As most of the readers of this article are experiencing and dealing with a significant snowstorm and it's aftereffects, I thought it would be appropriate to talk a little about the beauty and significance of snow and of course its relevance to this week's Parsha.

 Every physical item has a spiritual counterpart and and every physical concept is a metaphor for a spiritual idea. 

What is the meaning and lesson of snow?

Snow is mixture or balance between ice and water. Water, we are taught, is always associated with the mida of chesed. The ever-flowing energy of water and specifically the rain that impregnates the earth is symbolic of the masculine mida of Chesed.

Ice represents Gevura-rigidity, repressiveness/firmness, and containment. 

Both are necessary midos. The world can't function without both of them, yet too much of either is not healthy whether physically or spiritually.

Snow represents the balance between the two. The number three is always indicative of balance and completeness; taking two opposing midos and synthesizing them. Hence it should come as no surprise that the gematriya of sheleg [snow] is 333 and that each of the letters of sheleg has the root of three; shin-three hundred, lamid-thirty, and gimul-three!

In this week's Parsha, we have the sin of the Golden Calf. When Moshe comes down and sees them dancing, he burns the calf, grinds it up, adds water to it, and gives it to the Jewish people to drink. Many commentators understand that it is like the mei sota-the special potion of water with Hashem's name in it that the kohein gives a women suspected of of being unfaithful. 

Why specifically is the procedure done with water?

I suggest the following. As we said, water symbolizes chesed, and immorality is using chesed inwardly, indulging oneself in pleasure instead of outwardly in its proper way. Just as we are taught that in the future the very light and shine of Hashem's glory that will be a delight and pleasure for the righteous will be extremely painful for the wicked who abused that light, I suggest the very water that symbolizes life and energy, causes death to the sota and the Jews who sinned with the Eigel, as they abused the mida of water/chesed, hence they can not tolerate this special water and thus it kills them.  

As the snow continues to come down here in Baltimore and elsewhere, let us all try to be cognizant of the beautiful balance of energy and life force flowing down from heaven, and the reminder to always have a balance in our midos and personalities as too much of one extreme isn't healthy or proper.