Page:Philip Birnbaum - ha-Siddur ha-Shalem (The Daily Prayer Book,1949).pdf/725

700 Thou didst shield him, thou didst save him from fire and water;

Thou didst care for him when he sowed by all streams of water.

Remember Isaac whose birth was foretold over a little water;

Thou didst tell his father to offer his blood like water;

Isaac was heedful in pouring out his heart like water;

Digging wells he did discover water.

Remember Jacob who, staff in hand, crossed the Jordan’s water;

His heart trusted when he rolled the stone of the well of water;

When he wrestled with the prince of fire and water,

Thou didst promise to be with him through fire and water.

Remember Moses in an ark of papyrus reeds drawn out of the water;

They said: He drew water for us and provided the flock with water;

And when thy chosen people thirsted for water,

He struck the rock and there gushed out water.

shown to them in connection with water. The alternating refrains of the poem are.

The term water is often used symbolically. In Numbers 24:7, the constant flow of water is symbolic of numerous descendants. The Torah is frequently compared to water that purifies. In Temple times, the Water-Feast began on the first day of Sukkoth at nightfall and lasted till the following morning. The outer court of the Temple was brilliantly illuminated for the occasion. A torchlight procession, dances and singing followed, while the women were looking on from their galleries. During the day the great