Understanding Your Middos - 41 Water – Divisiveness

The Element of the Water - The Root of Merivah/Fighting and Machlokes/Divisiveness

Let’s continue, with siyata d’shmaya, to discuss the element of water. In the previous four lessons, we discussed four different liquids of the body [and their implications for our soul], which included the tears (salty water), ear wax (fatty water), nasal discharge, and saliva (sweet water). Previously we discussed the difference between the bitter and sweet liquids of the body. Now we will continue further into this discussion.

The Torah discusses the episode at Mei Merivah, where Moshe struck the rock to produce water for the nation. The Mei Merivah implies that all merivah, fighting, is rooted in the element of water. Hashem later told Moshe and Aharon were denied entry into Eretz Yisrael due to the episode at Mei Merivah. Thus, it was water which caused merivah (strife) and machlokes (divisiveness) amongst the nation, which prevented Moshe and Aharon from entering Eretz Yisrael.

Let us see the roots of machlokes (division), which is rooted in the merivah/strife which took place at the episode of the Mei Merivah.

Machlokes/Divisiveness Began With The Division of the Waters

There are four elements, earth, water, wind and fire. As mentioned, the concept of merivah (strife) is rooted in the element of water. How do we see this?

On the second day of Creation, Hashem split the waters into the Lower Water and the Upper Waters. Chazal state that the second day of Creation is also the day when the fire of Gehinnom (Hell) was created, and it was also the day when machlokes (division) was first created.[1] Thus, the first instance of machlokes came about through water. Since merivah (fighting) is a result of machlokes (divisiveness), it follows that merivah comes from the element of water.

As mentioned in previous lessons, past, the element of earth came from the element of water which Hashem hardened into snow, which then melted into earth. Hashem commanded that the land be formed from the snow. The water was split into a division of lower waters (on the earth) and upper waters (in Heaven), and Hashem used the “lower waters” to gather together and form the land. The splitting of the waters was for the purpose of forming the land, the element of earth. Thus, machlokes did not begin just from the splitting of the waters, but because water turned into a different element altogether. The root of machlokes (division) began with the splitting of the waters, but the depth of this machlokes was intensified through the water becoming a different element, when the snow (water) hardened into earth, when the waters were commanded to form dry land.

Therefore, the element of water itself became another element. It was now water and earth, together. Water was no longer by itself, and it was now essentially a combination of water and earth. This idea is the depth of the machlokes which came from the element of water. When an element becomes two different elements, this is the cause for machlokes, because the element has been divided into two.

Because of the combination of water and earth, we sometimes find that water and earth work together (since they are ultimately combined with each other), and we sometimes find that water and earth are a bad combination. When the element of water becomes “lowered” to the level of the element of earth, when water becomes murky with earth, the water becomes dirtied and unclear. This is an example of a “bad” combination of water with earth. Where do we find that water and earth are a good combination? When the earth becomes turned back into water, the earth becomes elevated to the level of water. This would be an example of a “good” combination of water and earth.

That is the general outline. In summary, when water becomes earth, that is a ruined kind of water, the bad combination of earth and water, and when earth becomes turned into water, this is the good combination of earth and water.

On a deeper level, this is because the ever since the split of the waters on the second day of Creation, the “Lower Waters” became a part of the element of earth. When the “Lower Waters” within the element of earth are elevated turned back to their higher source, the “Upper Waters”, the Lower Waters become repaired.

Bitterness – The Demand For Chiyus/Vitality

Now we shall explain this in clearer terms.

In the previous lessons, we have been learning about the deeper significance of the various liquids of the body. The liquids found in the mouth, which is the saliva, is able to be revealed in two different ways – either through eating (by salivating over food), or through sleeping (when one drools in middle of sleeping). It has been explained so far that the saliva is a “sweet” form of water, because it does not taste bitter. Water is able to be sweet, or bitter.

Water is only able to become bitter due to the element of earth. Dirt ruins the naturally sweet taste of water and makes it taste bitter. There is a verse, “Bitterer than death”[2], and death corresponds to the element of earth, because after Adam was cursed with death, he was told, “You are earth, and to the earth you will return.”[3] Death is the root cause of all human bitterness [suffering].

On a subtler note, however, bitterness comes from the combination of water with earth.

The sefer Tanya says that the difference between the emotions of “sadness” (atzvus) and “bitterness” (merirus) is, that sadness makes a person more connected with the element of earth, making a person become inactive and lethargic, whereas a feeling of “bitterness” causes a person to have a yearning to feel more alive, to feel a desire for true life. Sadness lowers a person into the level of earth, where a person remains without chiyus (life-giving vitality), and the person stays like that, shackled down by the element of earth. While bitterness also feels like an absence of life-giving vitality, it actually causes a person to yearn for more vitality. When a person feels a demand for more life-giving vitality, this is really a subtle form of life-giving vitality, in and of itself.

“Bitterness” is the result of the element of water becoming lowered into the element of earth, where it is “bitterer than death”. When water becomes lowered into earth, this is the depth of bitterness. When the waters were split, this was the beginning of the all merivah (fighting) that would become associated with the element of water.

However, even after the split, the water still remains the element of water. When the waters became lowered to the level of earth – when snow became earth - that represented the total level of merirus (bitterness) for the element of water, because the water had essentially become a lower element, earth. [This was reason for the element of water to grieve over its fallen state]. However, this bitterness also creates a yearning  to return for one’s source (just as the water yearns to go back to its source above, where the higher waters are).

The episode at Mei Merivah was a result of Miriam’s death. The word “Miriam” is from the word merirus, bitterness, and this is because it is through Miriam that the “bitterness” of the element of water was able to become repaired.

Hashem told Moshe to produce water from the rock. When water comes from a rock, this is called a maayan, a spring, and this represents the revelation of life and vitality within bitterness. When water is lowered into earth, it becomes bitter water, but when the water comes forth afterwards from the earth, such as with a spring, this reveals “alive waters” (mayim chayim) within the earth. This aliveness gushing forth from the earth elevates the earth to the level of water, and, at the same time, it also sends the waters from the earth back to its source in water, the Lower Waters returning to the Upper Waters. Thus, “bitterness” can become a source of life-giving vitality to a person.

The Roles of Moshe, Aharon and Miriam In Elevating The “Lower Waters”

The Generation of the Desert corresponds to the element of earth. The desert is a dry place, reminiscent of earth. The element of water elevates the element of earth. Both the “Lower Waters” and the “Upper Waters” have a role in elevating earth. Miriam’s well, which accompanied the people throughout their sojourn in the desert, represents the “Lower Waters”, which was meant to assist in the tikkun (spiritual repair) for the generation of the Desert. In other words, Miriam’s well was the “water” that was meant to elevate the element of earth. The Clouds of Glory, which were in Aharon’s merit, represent the “Upper Waters” which repair earth (because clouds are a form of water that stays above).

The first sin was brought about by a woman (Chavah), and thus all merivah (fighting) in the world, which has its source in sin, is linked with woman. As a result of the first sin, all of mankind received the curse of death, “To earth you will return”. After the sin, the world in general sank from the level of water to the level of earth. Thus, after the sin, the element of water became “lowered” to level of the element of earth.

The “Lower Waters” correspond to the feminine, whereas the “Upper Waters” correspond to the masculine. This is because the “Lower Waters” yearn to become connected with their source in the Upper Waters. The “Lower Waters” are also called the “bitter waters”, and this is really because all bitterness began with the first woman (Chavah) who brought bitterness to the world through causing the first sin.

The well of Miriam revealed “sweet waters”, which, on a deeper level, was a spiritual repair for the “bitter waters” caused by the first woman, Chavah. Thus, the role of Miriam was to fix the sin of Chavah. Miriam’s well represented the elevation of the element water, to elevate the water that had fallen to the level of earth and to return it back to the level of water. It represented the concept of the “Lower Waters” (earth) returning to the “Upper Waters” (water).

Why The Sin At Mei Merivah Denied Moshe’s Entry Into Eretz Yisrael

The generation of the desert needed to go through a certain spiritual repair, and there were three tzaddikim who were given the role of repairing that generation: Moshe, Aharon, and Miriam. Each of them was meant to fulfill a certain role.

The Clouds of Glory were in Aharon’s merit, and the Well was in Miriam’s merit.[4] The Clouds are associated with the masculine forces of Creation, because they are connected with the Upper Waters, hence they were in Aharon’s merit. The Well was associated with the feminine forces of Creation, hence they were in Miriam’s merit. What was Moshe’s role? Moshe was the connecting point between Aharon and Miriam, completing the triad.

Moshe’s entire existence was linked with the element of water. The birth of Moshe was all due to Miriam, who convinced her father Amram to procreate with Yocheved after he had separated from her. Miriam corresponds to the element of water. Moshe also survived due to water, when the Nile carried him and eventually Miriam saved him. Thus, Moshe’s life began with water. The end of Moshe’s life also involved water. Moshe was denied entry into Eretz Yisrael because of the sin at Mei Merivah, when he had failed to sanctify Hashem’s name there. The depth behind this is that Moshe failed to elevate his element of earth to the element of water, and therefore he could not merit to dwell in Eretz Yisrael, the holy kind of “earth”, because he didn’t achieve the holy connection of water with earth, due to the sin at Mei Merivah.

Rashi, Ramban and Ibn Ezra and others all discuss what exactly the sin of Mei Merivah was. But there is still another question: Why wasn’t Moshe allowed into Eretz Yisrael because of this sin at Mei Merivah? It was because Moshe was not able to merit the holy “earth”, Eretz Yisrael, now that he had failed to elevate his “earth” into “water”. Instead, his actions at Mei Merivah only caused merivah (fighting) through water. This lowered his element of water to the level of the element of earth. Had Moshe not sinned at Mei Merivah, he would have brought the people into Eretz Yisrael, and then there would have been no more machlokes (divisiveness) in the world. The sin of Moshe at Mei Merivah brought merivah (fighting) through the element of water, which enabled machlokes to continue existing.

Aharon’s main trait was that he was a “pursuer of love and peace”, and in his merit, there were Clouds of Glory, which corresponded to the Upper Waters. The role of the Upper Waters was to elevate “earth” to the level of water. Miriam’s role was to reveal the “Lower Waters” and thereby elevate earth to water.

When Miriam sinned by speaking lashon hora about Moshe, this sin revealed her “bitter waters”, the water which falls to the level of earth. Her atonement was that she needed to get skin leprosy for seven days. The Gemara says that Hashem gave her this punishment because Hashem regarded her sin of lashon hora as an act that was tantamount to “spitting” in her father’s face.[5] What is the depth behind this? It was because Miriam’s role was to repair the bitter “spittle”, the bitter waters, and to turn all “water” into “sweet waters” again. She had turned the “water” bitter, though the act of speaking lashon hora, which uses the saliva of the mouth, a “bitter” and impaired kind of spittle.

Saliva (spittle) is also bitter when a person drools in his sleep. This was also the depth Hashem’s rebuke to Aharon and Miriam for disparaging Moshe, where Hashem said that He doesn’t speak to Moshe in dreams, unlike with other prophets, whom He communicates with only in dreams. This is because when a person dreams, he is asleep, and his saliva is not sweet. This is “bitter spittle”, and that is the level of the other prophets. Hashem was telling Aharon and Miriam that they were not as great as Moshe, because He only communicates with other prophets when they are asleep, where their saliva is bitter.

When Miriam passed away, shortly before the sin at Mei Merivah, Moshe was no longer able to fulfill his spiritual task of combining together the “Lower Waters” (Miriam) with the “Upper Waters” (Aharon), because Miriam was no longer present. That is the deeper reason of why Moshe failed to sanctify Hashem’s name at Marah (where the sin of the Mei Merivah took place). It is because he did not elevate the element of earth (the “Lower Waters”, Miriam) to the level of water (the “Upper Waters”, Aharon).

The Machlokes (Divisiveness) Which Resulted From Mei Merivah

This is also the deeper reason behind all of the machlokes that took place amidst the Jewish people after the event at Marah. It was because, on a deeper level, the element of water remained on the level of earth, so the “water” could not go back to its higher source. This awakens the original machlokes, the division caused by the splitting in the water, which water has been suffering from ever since the second day of Creation.

Thus, machlokes is a result of the waters being split into two divisions. Until now, we have explained about the concept of merivah/fighting and how it comes from the element of water. Now let us see what the effect of merivah/fighting had on the element of water, ever since this merivah was created in the water when the waters were split.

Drops of Water vs. Overflowing Water

At Marah, the people demanded water, and Moshe hit the rock twice. At the first strike, the water came out in drops, and after the second strike, the water came gushing forth. Chazal state that after the water gushed out of the rock, all of the rocks in the desert were gushing forth water. Why did the water first come out from the rock in drops?

The answer lies in the following. In a previous lesson, we spoke about the difference between two different bodily fluids, saliva and semen (keri). When keri is released from the body, it comes out in drops, whereas saliva spills out from the body in larger amounts. It was explained that both saliva and semen are forms of spittle, and the difference is that saliva is at a higher place in the body, closer to the spiritual, and therefore it pours out in larger amounts, corresponding to the idea of overflowing Heavenly abundance. In contrast, the accidental emissions of keri are released from the body only in drops, because keri is at a lower place in the body and it corresponds to the abundance of This World, which is sparse.

Now we will add on another facet of understanding to this discussion. Keri comes out in drops from the body because it corresponds with the “lower waters”, the waters which are affected by merivah/fighting. The droplets of water “fight” with each other to push their way out of the body, and the result is that the water can only come out from the body in the form of drops. In contrast to this, when waters gather together into one unit, this is followed by an outpouring of water.

Since merivah (fighting) is rooted in the element of water and it has a negative effect on water, any of the Heavenly abundance (which is called shefa) which comes to us through water (the sustaining element) is only to come to us drop by drop. The “fighting” within the waters do not allow for complete, overflowing abundance, and therefore any abundance comes to us is only able to come us as “drops” of abundance. At the repaired level, water gushes forth and we are sustained with an outpouring of shefa.

We can see this from the concept of rain. Rain is water that comes from above, and it comes to us in overabundance. Although rain comes down in the form of drops, these drops come down in an outpouring of abundance to the world. This is contrast with the drops of keri (semen) of the body, which comes out drop by drop, each drop following the other, because the drops are not unified.

Rain comes to us in the form of drops, but the drops all come at once. The deeper reason of why rain comes down in the form of raindrops is because the rainwater is ultimately coming from evaporated water, which originates on the earth. The source of rain in the earth therefore prevents the rainwaters from being of a more spiritual nature, and this causes the rain to come down in drops, and not as an outpouring. This is because when shefa (abundance) comes to us from our world, the shefa is limited and therefore it only comes to us in drops. But when shefa comes from above, it comes down as an overabundance and it pours down to us.

Water which comes from above is an example of the total level of shefa, when there is an outpouring of shefa, while water which comes from below is limited shefa, coming to us only as drops and drops. Based upon this, we can now analyze deeper the difference between the first strike on the rock and the second strike on the rock. The first strike on the rock caused drops of water to come out of the rock, because these waters were the waters of merivah/fighting, and therefore each drop “fought” with each other to come out, so the drops of water could only come of the rock as separate drops. This began with the fighting of the people at that time, when they wanted water. Because the people were having merivah/fighting, this caused the water to come to them in the form of merivah/fighting, which caused the water to come to them in the form of separate drops. Had the water come out as intended (with no fighting beforehand amongst them), the water would have poured out right away, because it would have been waters coming from Heaven.

The Gra teaches, based on the words of the Gemara that “There is no water except Torah”[6], that Torah comes to us in the form of water, either as an “outpouring” of water or as “drops” of understanding. Furthermore, the Gra explained that this is the difference between the Torah of before the sin with after the sin. Before the sin, understanding in Torah would come to a person as an overabundance of understanding, with no room for difficulties and questions in one’s Torah learning. After the sin, our understanding in Torah only comes to us in the form of “drops and drops”, and that is why we have difficulties in understanding our Torah learning. For every word of Torah that we exert ourselves in, we are trying to get more and more “drops” of Torah, and that is why we come across difficulties in our Torah learning.

Thus, the effect of merivah/fighting on the element of water is that it essentially changed the ideal way in which shefa comes to us through the sustaining element, water. Due to the merivah/fighting within the element of water, all shefa (abundance) is only able to come to us drop by drop. It follows, then, that if we would bypass the merivah/fighting that is in the element of water, we can attain the ideal kind of shefa, which comes down to us in an outpouring.

Fighting and Evil Speech Comes From “Bitter Waters”

Moshe was told by Hashem to speak to the rock and produce water from it, but instead he hit the rock. What is the difference between speaking to the rock and hitting the rock?

The Gemara says that the world stands on one who silences his mouth at a time of merivah (fighting).[7] What is the depth of this? It is because when one is silent as he is being insulted and fought at, he is certainly a person who has elevated his speech. Such a person is speaking from a more elevated form of “water” (saliva) within himself, because a person generally produces saliva as he speaks. When one speaks appropriately as he should, one is speaking from the “sweet saliva” in the body (a concept that was mentioned earlier).

It follows, then, that when one is not silent during a merivah/fight, and he insults the other person back, he is speaking with the “bitter saliva” of his mouth. When one does not silence his mouth during a merivah/fight, he is really speaking from the “bitter waters”, from “bitter saliva”, the waters of the Mei Merivah, the impaired level of water, the “Lower Waters” which are connected to the element of earth.

Another example of speaking from “bitter saliva” is when one talks lashon hora (gossip). The verse says, “Death and life are in the hands of the tongue”[8], and this is because speech can either be life-giving to a person, symbolizing the “Upper Waters” which are life-giving and sweet, or speech can be deathlike to a person, which brings bitterness to a person. That is the case when one speaks lashon hora, who is really speaking from the “bitter waters” in himself, from “bitter saliva”, which is deathlike. 

The Gemara says that if a person learns Torah, if he is meritorious, the Torah learning becomes an elixir of life to him, and if he is not meritorious, his Torah learning deadly poison to him.[9] The depth of this statement is that when a person speaks words of Torah from a place of “sweet saliva” in himself, from speech that is free from any evil, poisonous speech, such Torah learning gives life to him. But if a person is speaking words of Torah from a place of “bitter saliva” in himself, from speech that is tainted with evil, poisonous speech, the words of Torah which are normally life-giving to a person become transformed into poison to him, because his Torah learning is tainted with “bitter saliva” that is poisonous and deathlike.

Thus, there is either speech which can come from “bitterness”, which is the ruined level of speech, and there is a rectified level of speech. Moshe was commanded to speak to the rock, to speak from sweetly to the rock, to produce sweet water, to speak to it from “sweet saliva”. The speech of Moshe, unlike the evil speech of lashon hora, was the repaired level of speech, it was a speech of “sweet saliva” of the mouth, and it was capable of elevating the element of water which had turned “bitter” ever since the splitting of the waters.

Emunah – The Antithesis To Merivah/Fighting and Machlokes/Divisiveness

Moshe was later told by Hashem that he would be not allowed into Eretz Yisrael because “You did not believe in me”[10], failing to sanctify Hashem’s name because of the sin of Mei Merivah. Why was the sin at Mei Merivah connected with a lack of emunah? Moshe was certainly not lack in his emunah in Hashem, chas v’shalom, so what does this mean? Clearly, there is a deeper intent here.

It is because there is a connection between emunah and the element of water. Before the waters of Creation were split into two divisions, they were one unit. After the split, there are now two sides to the water. When a person has doubts, he sees two options in front of him, and he is uncertain. He can’t have emunah as long as he has doubts. (As is well-known, the gematria of “Amalek” is equal to safek, doubt, because a person cannot have emunah as long as the evil force of “Amalek”, doubt, is present). The root of doubt, which implies that there is more than one option to choose from, is due to the split between the waters, which created two different sides to the water. Thus, when a person had doubts, when he is lacking in emunah, he is in a state that reflects the division of the waters. It follows, then, that when one has emunah, he is able to return to the original state of the water, when the water was one unit alone, where the entire idea of division/doubts does not exist.

The entire concept of emunah is that a person has one option alone. When a person has no emunah, he has doubts all the time, and he is having more than one option in front of him. With emunah, a person has no other options other than to trust in Hashem. Emunah is reminiscent of the original state of the waters, when there was no division yet, and the water was one single unit. Without emunah, a person remains at the impaired level of the waters, the divided element of water, where there are always “two” different options to take.

After the split of the waters, how can the waters become combined again? If we keep having different options in front of us because we lack emunah, then we will always remain with the divided waters, and we have no power to unify the waters back together again. But when we reveal our power of emunah – and only when we reveal emunah – can we combine the Lower Waters and Upper Waters back together, into one unit.

Accessing The Heavenly Abundance Which Comes From Emunah

Why are we found in a world in which all shefa comes to us not in overabundance, but in “drops”, as the Vilna Gaon says? This is really because the level of Creation today, as well as the level of our souls today, is found in the impaired state of merivah, which resulted from the division of the waters (which has not yet been repaired).

As an example, the Gemara says that when people learn Torah, they are first enemies to each other, and at the end, they become friends with each other.[11] Thus, today, all Torah learning inevitably comes to us by first having merivah/fighting. As mentioned, this causes our Torah learning to come to us only as “drops and drops” of Torah understanding. All of the shefa which comes to us is not the ideal shefa, and it is coming to us as a much lower form of shefa, which reflects the general state of katnus (smallness) of mankind today.

In deeper terms, which makes the concept clearer to us, all of the shefa coming to us today is generally coming to us in a divided, individualized manner, due to the all of the divisiveness that takes place in our soul and with others. But when one’s shefa is coming to him from emunah, it is coming from a place where there is no divisiveness, and such shefa does not come to him in “drops”, but in overabundance, where it is undivided, unlimited shefa.

Chazal state that “One who learns Torah lishmah becomes a mighty wellspring”[12], and this means (among many other interpretations as well) that one who learns Torah lishmah (not for self-serving purposes) reaches the root of emunah, which is “I am Hashem”, and from there, all of the shefa that will come the person is through the source, through emunah, where the shefa pours down to him, like a “mighty wellspring” which pours forth water in overabundance.

When one’s shefa (sustenance) comes from emunah (faith in G-d), one will not merely have “drops and drops” of shefa, but an outpouring of shefa, because his shefa will be coming from a place that is one, where there are no two options. All of the shefa that will subsequently come to him will have no limits to it! When shefa comes to a person in a constricted, limited manner, it is only the shefa which was produced from the rock at Mei Merivah, which only came out in drops and drops, it is constricted and limited shefa.

This is the meaning of the statement in the Sages, “Nothing good comes from machlokes.”[13] The Gemara also says that even regarding a machlokes l’sheim shomayim (an argument for the sake of Heaven), such as the machlokes between Hilel and Shamai, this machlokes ultimately brought strife amongst the Jewish people, because the machlokes went on for too long.[14] It is unnecessary to prolong machlokes, and the results are only detrimental, even when the machlokes started out as constructive.

We can see throughout history that without exception, all shefa comes to us only through merivah, through wars and fighting. The land of Eretz Yisrael is meant to unify together all of Klal Yisrael into one place, it was meant to become the vessel which contains everyone together, and that is why all souls are connected with Eretz Yisrael. One who is genuinely connected to Eretz Yisrael will have genuine ahavas Yisrael. But because of the sin at Mei Merivah, there would no longer be a Moshe bringing the Jewish people into Eretz Yisrael. Instead, it would have to Yehoshua bringing them into Eretz Yisrael, and it would have to be through a war. All shefa from then on had to come to the Jewish people through war, and not through peace. This was not the ideal situation that we were meant to traverse.

Practically Speaking

On a practical level, the question is: Where is a person getting shefa from? Either one is getting shefa from emunah, or one will be getting shefa through war, fighting and divisiveness.

Every Jew, in the depths of his soul, has the power of emunah. If a person doesn’t get shefa through his emunah, then all of his shefa will instead come to him through war, strife, and machlokes… and such shefa will not come to him in abundance, it will only come to him through “drops and drops.” When shefa is coming to a person in mere “drops and drops”, this is like the shefa that came to the people at Mei Merivah, which was ruined.

A person who doesn’t realize that his shefa needs to come through emunah will engage in a lot of fighting and machlokes. Such a person will learn Torah and he will think that he always needs to engage in some kind of machlokes, and he will fool himself that he’s always arguing leshaim shomayim…

In contrast to the above, if one’s shefa is coming to him from emunah, it is coming to him from a place of shalom (peace), and then there is no room for machlokes. This is the holy element of “water”, and the Sages refer to this as one who becomes a maayan hamisgaber, a “mighty wellspring”, an outpouring of water which comes from the earth, but which represents the holy, repaired form of water. This is a very fundamental concept. A person must realize that all of his chiyus (life-giving energy) can only come to him through emunah! In the future, there will be no more war and fighting, only peace, and this is because there will be shefa to all people coming from emunah.

After one awakens the power of emunah in his soul – which is certainly a process and which takes time - one must realize that all shefa can only come to him from his emunah! One who lives this way will live a true, inner life. Such “water”, such shefa, is coming from the original, undivided element of water, before the waters were split, the very source of the water. This is the “opening to Gan Eden”. But, if one is getting any chiyus (or shefa) from any other sources than emunah, he will be getting chiyus from negative sources, such as unjustified hatred (sinas chinam) anddivisiveness (machlokes)…

In Conclusion

May Hashem merit us to reveal emunah, and that we merit that all shefa come to us through our emunah.