The Torah (Numbers 5:17) instructs the priest to take "sacred water in an earthenware vessel, and from the dirt that is on the floor of the Tabernacle...place it into the water." But where does this “sacred water” come from? According to this midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), it's none other than water sanctified in a vessel – specifically, water from the basin (kiyor) in the Tabernacle.
Why the basin? This is where things get really interesting. The kiyor, we are told, was crafted from the mirrors of the women who assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting (Exodus 38:8). These weren't just any mirrors; they represented the women's unwavering commitment to purity, even in the face of Egyptian oppression. The midrash says these women declared, "God testifies on our behalf that we departed from Egypt pure!" And when Moses was instructed to build the basin, God specifically told him to use these mirrors. Why? Because, as the text says, "they were not utilized for the purpose of harlotry, and with them, their daughters will be examined whether they are as pure as their mothers.” The very instrument used for vanity, for outward appearance, is transformed into a symbol of inner purity and a tool for discerning truth. The Zohar adds another layer, suggesting that the Divine Presence rests upon those who maintain purity, making the water from the basin especially potent.
But the story doesn’t stop there. The midrash connects the women's purity in Egypt to the entire redemption story. God’s miracles, the text argues, were a direct result of the Israelites’ adherence to moral boundaries. Consider the plagues: Egyptians drinking blood while Jews drank water, frogs leaping upon Egyptians but fleeing from Jews, hail sparing Jewish livestock while killing Egyptian. These weren't random acts; they were divine responses to the Israelites’ distinct moral character.
Even the parting of the Red Sea, the Bamidbar Rabbah suggests, was a greater miracle than anything experienced in Egypt. Rabbi Yitzḥak asks, rhetorically, "Is there a great hand and is there a small hand?" His answer: that the miracle at the sea was greater than the miracles in Egypt! He congealed one-third of the sea (referencing the idea that the heart is one-third of a person) and allowed them to walk on dry land. (Exodus 15:8)
But this display of divine favor didn't go unnoticed. The nations of the world cried foul, accusing God of favoritism. "We are uncircumcised and they are uncircumcised," they protested. "For them, 'the Lord saved Israel on that day...' but for us, 'He hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea!'" (Exodus 14:30, (Psalms 136:1)5)
So, what made Israel so deserving? The midrash answers with a fascinating, albeit somewhat cryptic, explanation involving family lineage and moral integrity. It speaks of seventy nations, but then introduces the concept of "sixty queens" and "eighty concubines" – families with unclear paternal or maternal lineage. In contrast, Israel, despite their time in Egypt, maintained a clear lineage, a testament to their moral fiber. Even the one instance of a mixed lineage, the son of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man (Leviticus 24:10), is explicitly called out.
This emphasis on lineage and purity culminates in the explanation for using the water from the basin for the sotah ritual. The midrash argues that the mothers of this generation grew up amongst impurity, but remained beyond suspicion; while the current generation grew up amongst purity, yet is suspected. "Therefore," the text concludes, "let the handiwork of those who grew among the impure, but were pure, examine and prove regarding those who grew among the pure and were defiled. That is why the water is from the basin."
So, what can we take away from this intricate tapestry of stories and interpretations? Perhaps it's a reminder that holiness can emerge from unexpected places. That even objects associated with vanity, like mirrors, can be transformed into symbols of purity and instruments of divine judgment. And perhaps, most importantly, it’s a call to examine our own lives, to strive for the same unwavering commitment to moral integrity that defined the women of the Exodus, and ultimately, paved the way for redemption.
“The priest shall take sacred water in an earthenware vessel, and from the dirt that is on the floor of the Tabernacle the priest shall take, and he shall place it into the water” (Numbers 5:17). “The priest shall take sacred water” – sacred water is nothing other than water that was sanctified in a vessel, and it is the water of the basin. Why was the water from the basin? It is because the basin was crafted only from the women’s mirrors, as it is stated: “He crafted the basin of bronze…[with the mirrors of the assembled women who assembled at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting]” (Exodus 38:8). It is those women who said: God testifies on our behalf that we departed from Egypt pure. When Moses came to craft the basin, God said to him: Craft it from these mirrors, as they were not utilized for the purpose of harlotry, and with them, their daughters will be examined whether they are as pure as their mothers. Another matter: God said: Were they not redeemed from Egypt only due to the merit of this mitzva, because they guarded themselves from harlotry? Likewise, you find that all the miracles that God performed on behalf of Israel in Egypt, He did so only because they guarded themselves from licentiousness. The Egyptian would lower his bucket; and the Jew would lower his bucket; that would be filled with blood, and this would be filled with water. Both of them drink from the barrel; that one would drink blood, and this one would drink water. A frog sees a Jew and flees, and sees an Egyptian and leaps upon him. Their animals graze together; the hail spares these and kills those. See the wonders that were there. It was likewise for all ten plagues. They came to the sea and He did on their behalf more than in Egypt. In Egypt, it is written: “Behold, the hand of the Lord is” (Exodus 9:3), and at the sea, the great hand is written, as it is stated: “Israel saw the great hand” (Exodus 14:31). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Is there a great hand and is there a small hand? Rather, greater than what He performed in Egypt, He performed at the sea. He congealed one-third of the sea, as it is stated: “The depths congealed in the heart of the sea” (Exodus 15:8), and the heart is one-third of man.58From the heart to the top of the head is approximately one-third of a person's height. They walked within it on dry land. What is written there? “Peoples heard, they were agitated” (Exodus 15:14). The nations of the world were critical and were saying: There is favoritism here. We are uncircumcised and they are uncircumcised. For them, “the Lord saved Israel on that day…” (Exodus 14:30), but for us, “He hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea” (Psalms 136:15). By what merit does He perform all these miracles on their behalf? The Holy One blessed be He said to them: “They are sixty queens, and eighty concubines” (Song of Songs 6:8); that is one hundred and forty. But we find only seventy: thirty, the descendants of Ḥam; fourteen, the descendants of Yefet; twenty-six, the descendants of Shem, as it is stated: “He set the borders of the peoples according to the number of the children of Israel” (Deuteronomy 32:8). How many were they? “All the people of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt were seventy” (Genesis 46:27). The nations are seventy, but you say one hundred and forty? Rather, there are sixty families in the world who know their father but do not know their mothers, and they are called “queens.” And there are eighty families in the world who know their mothers but do not know their father, and they are called concubines, as the concubines are suspect. The rest know neither their father nor their mother, but are shrouded in mystery [me’ulamim]. In their regard it is stated: “And young women [vaalamot] without number,” but Israel, “unique is my faultless dove” (Song of Songs 6:9). They grew in Egypt, “[whose flesh is] the flesh of donkeys [and whose issue is the issue of horses]” (Ezekiel 23:20), but [also] they, “a locked garden is my sister…” (Song of Songs 4:12). There is one who was corrupted there, and the verse publicized her, as it is stated: “The son of an Israelite woman, and he was the son of an Egyptian man” (Leviticus 24:10). He was the son of the Egyptian who Moses killed so that the matter would not be publicized among the Egyptians, as it is stated: “[And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man] he smote the Egyptian [and hid him in the sand]” (Exodus 2:12). But Israel: “Render to the Lord, families of peoples” (Psalms 96:7). Once they saw that it was so,59When the nations of the world saw that Israel know their lineage, they praised Israel. “Girls see her and laud her, [queens and concubines, and praise her]” (Song of Songs 6:9). They set out on their journey, “The Lord was going before them [by day in a pillar of cloud, to guide them on the way and by night in a pillar of fire, to illuminate for them; to go day and night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night] would not move [from before the people]” (Exodus 13:21–22). The manna fell, and the spring rose to the mountains for them. The manna fell from the heavens, the water from the ground, and meat from the sea, “and swept quails [from the sea]” (Numbers 11:31), what had not been done for any creature in the world. The nations sensed it and said: “Who is she who appears…” (Song of Songs 6:10)? They said to them:60The nations said one to another. ‘These are the children of God.’ They said to them: ‘Are they not the children of Egyptians? Did the Egyptians not enslave the women just as they enslaved the men?’ Immediately, the Divine Speech sprang upon Moses. He said to him: Count My children and they will know that the children are the children of their fathers, as it is stated: “Take a census…” (Numbers 1:2) – “the children of Reuben…” (Numbers 1:20), “for the children of Simeon…” (Numbers 1:22), and likewise regarding them all. The Holy One blessed be He said to the sotot: Your mothers grew up among the impure, but were beyond suspicion, and you grew among the pure, and you are suspect. Therefore, let the handiwork of those who grew among the impure, but were pure, examine and prove regarding those who grew among the pure and were defiled. That is why the water is from the basin.
