וְלֹא הָיָה מַיִם לָעֵדָה וַיִּקָּהֲלוּ עַל משֶׁה וְעַל אַהֲרֹן: וַיָּרֶב הָעָם עִם משֶׁה וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר וְלוּ גָוַעְנוּ בִּגְוַע אַחֵינוּ לִפְנֵי ה’: וְלָמָה הֲבֵאתֶם אֶת קְהַל ה’ אֶל הַמִּדְבָּר הַזֶּה לָמוּת שָׁם אֲנַחְנוּ וּבְעִירֵנוּ: וְלָמָה הֶעֱלִיתֻנוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם לְהָבִיא אֹתָנוּ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם הָרָע הַזֶּה לֹא מְקוֹם זֶרַע וּתְאֵנָה וְגֶפֶן וְרִמּוֹן וּמַיִם אַיִן לִשְׁתּוֹת: וַיָּבֹא משֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן מִפְּנֵי הַקָּהָל אֶל פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וַיִּפְּלוּ עַל פְּנֵיהֶם וַיֵּרָא כְבוֹד ה’ אֲלֵיהֶם: (כ, ב - ו(
There was no water for the people, and they gathered against Moshe and Aharon. The people quarreled with Moshe and spoke up, saying, “If only we had perished like our brothers before Hashem.! Why have you brought the congregation of Hashem to this wilderness to die there, we and our animals? And why did you bring us up from Egypt to bring us to this evil place? Not a place of seed, or fig tree, or grapevine, or pomegranate tree, and there is no water to drink!” Moshe and Aharon went from the presence of the congregation to the entrance of Ohel Moed and fell on their faces. The glory of Hashem appeared to them. (20:2-6)
Behold, at the time when Bnei Yisrael came with complaints against Moshe and Aharon, these two righteous men were in terrible distress. For the suffering of Israel was indeed great, since without water it is impossible to live and survive. And the very fact that the people turned to them added to their anguish, for they still did not know what was incumbent upon them to answer the people. And despite all of this, we see that they did not lose hope, and they did not immediately begin to consider how to produce water for the people through natural means. Rather, immediately and without delay, they turned to the Ohel Moed, and there they first prayed to Hashem Yisbarach.
The strength of their faith at that moment was not only expressed in the very act of turning to Hashem Yisbarach, but also in the manner in which they turned to Him. For as the Torah testifies, it was by “falling upon their faces.” And we have learned in the Gemara (Ta’anis 14b): “A distinguished person is not permitted to fall upon his face unless he is certain he will be answered, like Yehoshua bin Nun,” because prayer in that form is a degradation to a person, and it is forbidden for a distinguished and righteous person to degrade himself unless he is certain that he will be answered in his prayer, for then it will not be looked upon as disgraceful. And if we see that Moshe and Aharon did not take their honor into consideration, it is a sign that even in their great moment of distress, their faith remained steadfast that their prayer would be answered.
In truth, this matter is not considered a novelty when speaking about the Master of the Prophets and his brother, who was equal to him — [and as we see, even his student Yehoshua merited this]. And the Torah did not relate this to inform us of the height of their spiritual level, but rather the Torah wanted to teach even simple people who study our Torah that they too must follow in the footsteps of these righteous men and accustom themselves to trust, and when they find themselves in a time of distress, they too should place trust before effort, and not be quick to immediately engage in physical efforts, for this is proof that their faith is not firm.
Every Jew who is observant of Torah and commandments, if he is asked whether he has faith, will surely answer with full confidence: Yes! And his answer is indeed truthful, for otherwise he would not dedicate his time to Torah and its observance. However, most of the time this is not complete faith, and a time of trial will prove it — for then a person forgets that the fulfillment of his heart’s desire depends primarily on the Supreme Will, and instead turns first to technical means, upon which he believes the resolution of his distress depends...
And how sweet is the holy language of Maran the Chazon Ish when he speaks on this matter in his small sefer Emunah u’Bitachon (chapter 2), and here are his words: “It is easy to be trusting when the main task of trust is not at hand. But how difficult it is to be trusting at the time of its task, etc.” And indeed, in this a person will be tested — whether his mouth and heart are aligned; whether he truly trusts, or whether he has merely trained his tongue to chirp ’trust, trust,‘ while trust does not truly dwell in his heart.
And there he brings a concrete example: “And what we see in life — Reuven, a moral man, with the song of trust always on his lips, always condemning excessive efforts and detesting the pursuit of livelihood. And indeed, he is a successful man — in his shop he lacks no customers and has no need for much effort. He loves the concept of trust, for indeed trust also smiles upon him. But behold, we are suddenly astonished to see this trusting Reuven whispering with his assistants and advisers how to foil the plan of his colleague who wishes to open a shop like his, and he begins clear and open efforts to dissuade his fellow from his intention...” End of his pure words.
Situations like these stem from the fact that faith is not reviewed and internalized properly. A person generally relies on the faith he acquired in the past, and it seems to him that this faith will accompany him through all circumstances. However, it does not occur to him that there are situations in which his faith must be something real and tangible, visible to the senses; for if not, the pressure will carry him away from faith toward natural means, which to him seem more real...
This is what the holy Rabbi Moshe of Kobrin, may his merit shield us, spoke about when he explained the posuk (Tehillim 116:10), ’האמנתי כי אדבר‘ - “I have believed, for I shall speak” — that I have merited to reach the level of “I have believed”, meaning that my faith is clear and strong, “for I shall speak”, because I have not removed my mind from faith, and I constantly spoke and reviewed to myself sayings that strengthen faith.
I will bring you an example that illustrates the reality for many people, as a result of the fact that their faith is not as bright as the midday sun. Most of the time, when one hears that someone has been stricken with illness, if you ask him what he did to ease his suffering, he will reply that he took a certain medication. And when asked what he did to heal, he will reply that he went to a particular doctor...
Such is the situation! He does not respond, “I first turned to Hashem Yisbarch and then took the medication,” but immediately begins to speak about the medication. And as long as he was able to continue with his efforts, he did not recall at all the need to turn to his Creator. If the commonly prescribed medicine for that illness did not help, he then turns first to another doctor. And only when that doctor too is unable to bring healing to his illness, then the memory awakens — the awareness that, in truth, there is One Who grants permission to the doctor to heal, and that the healing depends on His will, and to Him must one turn and plead that He send His word and heal.
And see the language of the Ramban (Vayikra 26:11), what the righteous did, who were steeped in faith, in such a situation — and here are excerpts from his words:“So too did the righteous act in the time of prophecy — even if sin caused them to fall ill, they would not seek out doctors, but rather prophets...” “And what portion do doctors have in the house of those who fulfill the will of Hashem...” “If it were not their custom to use medicine, a person would become ill according to the punishment of his sin, and would be healed by the will of Hashem...” “But when a person’s ways are pleasing to Hashem, he has no dealings with doctors.” End quote.
Behold from his words what is the proper path that a person should choose in his time of distress, and this is only found in those who are imbued with faith and trust — they are the ones who never divert their minds from faith and are constantly examining and engaging with it.
