Advantages of Dependence Upon Rain

            In preparing the Children of Israel for entry into their land, Moses included the following comments:

For the Land which go into to take it into possession is not like the land of Egypt from which you came out, that you sow your seed and water with your foot as a vegetable garden. But the Land which you go to take it into possession is a land of mountains and valleys, by rain of heaven it drinks water.                                                        Deuteronomy 11:10 - 11

            On the face of it, the land of the Nile, having an abundance of water regardless of the amount of rain, has a tremendous advantage over the Land of Israel which is dependent upon rainfall.   Yet, our tradition sees the above verses as being praise of the Holy Land. Rashi, quoting the Midrash Sifrei, comments “the Land which you go into ... is not like the land of Egypt, rather better”. This comment seems surprising.

            In truth, dependence upon rain is actually dependence upon He who causes it to rain. The Egyptian, knowing that the Nile will provide water no matter what happens, does not have to maintain a direct and personal relationship with God. The farmer in Israel must pray for rain, and therefore he must maintain the direct and personal relationship with God. In this way, the Land of Israel is superior to the land of the Nile.

            Rabbi Yaakov haLevi Filber points out an additional dimension of the advantage of Israel, with its dependence upon rain over the land of the Nile.  In Egypt, each individual farmer drew his own water from the Nile (either through digging irrigation channels or using water wheels, which perhaps is the meaning of the phrase “and water with your foot”). Israel’s dependence upon rain means each farmer is equally dependent. The reality of Israel in effect forces each individual to see himself as part of the whole and inclines the People of Israel towards unity.

            The first of these points is clearly stated in Midrash Breishit Rabba [13:9], while the second is implied:

Rabbi Ḥanan of Zippori, quoting Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, says: for four reasons God chose to have the world drink from above (i.e. rain water, as opposed to the “mist [which] rose up from the earth, and watered the entire surface of the ground” [Genesis 2:6]). Because of the strong-armed (that the powerful not prevent the less powerful having access to water); to wash away the evil dew; so those who are higher will have access as well as the lower ones; as well, so all will raise their eyes to heaven (in prayer for sufficient rain).