Holy Zohar text. Daily Zohar -276.

Tikkun 21 – 17

(Continue form Daily Zohar 274, 275)

When the rock incident happened, the Shechinah left and a negative energy replaced her place. The Zohar relates to this energy as Marah and it is related to the process of life, work and death.
The name Marah מרה (MRH) literally means bitterness. We find references to it in
Exodus 1:14 “וַיְמָרְרוּ אֶת-חַיֵּיהֶם בַּעֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה, בְּחֹמֶר וּבִלְבֵנִים, וּבְכָל-עֲבֹדָה, בַּשָּׂדֶה–אֵת, כָּל-עֲבֹדָתָם, אֲשֶׁר-עָבְדוּ בָהֶם, בְּפָרֶךְ”
“And they made their lives BITTER with hard work, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.”
Exodus 15:23” וַיָּבֹאוּ מָרָתָה–וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לִשְׁתֹּת מַיִם מִמָּרָה, כִּי מָרִים הֵם; עַל-כֵּן קָרָא-שְׁמָהּ, מָרָה”
“And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were BITTER. Therefore the name of it was called Marah.”

15:24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying: ‘What shall we drink?’
15:25 “And he cried to YHVH and YHVH showed him a TREE, and he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet. There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved them;”
The above incident was 72 hours after the splitting and crossing the Red Sea. The physical water was BITTER and they felt the lack of the light. When Moses cried to YHVH, he was shown the Tree of Life connection and that brought life to the lower waters.

15:26 “וַיֹּאמֶר אִם-שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמַע לְקוֹל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, וְהַיָּשָׁר בְּעֵינָיו תַּעֲשֶׂה, וְהַאֲזַנְתָּ לְמִצְו‍ֹתָיו, וְשָׁמַרְתָּ כָּל-חֻקָּיו–כָּל-הַמַּחֲלָה אֲשֶׁר-שַׂמְתִּי בְמִצְרַיִם, לֹא-אָשִׂים עָלֶיךָ, כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה, רֹפְאֶךָ. ”
“And He said: ‘If you will diligently hearken to the voice of YHVH your God, and will do that which is truth in His eyes (Chokmah), and will give ear (Binah) to Mitzvoth (precepts) and follow the spiritual laws, I will put none of the diseases upon you, which I have put upon the Egyptians; for I am YHVH, your healer.”

The life in the water is activated with connection to the spiritual laws and draws light from the supernal. This is the reason why we have Torah reading in public every 72 hours. (Monday, Thursday and Saturday).