Even before Matan Torah at Mount Sinai, the Jewish people already received several mitzvot at Marah: "They came to Marah... there God taught them a decree and a law, and there He tested them." (Exodus 16: 23-25)
According to tradition, one of the mitzvot that God taught the Jewish people at Marah was to observe the Sabbath. (Sanhedrin 56b) It appears that Marah was a prelude of sorts for receiving the Torah at Sinai. How did the mitzvah of Shabbat prepare them for the Sinaitic revelation? In what way was Marah a test for the Jewish people?
The area was called Marah because the waters there were bitter (mar): "When Moses cried out to God, He showed him a certain tree. Moses threw it in the water, and the water became sweet." (Exodus 15:25)
When a person is ill, that which is sweet tastes bitter. The waters of Marah seemed to be bitter, yet in fact they were sweet. These waters are a metaphor for the Torah itself. The laws of the Torah are sweet to those with a pure soul and a refined character, but bitter to those burdened with negative personality traits. (Maimonides, Hilchot De'ot 2:1) Marah laid the groundwork for Sinai by reinforcing the positive traits of kindness and compassion that are innate to the Jewish people (Yevamot 79a). The people would then be ready to receive the Torah, as their moral development would allow them to appreciate the sweetness of the Torah's laws.
How did the mitzvah of Shabbat accomplish this?
For the sake of social order and harmony, people who are not inherently kind need to be occupied with labor. Work relationships and business dealings force people to be pleasant to one another. Even if they do not care for each other, it is in their self- interest to be friendly and helpful. If they are not working, however, this motive no longer exists. Without the need to gain the good will of others, they will revert to their ingrained selfishness and cruelty.
This was the test of Marah. The Jewish people were given the Sabbath day of rest. Would they discover within themselves an innate quality of compassion? Would they remain considerate and accommodating to one another, despite the lack of personal profit to be gained from kindness on the day of rest?
This also explains the special connection between the manna and the Sabbath. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath, in order to "test them whether or not they will keep My law.". (Exodus 16:4) With their food provided for them, the Jews had no need to earn a living. The test of the manna, like the test of the Sabbath, was whether they would remain considerate to their neighbors with no incentive of personal gain. If the Jews in the desert remained friendly to one another, it demonstrated that their kindness was not out of self-interest, but an innate nature of compassion and love of fairness. These were traits the Jewish people needed in order to accept the Torah.
The seven mitzvot of the Noahide Code, which obligate all of mankind, do not demand the refinement of human nature. They just require that people avoid evil. The Torah, on the other hand, was revealed in order to elevate Israel to a holy people. The morality of Israel can not be based only on expediency and personal gain, but on loving "that which is good and proper in the eyes of God." (Deuteronomy 12:28) Therefore, it was necessary to bolster the foundations for their innate goodness. In this way, the mitzvot of Marah paved the way for the Torah's revelation at Sinai.
According to tradition, one of the mitzvot that God taught the Jewish people at Marah was to observe the Sabbath. (Sanhedrin 56b) It appears that Marah was a prelude of sorts for receiving the Torah at Sinai. How did the mitzvah of Shabbat prepare them for the Sinaitic revelation? In what way was Marah a test for the Jewish people?
The area was called Marah because the waters there were bitter (mar): "When Moses cried out to God, He showed him a certain tree. Moses threw it in the water, and the water became sweet." (Exodus 15:25)
When a person is ill, that which is sweet tastes bitter. The waters of Marah seemed to be bitter, yet in fact they were sweet. These waters are a metaphor for the Torah itself. The laws of the Torah are sweet to those with a pure soul and a refined character, but bitter to those burdened with negative personality traits. (Maimonides, Hilchot De'ot 2:1) Marah laid the groundwork for Sinai by reinforcing the positive traits of kindness and compassion that are innate to the Jewish people (Yevamot 79a). The people would then be ready to receive the Torah, as their moral development would allow them to appreciate the sweetness of the Torah's laws.
How did the mitzvah of Shabbat accomplish this?
For the sake of social order and harmony, people who are not inherently kind need to be occupied with labor. Work relationships and business dealings force people to be pleasant to one another. Even if they do not care for each other, it is in their self- interest to be friendly and helpful. If they are not working, however, this motive no longer exists. Without the need to gain the good will of others, they will revert to their ingrained selfishness and cruelty.
This was the test of Marah. The Jewish people were given the Sabbath day of rest. Would they discover within themselves an innate quality of compassion? Would they remain considerate and accommodating to one another, despite the lack of personal profit to be gained from kindness on the day of rest?
This also explains the special connection between the manna and the Sabbath. The manna did not fall on the Sabbath, in order to "test them whether or not they will keep My law.". (Exodus 16:4) With their food provided for them, the Jews had no need to earn a living. The test of the manna, like the test of the Sabbath, was whether they would remain considerate to their neighbors with no incentive of personal gain. If the Jews in the desert remained friendly to one another, it demonstrated that their kindness was not out of self-interest, but an innate nature of compassion and love of fairness. These were traits the Jewish people needed in order to accept the Torah.
The seven mitzvot of the Noahide Code, which obligate all of mankind, do not demand the refinement of human nature. They just require that people avoid evil. The Torah, on the other hand, was revealed in order to elevate Israel to a holy people. The morality of Israel can not be based only on expediency and personal gain, but on loving "that which is good and proper in the eyes of God." (Deuteronomy 12:28) Therefore, it was necessary to bolster the foundations for their innate goodness. In this way, the mitzvot of Marah paved the way for the Torah's revelation at Sinai.