They came to Mara and they could not drink the water of Mara because it was bitter… I am Hashem, who heals you. (Shemos 15:23-26)

Life is sometimes bitter. Sometimes it is extremely bitter. Why does it need to be?

This past week, I started taking a new medicine. As I poured the brown liquid into a cup, I wondered if I really wanted to take it. Then, I put it to my lips and no longer wondered if I wanted to take it. I knew I did not want to take it! I wanted to spit it out in the sink! It was awful! It tasted so bitter! But, I swallowed it, because my doctor told me I need to take this to get better. To be able to heal my body, I need to take this bitter medicine and it would be foolish of me not to take it. The doctor, through his experience and knowledge, knows what will make me better, and therefore, I am listening to him.

Our soul also needs medicine. The doctor for our soul is Hashem. Just like our physical bodies sometimes need a bitter medicine, our spiritual souls sometimes need a bitter medicine called bitterness. When we go through bitter times in our lives, it is to clean our souls so we can purify ourselves and connect to Hashem. Hashem does not send us bitterness just because He wants to watch us suffer. Just like the pharmacist measures the ingredients in medicines very exact, Hashem sends bitterness to each person in an exact amount that is perfect for him. He makes sure not to make the bitterness too strong that we cannot handle it, but makes it just right for our situation.

If a person goes into a pharmacy today to get medicine, he can get sugar flavors added to the medicine to make it taste better. Although the same bitterness is still in the medicine, the person only tastes the sugar flavor and the medicine is easier to swallow.

Hashem has also given us a sugar flavor for our spiritual medicine which can take away the bitterness in our lives. In this week’s parsha, the Jews complained about the bitter water that was in the city of Mara, but then the water was sweetened. What made the water sweeter? The parsha tells us that in Mara, Hashem gave the Jews certain laws from the Torah. This is the key to remove the bitterness in life: learning Torah! This is the secret that makes our spiritual medicine taste better. Therefore, if we spend time learning Torah, we can remove bitterness that we suffer from. This is the magical potion our Doctor has prescribed for us.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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