Bitter Drink

Emily, on the challenges of this passage:

This is such a difficult passage for me, which is why I chose it. At first read it is a strange exercise. It seems degrading to the woman to untie her hair and to force her to drink water mixed with dust from the floor. It also seems cruel and strange that a drink of this dusty water would not harm an innocent wife, but would cause a guilty wife to lose her ability to have children even as it causes her belly to swell as if pregnant.

Even after spending time with this passage, it is a hard passage to embrace. I do, however, think I see its purpose now. A jealous husband with no recourse for his wife’s supposed unfaithfulness might harm her as a result of his untamed emotion. This simple exercise will give him the answer he seeks, which could bring some relief to an innocent wife.

When writing this song I focused not on the merit of the ritual itself, but on the emotions of the wife that is being brought to it by her husband. I wanted to make this abstract woman into a real, living, breathing creature. As a wife myself, I thought of the trust between married partners, and how an accusation can break that trust as much as infidelity can. I also focused on some of the elements of “hands” and “holding”. She holds the offering and the priest holds the bitter water. The priest loosens her hair, and grabs a handful of grain. The ritual is physical.