In this week's Torah portion, the Israelites begin again their journey--What could possibly go wrong?!
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A word of Torah:
In this week’s Torah portion, the Israelites prepare to take up the long delayed march to the Promised Land. Almost a year has passed, yet no sooner does the march begin when the Israelites begin to bitterly complain. The complaints echo those found in the book of Exodus about a lack of food and water. Once again, the Israelites depict Egypt as a paradise with lots of food. It all seems disappointingly familiar.
It shouldn’t be. A lot has happened between then and now. The people entered into the covenant with God at Sinai. They built the sanctuary and instituted the sacrificial cult. Enough time has passed to enable the people to leave Egypt behind. Most of all, they receive a portion of manna every day, ensuring that they never have to worry about food (Num. 11:7). Rationally, their complaining doesn’t make any sense. By now, they should be ready to proceed with at least a measure of confidence.
A key clue to what is happening can be found in this verse: “They marched from the mountain of God (Sinai) for three days.” (Num. 10:33). Despite preparing for their march, they only make it three days before their confidence fails. The fear of the unknown and the responsibility for their fate overwhelms them. In response, they complain. At first, the complaints are non-specific, as though they are searching for a way to express what is a nameless fear. Quickly they fall back on a familiar trope, complaining about food even though they clearly have enough to eat. The Torah describes the situation: The Israelites wept and said: If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish that we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. Now our gullets are shriveled. There is nothing at all! Nothing but this manna to look to!” (Num. 11:4-6).
Let us remember the good old days in Egypt when our food was free (and so was our labor!). Let us remember the leeks rather than the lashes. It is an extraordinary example of how selective and distorted memories of the past can be. It is the Jewish equivalent of the expression: “there is no such thing as a free lunch.”
For each of us and for our country the road lies ahead—we can’t really go back. Making Egypt Great Again ignores the reality of the past. Building a future requires hard work. That future cannot be built on a fantasy of the past. The call to Abraham and Sarah is lekh lekha/Go forth to help create a better tomorrow. That still is the call to us at this moment.
Kavvanah/intention
Hasidic commentators read the words lekh lekha to mean go into your self. It is a call to each of us to go into ourselves to make the inner journey that will help us find the strength to continue on the road ahead.
