30 Jun Parshas Chukas
Turn to Hashem
Hashem wants us to always be turn- ing to Him for our needs. The Gema- ra (Yoma 76.) states:
Students once asked Reb Shimon ben Yochai: “Why didn’t the manna fall once a year? Why did it fall each day, just enough for the day?”
Reb Shimon replied with a mashal: A king had a son, whom he loved dearly. Once a year, the son came to the king, and the king gave him enough money to last until the next year. But the king wanted to see his son more often. With this arrange- ment, he only saw his son once a year. The king decided that from now on, he would give his son parnassah for one day at a time. That way, the son will come to his father every day. Similarly, if Hashem would send them a lot of manna, enough to last a year, they wouldn’t think about Hashem throughout the year. There- fore, Hashem gave them manna each day, so they were forced to turn to Hashem every day.
In the desert, Hashem led the nation in a way which forced them to con- stantly turn to Hashem, and this was very hard for them. They wanted to be like the nations of the world, who have food in abundance. It states 21:5-6 “The nation spoke against” Hashem and Moshe… [They said] ‘There is no bread, no water, and we are disgusted from the manna…’” The Rabbeinu b’Chaya explains that they were saying: “Be- hold, the nations of the world have all their needs. They have enough food for a long time. They don’t have to worry about what they will eat the next day. Certainly, they have plenty of water. Whether they deserve it or not, their needs will be met. Why must we be different than all the na- tions? Why do we get the manna ev- ery day, and not once to last for a long time? Even water, which is free for the entire world, was also once taken away from us (when Miriam was nif- tarah). We must always be cautious with our ways or our parnassah may cease!”
But it was for their benefit, because this system forced them to always turn to Hashem and to be cautious with their deeds. They are different than the rest of the world because Hashem wants them to be constantly attached to Him. As the Rabbeinu b’Chaya writes, “It was to train them in the middah of bitachon.”
As we know, it is the same for us. We never have everything we need. Ev- ery day something is lacking. This is planned by Hashem, so that we will always turn our eyes to Heaven. Chazal (Pesachim 118.) say, “A per- son’s shidduch is as difficult as split- ting the sea. And a person’s parnassah is as difficult as splitting the sea.” We can explain this as follows: People pray with all their heart and soul for their parnassah and for shid- duchim, and Hashem loves those tefillos. He loves the connection it creates between us and Hashem. Hashem knows that when He fulfills our will and He gives us parnas- sah and/or a shidduch, we will stop praying; therefore, it is hard for Hashem to give these to us. It is similar to the phrase, “[Hashem says] it is hard for me when you leave me.” As well as with parnassah and shidduchim, it is hard for Hashem to give it to us, because He knows that once He does, we will stop praying. The counsel is to continue pray- ing, even after the salvation comes, so the connection will always remain.
The Snakes
As we explained, the Jewish nation complained, because they didn’t want to live with the special hashgachah pratis that Hashem led them within the desert. They wanted to live by the rules of nature, similar to how the nations of the world seem to live.
What was their punishment for this complaint? It states “Hashem sent to the nation the poisonous snakes.” The Rabbeinu b’Chaya explains that these weren’t new snakes. They were the snakes which were always found in the desert. (And therefore, it says because it was the snakes that they knew about.) Until now, Hashem pro- tected them with special hashgachah pratis, and the clouds of glory, went before them to protect them from the snakes and scorpions of the desert. But since they wanted to live by the rules of nature, the clouds of glory didn’t protect them.
Their cure came into effect when they looked at the copper snake that Moshe built. Chazal tell us that it wasn’t looking at the copper snake per se that helped them, but when they looked up at the snake, they saw the sky in the background. They turned their hearts to their Father in heaven, and that’s what saved them. Because the Jewish nation doesn’t live according to the rules of nature, but by Hashem’s hashgachah pratis. They get their needs when they turn their hearts and their eyes to Hashem. The Sfas Emes writes, “The cop- per snake had the segulah of refuah; Hashem made it with the ability to cure the people who got bitten by snakes… However, Hashem’s will is that when one takes a refuah from this world, his eyes and heart should be to heaven, and recognize that it isn’t the snake that heals, rather ev- erything is from Hashem.”