Thought of the week:
You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts will take you.
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“And the mixed nation in its midst craved desire, and the Children of Israel also sat and cried and said, “Who will feed us meat?”” (Bamidbar 11:4)
One of the darkest times in our nation’s history came when it could have been the brightest. When the Jews left Egypt, they were catapulted to greatness by Hashem choosing to give them the Torah, and by their willingness to accept it unconditionally. But they were not alone.
Along with the Jews left many others who were inspired by the plagues and miracles to join the Jewish People. Moshe thought it was a good thing though Hashem did not. These people would influence the Jews to stumble.
In this case, they craved certain foods and lamented about what they had. They cried for meat, though in reality, the Jews had sheep and cattle. They complained about the mon, though it could be delicious and wondrous to eat. As the Baalei Mussar say, they did not desire meat, but rather they desired, “desire.” They mustered up their despair and chose to complain, even when there was so much to be grateful for.
They wailed about the things they missed, reveling in their misery though it was of their own doing. This is a distinctly un-Jewish characteristic and we were influenced. We are called Yehudim, those who appreciate and acknowledge, because we see Hashem’s hand in our lives constantly and recognize the miracles of goodness He does for us.
They misused their power of imagination. Hashem gives us the ability to be creative so we might use it for good. Perhaps we can think of unusual ways to help people, or we can come up with innovative Torah ideas. That’s what imagination is for. Instead, these people used it to find problems in their lives. But it doesn’t stop there.
They said, “We have nothing before our eyes but the mon.” This could also be read, “we have nothing towards the mon but our eyes.” Looking at this miracle food on a strictly superficial level, noting its bland appearance and unexciting taste was to do it a tremendous disservice. It was completely absorbed by the body as it was a perfect food. It provided all one’s nutrition and could taste like the most exquisite dishes. But you needed to think about this in order to appreciate it.
We have the power to look at things in different ways, and whatever we’re looking for is what we will find. The people who sought the negative found suffering and anger, while those who saw the greatness in the mon, and imagined all the good things Hashem was doing for them, were the ones who understood the power and the nature of the Torah they were given.
The Chofetz Chaim was once speaking to a group of students and they were discussing the mon, the miraculous food eaten by the Jews in the desert.
“We all know,” said the sage, “that the mon miraculously tasted like whatever you wanted. If you thought about cake, it tasted like cake. If you thought about fruit, it tasted like fruit. But what would happen if one ate the mon and did not have any specific thought?”
The boys thought about it and agreed it was a good question. They looked to the Chofetz Chaim to enlighten them.
“It’s simple,” he explained. “Az men tracht nisht, hot es kain taam nisht – If you don’t put in any thought, it has no flavor!” This lesson was about much more than food; it was a lesson about everything we do in life.
©2024 – J. Gewirtz
