וַיֹּ֗אמֶר קְחוּ־לִי֙ צְלֹחִ֣ית חֲדָשָׁ֔ה וְשִׂ֥ימוּ שָׁ֖ם מֶ֑לַח וַיִּקְח֖וּ אֵלָֽיו׃
Il répondit: "Apportez-moi une cruche neuve que vous remplirez de sel;" et on la lui apporta.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וילכו שלשת ימים במדבר, “they walked for three days through the desert.” I have already mentioned at the beginning of my commentary on this portion that every occurrence that took place in the desert was in the nature of a trial. There has never been a reported march of a nation numbering three million souls plus through the desert without their being supplied with a drop of water especially at a hot time of year. According to our sages (see our comment on 13,17) when the Israelites arrived at Marah the waters they found there had first been sweet, water fit to drink. These waters turned bitter, bracken, to intensify the trial they were undergoing. This is best reflected in the Torah itself writing “there He subjected them to a test” (verse 25). When Moses prayed and G’d showed him how to sweeten the water by throwing some bitter piece of wood into it, this was all part of the same trial. The very irrationality of bitter wood turning bitter water into sweet water was designed to underline that the whole experience was designed to test the Israelites’ dependence on G’d’s goodwill.
In discussing this matter, Rabbi Nathan in Mechilta Vayissa section 1, says that the wood G’d showed Moses is called Hardefani, a tree growing by the banks of a river, and the fruit of which is a deadly poison for any man who eats from it. On the other hand, Rabbi Eleazar Hamodai claims that the tree was the olive tree. A third opinion offered holds that it was the root of the fig tree. In any event, the common denominator of all these traditions is that the wood was bitter and could not have sweetened the water by natural means. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, reflecting on this phenomenon (and others) was prompted to exclaim: “how wondrous are Your works O Lord, so much more wonderful than anything designed by man.” When Elisha told his disciples (Kings II 2,20 ) “bring me a new dish and put salt in it,” he added matter which would make the water even less palatable than before in order to turn the water into drinking water. This too was an example of a miracle within a miracle.
In discussing this matter, Rabbi Nathan in Mechilta Vayissa section 1, says that the wood G’d showed Moses is called Hardefani, a tree growing by the banks of a river, and the fruit of which is a deadly poison for any man who eats from it. On the other hand, Rabbi Eleazar Hamodai claims that the tree was the olive tree. A third opinion offered holds that it was the root of the fig tree. In any event, the common denominator of all these traditions is that the wood was bitter and could not have sweetened the water by natural means. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, reflecting on this phenomenon (and others) was prompted to exclaim: “how wondrous are Your works O Lord, so much more wonderful than anything designed by man.” When Elisha told his disciples (Kings II 2,20 ) “bring me a new dish and put salt in it,” he added matter which would make the water even less palatable than before in order to turn the water into drinking water. This too was an example of a miracle within a miracle.