When studying the laws of damages in Parshat Mishpatim, we come across the dangers of an open pit (Shmot 21:33-34):
If a man uncovers a pit (bor) or if a man digs a pit, and does not cover it, and an ox or donkey falls into it, the owner of the pit must pay. He must compensate its owner with money, and the dead animal remains in the possession of its owner.
The pit mentioned here is a cistern, the farmer’s water source.
The cistern, the well and the spring were the sources of water in the Land of Israel.
We read in Mishlei 5:15-18:
Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well. Your wellsprings will burst outward, streams of water flowing in the squares. They will be yours, yours alone; no strangers will share them with you. Your source will be blessed and you will rejoice with the wife of your youth.
The pit is mentioned 93 times in the Tanach and the Mishna, usually referring to a place that collects rain water in the city or in the field, in grazing land or as a public reservoir.
In Dvarim 6:10-12, Moshe describes what will be waiting for B’nai Yisrael in the Land of Israel:
When the Lord your God brings you into the Land that He swore to your ancestors, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov to give to you, a land with great and good towns that you did not build, houses full of all good things that you did not provide, hewn cisterns that you did not hew and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant- and you shall eat and be satisfied, take care that you do not forget the Lord who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
The cistern was where the water for each home was stored.
In several places in the Mishna we learn that the wine press as well contained a cistern where the grape juice was stored.
Pits also have a dangerous side:
In Parshat Vayeshev (Breisheet 37:20-29) the pit is central to the story of the sale of Yosef:
…”Now let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits…”
When Reuven heard this, he tried to save him (Yosef) from them. “Let us not kill him,” he said. “Do not shed blood,” said Reuven. “Throw him into this pit in the desert, but do not lay hands on him.”
When Yosef came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe… and they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it…
Yehuda said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and covering his blood? Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not harm him with our own hands…”
His brothers agreed. Some Midianite traders passed by and they pulled Yosef up out of the pit, and the sold him to the Ishmaelites…
Reuven returned to the pit- and Yosef was not there…
Rashi asks why it was necessary to say both “the pit was empty” and “there was no water in it.”
He answers: “there was no water in it” comes to teach us that although there was no water, there were snakes and scorpions.
Yirmiyahu chapter 38 describes the prophet being lowered into a pit that did not have water but it did have mud which Yirmiyahu sank into and thirty men were needed to lift him up.
In the Talmud, Yoma 84b we learn that saving a child who falls in a pit supersedes Shabbat:
If one sees a child fall into a pit on Shabbat and the child cannot get out, one digs part of the ground out around the edge of the pit to create a makeshift step and raises the child out. One who is vigilant and acts quickly is praiseworthy, and one need not seek permission from a court, although in doing so he fashions a step.
Pits can be very dangerous if someone is deliberately thrown in or if a person or animal falls in by accident. We are warned to keep the pit covered or face the consequences.
Pits were great for storing precious rainwater or freshly squeezed grape juice. Yet danger lurked behind pits that weren’t covered properly. Today as well, we must be vigilant to keep swimming pools and construction sites guarded when in use and locked when not in use in order to keep our children safe.
