It was all going so well.
The Jewish people were in formation with proud flags, ready to be sent on their
mission. Everyone knew their role and the Levites, our navy seals, were initiated
to their role. What happened from that high to a series of calamities
that led to the elimination of the entire generation that left Egypt and a 38
year delay before arriving at Israel? On the surface, it seems sudden and
unclear why the Israelites turned sour. Beneath the surface there is a subtle
hint that not all was going as planned.
Where is that hint?
After successfully recovering from the sin of the
Golden Calf, the Jewish people stayed at Mount Sinai for a period of time
studying and expanding their knowledge for 7 months. After this, it says the Jewish people left
the ‘Mountain of Hashem’ for a three day journey. Soon thereafter unnamed
complaints begin, which lead to overt complaints about the lack of real food
with full tears. Were we so fragile that after leaving the cocoon of
spirituality that we had at the mountain that we’d settle back to our old ways?
The midrash notes that it wasn’t leaving the cocoon
that created the issue, but the way we did. We left like school children leaving
the last day of school. We were relieved to leave that intense spiritual
environment. This is hinted at because
it describes the mountain as the mountain of Hashem as opposed to the mountain
of Elokim as it usually does. We left
our relationship with G-d behind because we wanted to tone it down. We still
related to life through a physical lens and we missed our physical pleasures
that gave us so much excitement. More
than that, it says it wasn’t just food that we missed but we were sore about
the sexual restrictions imposed on Mount Sinai- free love was no longer an option. While on the surface we were on board, deep
down our identities hadn’t made the shift to more refined living and it began
to rebel.
Deep down we all have a decision to make. Will we be
defined by our physical pleasure or our spiritual ones? Do we go to a Torah
class for the free food or the Torah? Obviously, initially it may be for the
food, but can we make that shift to realize that true pleasure comes from
wisdom? That was the struggle then, and
it is the struggle now. It is a timeless battle and a choice we need to make on
a continuous basis- is our main joy in life spiritual or physical?
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