Exodus 15:26 – God Heals

The Jewish people needed water to drink. They arrived at Marah, but the bitter water was undrinkable. God sweetened the water for them.

Then God taught them a lesson about observing the Torah:

Let’s look at how Ramban explains this verse.

Ibn Ezra Explains

Ramban begins his commentary by quoting part of what Ibn Ezra wrote on Exodus 15:26.

If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God – The phrase “diligently listen” is from the Hebrew “shamo’a tishma” which are two forms of the verb “shema” (shin-mem-ayin).

Usually a repetition of the verb indicates a strengthening of the idea. Hence, the translation “diligently listen” to what is being said.

Ibn Ezra writes a general rule that the verb shema followed by the letters bet or lamed changes the meaning from physical listening to the concept of understanding the meaning of a matter.

In this case God is telling the Jewish people to understand which commandment to follow at any particular time.

and will do that which is right in His sight – these are the positive commandments.

and will give ear to His commandments – these are the negative commandments to understand them.

and keep all His statutes – so as to not transgress any of them. Ibn Ezra adds, in particular this indicates not to follow in the ways of the non-Jews.

Ramban often quotes Ibn Ezra’s comments to disagree with him. Since in this instance he does not state any disagreement, it implies he accepts Ibn Ezra’s approach.

The Midrash Explains

Ramban quotes another explanation for the beginning of our verse:

The concept of “business dealings” is not limited just to buying and selling in the marketplace. It would also include a wide range of interactions between people.

Rashi Explains

Ramban agrees with Ibn Ezra’s explanation for the beginning of Exodus 15:26.

He now quotes Rashi’s explanation of the end of the verse.

Rashi is bothered by what appears to be a contradiction in the verse. If the Jewish people will not get sick, then why is healing needed?

First, he explains the phrase based on a midrash:

(Note: The words in italics were added by Rabbi Silbermann for clarity. I’ve taken the liberty to update his translation by changing “thee” and “thou” to “you.”)

Next, Rashi offers an explanation based more on the simple meaning of the verse.

In this explanation, the phrase “Who heals you” doesn’t mean healing after becoming sick. It means warning a person what to do to avoid becoming sick. In this instance, the “healing” is to observe the Torah.

Ramban Disagrees with Rashi

Ramban presents 3 points of disagreement with Rashi.

1. The phrase “heals you” is from the Hebrew rof’echa, based on the 3-letter root reish-pey-aleph.

Rashi understands “rof’echa” to be a noun or adjective. Rashi would translate the end of the verse as: I am the Lord your healer. That is why he gives the example of what a physician might say to a patient.

Ramban disagrees and states that “rof’echa” is a verb. Then the translation is “I am the Lord Who heals you.”

2. It’s not the way of a master to threaten his servants by saying, “If you do what I want, I won’t kill you.”

3. It is not the way of the Torah to promise that following the Torah will ensure that bad things don’t happen. Rather, the way of the Torah is to promise blessing and goodness to those who follow it.

Ramban Explains Exodus 15:26

every disease that I placed on Egypt I will not place on you – Ramban explains that this phrase is a warning to the Jewish people that they should not rebel against God like the Egyptians did.

The Egyptians were warned by God. They rebelled and He brought afflictions on them. These afflictions are fitting to come on anyone who rebels against God’s will.

Ramban quotes from Deuteronomy to support his position:

Deuteronomy 28 is the chapter of the Tochachah, the admonition by Moses to the Jewish people of what will happen to them when they disobey God. Verse 60 reveals that “the diseases of Egypt” are one of the punishments that God will bring on Israel.

for I am the Lord Who heals you – these words are God’s promise to the Jewish people. He will remove from them sickness that comes in natural ways.

This is akin to what God did to the bitter waters of Marah:

The bitter waters of Marah were a natural phenomena. God acted for the Jewish people to sweeten those waters. He can do the same thing for the Jewish people to heal them from disease when they observe the Torah.

Marah and the First Plague

Ramban finishes this section of his commentary by again quoting Ibn Ezra. Here’s my summary of the Ibn Ezra:

• God afflicted Egypt with 10 plagues. The first plague was turning the water of the Nile into blood (Exodus 7:14-18).
• God turned the sweet water of the Nile into undrinkable water. Here, after the Exodus, God turned the bitter water of Marah sweet.

I will add an additional point. After God turned the Nile into blood, we read:

The Egyptian magicians were also able to turn sweet water into something vile and undrinkable.

If they had such powers, why didn’t they reverse what God did and return the Nile back into sweet water?

Apparently, their powers only allowed them to degrade something good and worthwhile into something vile.

God, on the other hand, can turn bad into good.

Further Reading

Click here for a summary of Parshat Beshalach.

The Jewish people have escaped from Egypt. The Egyptians are chasing after them. Moses tells the people to stand still and be silent!?!