The question is asked "why doesn't Moshe hit the water?" Says Rashi "Because the water protected Moshe Rabbeinu, when Moshe was put into the water, therefore the water was not hit by Moshe." From here one learns the important principle of gratitude. Not only gratitude to a person, but gratitude to a non-human object. Not only gratitude for what happened a week, year, or five years ago, but gratitude for something that happened eighty years ago. Does it make a difference for the non-human object if you hit it or not? The answer is, it makes a difference for you to realize that you benefited from that non-human object. The Torah tells us that a male from Amon, and Moav can never join the fraternity. Why? Because they did not give us bread and water when the Jews left Egypt. Says the Ramban, Devarim 23:5, "Amon and Moav are pushed away from being Jews because they were the beneficiaries of the Chesed of Avraham, who saved their father and mother from the sword and captivity, therefore they are obligated to do good to the children of Avraham, and instead they did to them evil."

The Ramchal says in Path of the Just, Chapter 8, "What should make a person serve G-d with enthusiasm (i.e. not be lazy and lathargic). If a person would study all the constant good that G-d has bestowed upon him from the day he was born until his last day, he will not slack off from doing Mitzvohs with hustle. The Gemara says in Brachos, 10:A "King David sang a special song for the time period he spent in his mothers womb." When David became of age in wisdom, and sense of mind, he realized how much can go wrong in pregnancy. People always say "I want to see miracles." The biggest miracle is that a person is born normal and healthy. These are things which we take for granted. Dovid Hamelech didn't take it for granted. Moshe Rabbeinu didn't hit the water.

The Gemara says in Baba Kama 92:B "A well which you drank water from, don't throw a stone into the well." Says the Vilna Gaon "Of course the simple explanation of not throwing a stone into the water which you drank is obviously true." The Gaon adds, if you read a Sefer (Book), and you gained one idea, one piece of knowledge, you owe a debt of gratitude to the author.

The Ramban says in two places "that G-d created man to recognize his creator, and to say thank you." A Jew starts off his day by saying Modeh Ani, I thank you G-d you gave me another chance to play the game. The Gemara says in Brachos 58:A, "what does a good guest say? Everything the master of the house did, he did for me, he cooked for me, baked for me, etc..., even if he has a house full of kids. What does a bad guest say? What toil did the master of the house have, I only ate one piece of bread, drank one cup, all that he toiled, he didn't toil for me but for his household. The Gemara is teaching us that it is up to the person to see what he wants to see, if the guest sees the master of the house toiling for him or not. May we see all the toil that G-d put into the world for us. As the Gemara says "man is obligated to say for me this world was created." Which means that I need 100 percent of the sun because if I got only benefit from a fraction of the sun, I wouldn't be around, and would have no benefit at all.

Torah Blessings,
Y. Bertram

bertram@ohr.israel.net