Water can bring destruction like a tsunami so why are they a "source of life"?

Two-thirds of the world is covered with water, the human body is made up of 75% water, and already in the creation of the world it was said that 'the Spirit of God hovers over the surface of the water'. Water is a blessing or a curse?

Water can bring destruction like a tsunami so why are they a "source of life"?

There is no life without water. Two-thirds of the world is covered with water, the human body is made up of 75% water, and even at the beginning of the creation of the world, even before God created the light, it was said that 'the Spirit of God hovers over the surface of the water'. Water, it turns out, plays an important role in the world. We learn in Tractate Eruvin, page 12, that even sages gave a special and special halakhic treatment of water. 

Water has creative power but also destructive power. Water, for example, appeared in several places during the creation of the world. On the third day, when the Creator of the world caused all the water to gather in one place, on the fifth day when the creatures that live in the water and more were created. Water is the source of life, from which the first life comes, it is impossible to live without it but it can also bring destruction. For example, when all of humanity corrupted its way, Gd brought the flood upon mankind. 

Seemingly this is a contradiction, how can heaven be both a source of life and destruction? Rabbi Chaim David Kowalski, presenter of the digital gemara, explained that the answer is related to the essence of water. Water has no form but they have eternal flow. The water will take the form of any vessel in which they are, and equally have no stability. They are constantly flowing from place to place. It creates life but they can also bring about through their flow disintegration, destruction and devastation. 

Water plays an important role in the world. Hotel Beach (Photo: Imagebank GettyImages)

Costa Baja Beach in La Paz Mexico (Photo: Alfredo Martinez, GettyImages)

This principle can be applied in our lives. You have to know how to flow, to be vital, and whoever knows that, will be able to do new things. But is it possible to flow without a break? No. It needs to be balanced with stability, it needs to differentiate between sea and land. Both are essential for the good of creation. The positive side of the water and the stability must be taken from the water, and thus balance in life. Because if we allow uninterrupted flow, it could eventually lead to destruction. 

Want to learn more topics according to the Gemara? This is your chance to join the digital gemara venture. This is a project in which you will watch a daily video clip based on the daily page presented by Rabbi Kowalski, founder and head of the Maorot Daf Yomi organization. As part of this, each person can be part of hundreds of thousands in Israel and around the world who take care to regularly study one page of Gemara a day, by watching a short daily video.

The section on the role of water in the world is based on the daily page in Tractate Eruvin, page 12, and is also published in full on the Digital Gemara website. In the section, you will meet daily at significant and fascinating points related to daily life, based on the daily study of the Gemara. The project is free of charge for its participants.

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