The Prince of the Sea Rahab and the Springs of the Human Face

(Numbers 19:2:) "This is the statute of the Torah." Blessed be the name of the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who created His world with wisdom and with understanding; His wonders have no limit, and His greatness no number; "He gathers the waters of the sea like a mound, and places the deeps in storehouses" (Psalms 33:7). And what is the meaning of "He gathers the waters of the sea like a mound"? When the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He said to the prince of the sea: "Open your mouth and swallow all the waters of creation." He said before Him: "Master of the World, it is enough for me that I stand within my own." And he began to weep. He kicked him and killed him, as it is said: "By His power He stilled the sea, and by His understanding He smote Rahab" (Job 26:12). [You find that the prince of the sea was named Rahab. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He subdued them and trod upon them,] and thus the sea received them, as it is said: "And He treads upon the heights of the earth, the Lord [God] of Hosts is His name" (Amos 4:13). And He set for them sand as a bar and doors, as it is said: "And He shut up the sea with doors" (Job 38:8); and it says: "Will you not fear Me, says the Lord, [will you not tremble before Me,] who placed the sand as a boundary for the sea?" (Jeremiah 5:22); and it says: "Thus far shall you come, and no farther" (Job 38:11). The sea said to Him: "Master of the World, if so, my sweet waters will mingle with the salty." He said to it: "No. Each and every one has a storehouse of its own," as it is said: "He places the deeps in storehouses" (Psalms 33:7). And should you say that this is a great wonder, that their waters do not mingle—behold, the face that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in human beings, the size of a full sit: it has several springs, and they do not mingle one with another. The waters of the eyes are salty, the waters of the ears are oily, the waters of the nose are foul, the waters of the mouth are sweet. Why are the waters of the eyes salty? Because when a person weeps over the dead at every hour, he would at once go blind; but because they are salty, he ceases and does not weep. Why are the waters of the ears oily? Because when a person hears harsh news, were he to retain it in his ears, it would bind itself to his heart and he would die; but because they are oily, he lets it out by this one and takes it in by that one. Why are the waters of the nose foul? Because when a person smells a foul odor, were it not for the foul waters of the nose that revive him, he would at once die. And why are the waters of the mouth sweet? Sometimes a person eats food that is not accepted by his heart and he vomits it; and were it not for the sweet waters of the mouth, his soul would not return to him. And moreover, because he reads in the Torah, of which it is written: "And sweeter than honey and the drippings of the comb" (Psalms 19:11), therefore the waters of the mouth are sweet. And these are matters of a fortiori reasoning (kal va-homer): if a full sit has several springs and they do not mingle, the Great Sea—how much more so! As it is said: "This sea, [great] and wide of hand…" (Psalms 104:25). This is to teach you that in everything the Holy One, blessed be He, performs His mission, and He created not a single thing in vain. And sometimes the Holy One, blessed be He, performed His mission by means of [a frog, and by means of a gnat, and by means of a wasp, and by means of] a scorpion. Rabbi Chanan of Sepphoris said: There was an incident concerning a scorpion that went to perform its mission across the Jordan, and the Holy One, blessed be He, prepared a frog for it, and it crossed over upon it; and that scorpion went and stung a man, and he died. And there was an incident concerning a reaper who was standing and reaping in the valley of Beth Tofach. When the scorching heat came, he took grass and bound it on his head. A certain mighty serpent came upon him, and the man killed it. A certain snake-charmer passed by him and saw the slain serpent. He said to him: "Who killed this serpent?" He said to him: "I." He looked at the grass on his head. He said to him: "Will you remove the grass from your head?" He said to him: "Yes." When he removed it, he said to him: "Are you able to lift this serpent with this staff?" He said to him: "Yes." He did so. He drew near to it; he had not managed to touch it before it crumbled, limb by limb.