VOLUME 106 NUMBER 7 
Tamuz 11, 5783
June 30, 2023
PARSHAS CHUKAS/BALAK
Candlelighting Time 8:14 PM 

It had been a long journey, 40 years in the desert. They were protected by the clouds that hovered over them and fed the manna which had the taste of anything they wanted and they drank to their hearts’ desire from the traveling well. Their clothing did not wear out and their bodies maintained a high level of hygiene. What more could anyone want? Perhaps to settle down and not have to pack up and move all the time. That was also coming to an end as their drew near to the Land of Israel. However, despite that Hashem had taken care of their every need, they complained that all they had to eat was the manna! For 40 years they had subsisted on the manna and now they were going to grumble! What elicited their ire that they were upset specifically on the border of Israel? 

Chasam Sofer gives a penetrating insight into this latest episode. We must remember that the original members of the nation were no longer alive. After the debacle of the spies and all those who were age twenty and above were destined to die, only the youngest of the next generation were going to enter into the Land of Israel. All their lives, they had never seen an apple or an orange. Their only connection to food was the manna which had a spectacular range of taste! As they approached the civilized areas around the Land of Israel, they began to notice that there were many foods available in their real form, not only facsimiles. They developed a craving for the real thing. One might even construe that this yearning bordered on a lack of faith in Hashem, the Provider of all throughout the world. 

They were punished with snakes biting them. Was there some kind of connection between this type of misconduct and snake bites? We must also recall that during their travels in the desert they were not attacked by snakes or scorpions since the clouds protected them and as they traveled the clouds eliminated any and all hindrances. Did the next generation appreciate this ‘armored’ cloud of security that they were afforded? Apparently not as they focused on what they were lacking, not on what they had! Therefore, Hashem sent the snakes as a wake-up call that the nation should reckon with the reality of life, their true dependence on Hashem and not be so smug about how they perceive their situation rather how they should have valued it.

What was the remedy for this occurrence? They were told to gaze at a copper snake that Moshe fashioned. How was that going to resolve this issue? The Sages tell us that when they stared upward at the copper snake they were really reminding themselves to look upward toward Hashem, the real source of their sustenance, not the apple or pear at the local kiosk. Perhaps they were so used to the miraculous sources of providence that surrounded them that they forgot that the miracles had a source, Hashem. When they awoke from their slumber, that’s when they were relieved of their troubles. It’s amazing to consider that even though they had merited 40 years of the supernatural they still didn’t fully recognize and appreciate what they were receiving. It shows that without proper consideration it is quite easy to gloss over the gifts that we receive from Hashem on a daily basis.   

A BYTE FOR SHABBOS

Our Sages exhort us to apply ourselves to studying Torah as though we are dead and nothing can interfere with our involvement in Torah. CHOFETZ CHAIM

GOOD SHABBOS