<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="6"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 19px;">
<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:
lines-together;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:19.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Times">It has been taught: R. Eliezer said:
The whole world draws its water supply from the waters of the</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:19.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica"> ocean, as it is said, But there went up
a mist from the earth and watered the whole of the ground."A mist ascended from the
earth and watered the whole surface of the soil." <i>Gen: </i>2:6 <span style="mso-bidi-font-size:19.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Times">Thereupon R. Joshua said to him: But
are not the waters of the ocean salty? He replied: They are</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:19.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Helvetica"> sweetened by the clouds. Talmud:
<i>Taanis </i>9b</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:
lines-together;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:19.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Times"><o:p>There's a profound lesson in this.
Water which is essential for life is not drinkable from the sea. The talmud teaches that it takes clouds to
sweeten the water. In other words, clouds are symbolic of depression and negativity. But we see from this
that it's the very "clouds" which make the salty water drinkable. We can see the "clouds" of
our lives in a different way now. In a very mystical way, it's the cloudy days that ultimately make life bearable. We can
only appreciate light by the contrasting darkness.</o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:
lines-together;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:19.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Times"><o:p><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:19.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">And so immediately following verse 6 in
Genesis </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:18.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:
Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">"<i>A
mist ascended from the earth and watered the whole surface of the soil"</i>, we read: "<i>And the Lord God
formed the man of dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the soul
of life; and man became <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><i><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:18.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">a living being</span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:18.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">." Thus, it took the salty waters
and sweet clouds to allow the creation of man.</span></span></i></span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:
lines-together;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">rw</p>
<!--EndFragment-->
</span></font></div></body></html>