Beha'alotcha- Eternal Solutions for Moments of Crisis
By Rav Yehoshua Weitzman
This week's parasha describes the journey of Bnei-Yisrael in the desert. At the sound of the trumpets Bnei-Yisrael would arise to journey together with the Holy Ark.
However, immediately after these uplifting descriptions we find a drastic fall1.
And When the people complained, it displeased Hashem: and Hashem heard it; and his anger was kindled: and the fire of Hashem burned among them, and consumed those who were in the uttermost parts of the camps. And the people cried out to Moshe; but Moshe prayed to Hashem, and the fire was quenched. And he called the name of the place Tav'era: because the fire of Hashem burned among them. And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the Bnei-Yisrael also wept again, and said, who shall give us meat to eat?
There is no mention of Bnei-Yisrael's sin. As a result of what seems to be drastic measures on the part of Hashem, Moshe responds in bewilderment. It seems that this response is what inspired the gemara to say the following2.
Rabbi Elazar also said: Moshe spoke insolently towards heaven, as it says, And Moshe prayed unto the Hashem. Read not el [unto] Hashem, but 'al [upon] Hashem, for so in the Beit Midrash of Rabbi Eliezer Alefs were pronounced like 'Ayins and 'Ayins like Alefs.
The Maharsha asks why did Rabbi Elazer explain the pasuk in this fashion; Moshe very simply prayed for the fire to stop?
According to the psukim it seems that Bnei-Yisrael sinned towards "Hashem's ears" and only He could hear them. To Moshe everything seemed fine, therefore he prayed to Hashem, totally puzzled by the events that occurred. Why the fire; everything seemed to be running smoothly?
What can we learn from all of this?
Externally everything was fine. However, only Hashem could hear the trouble. From a deeper spiritual perspective the root of the upcoming downfalls of Bnei-Yisrael, as described in Sefer Bamidbar, could already be sensed.
Problems that occur are not only due to external circumstances; they come from a more exalted source. They are heard in "Hashems ears". Our goal is not only to attempt to find immediate solutions, yet to also strive to see the root of the problem, as is heard in the ears of Hashem.
By observing Hashem's treatment of Bnei-Yisrael in this parasha we can learn a great deal about how we must deal with Am-Yisrael's problems in over the generations.
The people complained for material satisfaction; they were hungry for meat. Yet beneath the surface there were spiritual problems as well.
The Torah solves Bnei-Yisraels problems in three ways.
Firstly, they received the meat they cried for.
Secondly, Hashem told Moshe to gather seventy sages to help lead the people.
Thirdly, Eldad and Meydad prophesized.
Each of these three solutions sheds light on how approach these issues.
Firstly, the immediate problem must be solved. If Bnei-Yisrael is in need of meat it must be supplied to them.
However, the long term must also be taken into account. To prevent similar problems in the future the people need to be educated and uplifted. For this Moshe gathers the sages to teach the people Torah and mussar.
Eldad and Meydad realize that even to give Bnei-Yisrael their much needed meat, and even to teach them Torah is not enough. They want to reach a place that not all people are able to grasp; they want to fix the situation by prophesizing. Through prophesy they want to attain a level from which they can fix the very roots of Bnei-Yisrael's problems. They want to fix the problems which only "Hashem's ears" can hear.
These three solutions can also be found in Eldad and Meydad's prophesy itself. The gemara3 offers three opinions regarding their prophesy.
And what did they prophesize? - They said, 'Moshe shall die and Yehoshua shall bring Israel into the land.' Abba Chanin said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer: They prophesied concerning the matter of the quails, "Arise, quail; arise, quail". Rabbi Nahman said: They prophesied concerning Gog and Magog.
On a basic level their prophesy dealt with the immediate problems - "Arise, quail; arise, quail." On the next level they prophesized that Moshe would die and Yehoshua would take over. They understood that the root of the problem is on a higher level - understanding the generation. The generation was changing phases and changing leadership as they moved closer to entering Eretz Yisrael. Bnei-Yisrael needed to part with Moshe and the spiritual leadership of the desert period. This miraculous leadership was characterized by the manna, which was supplied each morning, the pillar of fire to protect Bnei-Yisrael, and the pillar of smoke to guide their way. Their entering Eretz Yisrael was not only a change of physical surroundings, it also caused a drastic change in their day-to-day life. They needed to adapt to living life in its regular, natural manner. Instead of receiving food from heaven and being supernaturally protected, Bnei-Yisrael had to get used to protecting and providing for themselves.
Any generation that undergoes social changes and revolutions can be a problematic one. Some people are part of the past and have difficulty advancing with the changing era, some move ahead too quickly, and some people are somewhere in the middle. These differences tend to create problems that the spiritual leadership is required to handle.
The third prophesy talks of the end of days, concerning Gog and Magog.
What do Gog and Magog represent?
The Midrash explains the pasuk4 "many waters cannot quench the love nor can the floods drown it: if a man will give all the substance of his house for love it would be utterly scorned".
Rabbi Yochanan gave all his belongings and fortunes for the Torah, because he couldn't handle both of them. He saw a contradiction between the physical and spiritual worlds, and chose the Torah.
The Aramaic translation of the pasuk says that a man in the galut who gives all his property in order to buy wisdom, will receive double in return and all that is plundered from Gog's camp will be his.
He who gives all he has for the love of Torah, at the end of days will merit to the plunder from Gog and Magog's camp. The world will realize that there is no contradiction – through being fully immersed in the Torah, one can elevate the physical world. The contradiction exists only in our world yet in the End of Days the world will realize that the two combine in perfect harmony and through both of these channels one can bring himself closer to Hashem. (One day Rabbi Yochanan will receive the gold from Gog and Magog and will no longer need to sell all he has to achieve the devotion to Torah).
These three levels of handling difficult situations serve as a framework for dealing with current problems and tribulations. Things look tough - financial difficulties, peace in the Eretz Yisrael.
First of all, we must try to find immediate solutions. If we can prevent certain destructive decisions from being made by the government, we should do all that is in within our power.
Just as important, if not more, are the long-term solutions. We must increase our Torah study, open more Torah institutions, and talk to others about the importance of Torah, no matter what walk of life we come from.
These are all needed in order to raise the nation to a level in which problems will not occur.
We must deal with the spiritual roots of problems; deal with solutions that are in "Hashem's ears". This means learning the deeper aspects of the Torah – this is where the deepest solutions lie. And from those depths will shine the proper solution on all levels.
Only dealing with all three levels will insure the complete solution.