Beha’alotcha into Sh’lach 2022

1“Don’t wish for the “good old days,” as it is not a wise request.” (Ecclesiastes 7:10)

2“The mixed-up ones that were among the people had a craving. And, once again cried (alternatively: they returned and cried [from where, we don’t know] along with the Children of Israel and said, “Who will feed us meat? We recall the fish that we would eat in Egypt for free along with the cucumbers, melons, onions, and garlic. Now our souls are dry, looking forward to [eating] nothing but Manna.” (Num 11:4-5)

3“And God was extremely angry, and it was bad in Moses’ eyes.” (Ibid. 10)

4The “mixed-up ones” in the pasuk were the “Erev Rav.” The word “Erev” means “a mixture.” For that group, there were good old days in Egypt. (Although they obviously were not that good, otherwise why leave?!) As for the Children of Israel, nothing in Egypt was worth pining over. They experienced nothing but grief and suffering under their Egyptian taskmasters. Yet they joined with the mixed-up ones in lodging the complaint. That complaint was a yearning for a life other than the one they were living. The Manna was desert food. “Our souls are dry,” unlike fish, which emerge from water. This is a subtle reference to the Nile, which produced whatever they needed.

5The mistake made by the Children of Israel was that they lacked an appreciation for the entire endeavor. They were saying, in essence, “we are not ready to go forward.” As bad as the old days were, we had a surety about them. The future, with its utter uncertainty, was more frightening yet. This becomes even more evident after the visit in the story of the spies. “Isn’t it better for us that we return to Egypt?!” The “better” there is the familiar, the known quantity.

6Life is like that, full of wonder(ing). Who knows what tomorrow will bring? With enough wisdom, however, we will enter into an uncertain future that will redeem us all.

7Dedicated to the memory of Joel Shulman A’H