Those of us who live middle (or upper-middle) class lives in Michigan may find it difficult to even contemplate the possibility of lacking water access.
For those living in Eretz Yisraelin pre-modern times, the degree to which rain fell in the fall and winter months following the festival of Sukkot determined their livelihoods. Abundant rain meant prosperity, while draughts meant starvation from lack of food and possible death from dehydration (Deuteronomy 11:14-17).
Rabbinic thought regarding Sukkot reflects this focus on water. The Mishnah teaches that on Sukkot we are judged regarding water (Rosh Hashanah 16a). Ritual components of Sukkot also reflect this idea. In Temple times, libations (which were from wine the rest of the year) consisted of water during Sukkot (Sukkah 48a).
The dancing and music accompanying the water drawing for these libations were so raucous that those unable to participate in these festivities never saw true joy in their lives (Sukkah 51a).
Even the waving of the four species reflects this judgment over water. According to one early Talmudic sage, the primary purpose of taking the four species is to appease God to grant water (Ta’anit 2b). Another sage states that waving the four species serves to protect against harmful dews and rains (Sukkah 37b).
Those of us who live middle (or upper-middle) class lives in Michigan may find it difficult to even contemplate the possibility of lacking water access.
Unfortunately, many Detroit residents and marginalized people elsewhere in the state have trouble keeping up with their water bills and risk having their water shut off.
Because of Detroit’s outdated and inefficient water delivery infrastructure, Detroit residents pay more per gallon of water used than those of other local townships. This, as well as Detroit’s high poverty rate, means that many Detroit residents pay a sizable percentage of their monthly income — a good number pay 10% or more — on water bills.
The residents (dispro-portionately people of color) paying such a sizable percentage are below the poverty line, and thus face the dilemma of whether to spend money on their rent or their water bills. Detroit residents unable to afford them had their water shut off.
These shutoffs were exacerbated in 2014 with Detroit’s bankruptcy. From then until 2020, over 140,000 households in Detroit (disproportionately people of color) have had their water shut off. Due to COVID, there was a moratorium on shutoffs, but it ended as of Jan. 1 of this year.
Detroit residents have been given time to sign up for a hardship program called Lifeline, which reduces their payment for water bills, though this grace period is ending.
The city of Detroit has found it difficult to reach all of those eligible and get them to sign up (due to both lack of information channels in marginalized communities and difficulties navigating the application process).
One expert on these issues informed me that it is considered a success if even 25% of those eligible for the hardship program sign up.
New Bills in Legislature
In the coming weeks, State Sen. Stephanie Chang will be putting forward a Water Affordability bill package that would provide affordable water access to Michigan residents without requiring a cumbersome application process. Among other things, the proposed legislation would end water shutoffs.
It would also cap water bills at 3% of monthly income for (just about) all Michigan residents. Funding for the program would come from nominal fees that would be added to all water bills across the state. (Needless to say, the fee — probably less than $5 per water bill — would count toward this 3%.)
I believe that many Talmudic and other Halachic sources suggest similar approaches to water affordability and access. In fact, I would say that my passion on this issue in large part stems from my studies of these and other sources. This space does not allow for a detailed discussion of all related sources and legal argumentation (or respond to possible counterarguments), but I will give some broad outlines.
Jewish Sources
Jewish legal sources state that everyone who lives in or does business in a city has a responsibility to contribute toward the creation and maintenance of a functioning water system (Tosefta Bava Metzia 11:17), because a city without it becomes uninhabitable (Ri MiGash on Bava Metzia 7b).
Most Halakhic sources suggest that the costs for a water system (as well as that for other public works) should be apportioned according to wealth (e.g. Arukh HaShulchan Choshen Mishpat 163:14).
Of particular note is a response by the 17th-century rabbinic authority Rabbi Menachem Mendel Krochmal, in which he decides that a Jewish com-munity upgrading its water delivery system should apportion three-quarters of the expenses according to wealth, with the rest being determined by property values — which wouldn’t change much, he says, since more expensive homes would be owned by rich people anyway (Teshuvot Tzemach Tzedek 34).
One early rabbinic source (Tosefta Bava Metzia 11:37) suggests that water shutoffs due to an inability to afford water payments are abhorrent. It states that a town with a water supply should give its extra water to a town without. The town giving its supply can calculate the amount of water given and ask the recipients in the other town to pay for what they have used. However, it may do so only after it has already given its water to the other town. This is because, as one commentator puts it, “water is absolutely necessary for life” (Mitzpeh Shmuel on ibid.).
Another series of Talmudic sources suggest that most bodies of water are public goods that are really meant to be accessed for free (e.g. Bava Kamma 81b). The 19th-20th century analytic scholar Rabbi Yosef Rosen (known as the Rogotchover Gaon) builds on these sources and others to argue that, ultimately, water is a public good not meant for sale (Tzafnat Pa’aneiach, Hilkhot Mattanot Aniyim, 4:8, p. 104).
(For those interested in learning these sources in greater depth, I will present them at Limmud Michigan. See page 26.)
Aside from these Halachic arguments, we can also take inspiration from our righteous ancestors like Rebecca (Genesis 24:15-20) and Moses (Exodus 2:17), who help marginalized strangers access water.
Once the Water Affordability bill package is formally submitted, I hope that you will contact your state legislators to express your support. I further hope you can reach out to Detroit Jews for Justice to learn other ways you can help. I believe that in the merit of committing ourselves to water access for others, God will judge us favorably this Sukkot.
This article was originally published by The Jewish News.