Traveling through the Middle East one truly sees the difference between a spring – “b’eir” and a cistern-“bor”.  With careful attention to location, anyone with motivation can dig a hole in a place where water will passively collect, taking care to line it so that the water does not leak out.  Finding the rare spring that is connected to a deeper source of water, giving continuously and generously, is life-affirming. 

The prophet Jeremiah (2:13) taught us millennia ago that another name for the Divine is the “M’kor Mayim Hayim – the Source of Living Waters”.  Jeremiah compares us, when we are off the path, to leaky cisterns.  Water is the symbol for the very life force which sustains us.

The two spiritual archetypes of wellspring and cistern have much to teach us.  There are times when I must prepare myself to passively receive the richness and learning that come to me just by positioning myself in the correct place and being sure that I can retain what comes to me.  Other times, I am called to connect with the very living Source itself in order to be a channel, bringing that life-force and nurturance into the world.

Be blessed with knowing how to receive the vitality that sustains life in the way that best serves you and your community.

Rabbi SaraLeya
November 1, 2010
24 Heshvan 7551