Question: is it true that when the moon comes close to the earth that the water can be pulled up?

Kamal Bhattacharya answered on 16 Jan 2017:

well, you are referring to the tides. So it is not because the moon comes closer to the earth. You have to think about the moon, the earth and the sun. The same was as the earth has a gravitational pull on the moon, the moon has a gravitational pull on the earth. In this interaction the gravitational forces interact in such a way that everything that is loose on earth is pulled towards the moon. Well at least large loose masses such as water bodies. Hence, every day you see cyclical movements of the body of water, i.e. the tides. But then there are low tides and high tides. Low tides are when the position of the sun and the moon as such that gravitational forces cancel each other out. High tides at full moon and no moon pull forces together, so the gravitational pull on earth is stronger and the tides are higher.