The Shiras Hayam concludes after recording the great song the nation proclaimed and adding that the women too sang together with Miriam. The Torah then says, “And Moshe urged Yisroel to travel from the Yam Suf; they went out into the desert of Shur, and they went three days and didn’t find water” (Shemos 15:22).
Rashi notes that there was a tremendous amount of valuables that kept washing up on the shores of the sea. These were the adornments that the vanquished Egyptian army had placed upon their cavalry as they pursued Klal Yisroel. Moshe had to urge the nation away from the sea because they were consumed with trying to amass as much wealth as they could.
Rav Mordechai Druk in Darash Mordechai relates that his grandfather once went to visit a wealthy man who lived in Yerushalayim. He was ushered into an ostentatious home where numerous maids and servants were rushing in all directions. The breakfast table was set with an elaborate spread of delectable foods. However, the wealthy man sat down and only ate half a piece of bread. Rabbi Druk’s grandfather was informed that his host suffered from an illness that prevented him from digesting food properly, and thus followed a very restrictive diet.
Later that day, Rav Druk’s grandfather walked past a water carrier who was eating a vegetable sandwich and apparently enjoying it.
Rav Druk’s grandfather related that it is obvious that money isn’t everything. Someone can be blessed with wealth and affluence, but cannot enjoy it because of emotional or physical reasons. Another person may have far less, but if he is able to appreciate what he has he is more privileged.
With that in mind, Rav Druk explained the juxtaposition between Moshe urging the nation away from the sea after they sang the shirah and the debacle with the bitter water. Klal Yisroel had just left Egypt amidst great joy and miracles. After eating the Korban Pesach exactly as proscribed and circumcising themselves, they marched into the desert with uncanny faith in G-d. Then at the edge of the sea, gold, silver, and pearls suddenly intoxicated them, so much so that Moshe couldn’t pull them away. They had instantaneously become wealthy. So immediately after, G-d demonstrates to them that in reality they have nothing! With all their gold and silver they have no water; you can’t drink money.
There is a classic quote that reads, “He spent his health to acquire wealth, and then he spent his wealth to get his health back again.”
People often think that all they are missing is “just a little more” and then they can be truly happy. But the reality is not that way. Very often money and materialism becomes a person’s “whistle” and something they subsequently pay too dearly for. To paraphrase the expression of Shlomo HaMelech in Koheles, “gam zeh hevel – this too is futile,” a tragic waste of energy and effort.
Rav Chaim Epstein, zt”l, rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Zichron Melech, noted that the verse states, “Emes kinay v’al timkor – Acquire (purchase) truth and don’t sell it.” The only thing that can be deemed truth is Torah and mitzvos.
How does one purchase truth? Some cars cost 10,000 dollars. But a really expensive car may cost 50,000 dollars. Some cameras cost fifty dollars, but a really good camera can be upwards of five hundred dollars. If I really want the better quality camera, I am willing to pay the added expense. The more I have to give up for something, the more I will feel that thing is worth. If one sacrifices a great deal to acquire something, it will be all the more valuable and precious to him.
In order to purchase truth one must sacrifice falsehood. The price of acquiring Torah is to give up anything that is untrue. To become proficient and gain mastery in Torah one must be prepared to sacrifice some of the pleasures and conveniences of life. Doing so, however, will help a person to realize the invaluableness of the Torah and that it’s worth the effort and sacrifice. “We acquire truth” by sacrificing falsehood and then we won’t sell it, i.e., we won’t “let it go” because we will feel that it is the most precious and valuable thing we can have.
During the first moments after Bnei Yisrael became prosperous, G-d engrained in them that the only whistle worth sacrifice and investing in was Torah and Avodas Hashem. The more a person sacrifices for it, the more he will appreciate and value his efforts.
Shirah is always sung after national salvation, which includes triumph over adversity. The greater the peril, the greater the subsequent song and rejoicing. It is those things that we sacrifice which become the content of the shirah of our lives. The Torah exhorts us, “And now write for yourselves this song; teach it to Bnai Yisroel, place it in their mouths.” Torah must be the shirah of our lives, our guide through life’s adversities and uncertainties.
The holiday of Tu B’shvat serves as a jolting reminder to analyze, contemplate, and appreciate the greatness of G-d’s natural world. We also consider the analogies between humankind and trees. It takes great effort to grow a tree. Aside from all the effort entailed in planting itself, the tree must have the nurturance it needs to be able to develop strong healthy roots so it can grow upwards and tower above the ground. There is a price to be paid for such august growth. But the payoff is well worth the effort.