write them upon the door posts of your house, and upon your gates.
In order that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which YHVH swore to your forefathers to give to them, as the days of heaven upon the earth.[7]

In the Parasha's closing verses, Moses once again calls upon the people to love YHVH, fulfill His commandments and "walk in all His ways, and cleave to Him."

Shabbat Shalom


[1] The commentaries dwell on the Hebrew word eikev in this verse -- an uncommon synonym for "because." Many see a connection with the word akeiv (same spelling, different pronunciation), which means "heel".
Rashi interprets this as an allusion to those mitzvot which a person tramples with his heels -- the Torah is telling us to be equally diligent with all of YHVH’s commandments, no less with those that seem less significant to our finite minds.
Ibn Ezra and Nachmanides interpret it in the sense of "in the end" (i.e., "in the heels of" or in the sense that the heel is at the extremity of the body) -- the reward being something that follows the action.
[2] All the mitzvah... shall you observe to do (8:1)
The simple meaning of the phrase "all the mitzvah" is the entire body of divine commandment -- all the mitzvot. The Midrashic interpretation is: do the whole mitzvah. If you begin a good deed, finish it, for a mitzvah is credited to the one who concludes the task. Thus it is written: "And Joseph's bones, which the children of Israel took out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem." Yet it was Moses himself who took Joseph's bones out of Egypt! (see Exodus 13:19). But since he did not conclude the task, and the children of Israel concluded it, it is called by their name. (Rashi)

[3] And He afflicted you, and suffered you to hunger, and fed you with manna... in order to make you know that man does not live by bread alone (8:3)
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was asked by his disciples: Why didn't the manna come down for Israel once a year?
He replied: I shall give a parable. This thing may be compared to a king of flesh and blood who had an only son, whom he provided with maintenance once a year, so that he would visit his father once a year only. Thereupon he provided for his maintenance every day, so that he called on him every day. The same with Israel. One who had four or five children would worry, saying: Perhaps no manna will come down tomorrow, and all will die of hunger? Thus they were found to turn their attention to their Father in Heaven. (Talmud, Yoma 76a)

[4] For the land... is not as the land of Egypt… where you did sow your seed, and did water it by foot, like a vegetable garden... [rather] it drinks water of the rain of heaven (11:10-11)
"Rain" represents the reciprocal relationship between heaven and earth. "A vapor rises from the earth" to the heavens, and the heavens return it as rain which "quenches the face of the land" (Genesis 2:6). This represents the spiritual truth that "an arousal from below evokes an arousal from above" -- that YHVH responds to the efforts of man, reciprocating our prayers, yearnings and deeds with nurture from Above.
This is the doctrine of the rain-watered land. Egypt, however, was nourished not by descending rain but by the overflow of the Nile, which would periodically flood the land. The spiritual "Egyptian" is one who does not recognize the Heavenly source of the blessings of life. He believes that all is generated from below -- that everything he has and has achieved is of his own making.
The people of Israel had been subjected to the Egyptian mentality for four generations. Thus they had to spend forty years in the desert during which they were subjected to a diametrically opposite set of circumstance, in which one's daily bread descends from heaven and one's own efforts have no effect on the result. Only after this lesson in the true source of life could they enter the Land that "drinks water of the rain of heaven" -- where man's efforts are crucial and significant, yet are permeated with a recognition of, and dependence upon, the true Source of All.
(The Chassidic Masters)

[5] Thus I fell down before YHVH forty days and forty nights... becauseYHVH had said He would destroy you (9:25)
There was not a corner of the heavens with which Moses did not grapple to attain YHVH's forgiveness of Israel...
When Israel committed that act, Moses arose to appease YHVH and said: "Master of the Universe! They have given You an assistant, and You are annoyed with them? Why, this calf which they have made will be Your assistant: You will cause the sun to rise while it will cause the moon to rise; You will look after the stars and it will see to the constellations; You will cause the dew to descend and it will cause the winds to blow; You will make the rains come down, while it will be responsible for the growth of plants."
Said YHVH to him: "Moses! You err as they do! For there is nothing real in it."
Said Moses: "If this be the case, why should Your wrath burn against Your people?"
(Midrash Rabbah)

[6] Similarly, when Israel made the golden calf, YHVH intended to destroy them, but Moses pleaded: "Master of the Universe! Did You not bring them forth from Egypt, a place of idol-worshippers? They are yet young, as it says (Hosea 11:1), 'When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.' Be patient with them yet awhile and go with them, and they will yet perform good deeds before You."(Midrash Rabbah)

[7] YHVH clothes the naked, as it is written: "And YHVH made for Adam and for his wife coats of skin, and clothed them" (Genesis 3:21); so should you, too, clothe the naked.
YHVH visits the sick, as it is written: "And YHVH appeared to him by the Oaks of Mamre"; so should you, too, visit the sick.
YHVH comforts mourners, as it is written: "And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that YHVH blessed Isaac his son" (Genesis 25:11); so should you, too, comfort mourners.
YHVH buries the dead, as it is written: "And He buried him in the valley" (Deuteronomy 34:6); so should you, too, bury the dead.
(Talmud, Sotah 14a)