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During the intermediate days of Sukkos, in the times of the Temple, a great scene of rejoicing occurred, referred to in the Talmud as the Simchas Beis HaShoevah, or the joy of drawing y up water. There is a dispute in the Talmud concerning the reason for the name of this celebration .One opinion is that it refers to the drawing of water that was to be used in the water libations that are brought during Sukkos, as part of our service to God in request of water, since during Sukkos we are judged by God in respect to our water supply. The other opinion is that the name refers to the drawing up of ruach hakodesh, or the holy spirit. The rabbis in fact tell us that the prophet Yonah ben Amitai first experienced prophecy at the Simchat Beis Hashoevah. Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik zt’l explained that these two opinions do not reflect a dispute, but are really complementary of each other.

Rav Soloveitchik illustrated his approach to the two opinions by referring to his experience as a youth in Poland. He said that when he first experienced the Baltic Sea, he was overwhelmed by its beauty, which reminded him of God’s seat f majesty. He made the blessing over it, “oseh ma’aseh bereishis’- “Blessed be He who wrought creation,’ with great feeling, to the extent that it was more than just a blessing, but an encounter with the Creator. As he became more used t the site, however, his sense of wonder over it diminished, and now, he said, when he sees a great body of water that he has not seen in a long time, he makes the blessing, but in a cool, emotionless way. However, he said, when we think of it, we should be filled with wonder every time we see a body of water, because, actually, life could not exist without water. Unfortunately we become used to the wonders of God’s creation, and take them for granted. It was this sense of wonder over the normal, everyday water that God supplies us with that was celebrated at the Simchas Beis Hashoevah. A person who does not have a sense of wonder over everyday things like water, said Rav Soloveitchik, will never be able to become a prophet.

Rabbi Soloveitchik’s remarks about the importance of water were driven home to me today when I learned of an explosion in a water main six blocks from where I live, and a consequent lack of water for an as yet undetermined amount of time. Interestingly, I learned of this explosion directly after I had read a section in Herman Wouk’s book, The Will to Live On: This is Our Heritage (Harper Collins, 2000), in which he describes the changing reaction he has had, over the years, to his arrival in Israel for a visit, beginning with his first visit in 1955. He writes:” There used to be a wonder about arriving in Israel… the first glimpse of the sacred coast, the El Al captain’s announcement.. ‘We are about to land in Tel Aviv’ … the thud of wheels on the Holy Land. Time and again, as we rolled to a stop, I would make the blessing on good news (‘hatov vehameitiv’) with profound joy. Nowadays I still make the blessing, but rather as I do three times a day over bread.” (pg. 234). Leaving aside the question of whether such a blessing is, indeed, appropriate halachically, Mr. Wouk’s description of his gradual sense of wonder over the experience of a plane landing in the Holy Land echoes Rav Soloveitchik’s description of his loss of a sense of wonder over viewing the Baltic Sea. Once we get used to something, no matter how wondrous it is in an objective sense, we begin to lose our appreciation of it.

Rabbi Zadok HaKoein of Lublin, in his Peri Zadik to Simchas Torah, points out that, unlike every other parsha of the Torah, which is read on Shabbos, the parsha of Vezos Haberacha is not assigned a Shabbos on which it is to be read in its entirety. Rather, it is read on Shemini Atzeres, in Eretz Yisroel, and on Simchas Torah, in the diaspora. Rav Zadok explains the significance behind this phenomenon in terms of the difference between the oral law, as represented by Moshe’s blessing to the tribes in Vezos Haberacha, and the written law, as represented by al the other parshiyos of the Torah. Based on the remarks of Rav Soloveitchik and Mr. Wouk, however, I believe that we can offer a different explanation for the reading of Vezos Haberacha on Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. At the end of Vezos Haberacha, we are told that Moshe died without entering the Holy land. He was only allowed to view it from afar, before the nation entered. Although he worked for so many years to lead the people into the land, and pleaded with God for the privilege of entering it, he was denied this aspiration. Coming after our prayers for rain, in which we are reminded of the importance of what we take so much for granted, we are also reminded of the wondrous nature of the Holy Land, and the great privilege that we have of being able to enter it, unlike Moshe, who was denied that privilege. In our day, when travel to Israel has become, for many, a frequent experience, and when so many of our people actually live there, we need to remember that we should not take the land for granted, and remember how fortunate and blessed we are to have access to it.