Beha’alotcha: It’s the Wonderful Manna

Amidst our journey through the desert, guided by the Heavenly pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night, the nation is sustained by manna falling from the sky. Food descending from the clouds? It sounds like something surreal. But this was our reality, we lived directly under Hashem’s love and care, receiving food straight from His hand. What better existence could there be? 

But this is not what the pesukim (verses) tell us. The pesukim are filled with complaints; ‘Who will give us meat?’ ‘We miss the fish we had for free in Egypt!’ ‘All we have is the manna!’ All you have is the manna? Are they for real? They are getting free food from the sky, delivered by G-d Himself! They don’t have to grow, cultivate and thresh the grain themselves. They don’t have to work for a living to put bread on the table. It just falls, practically outside their doorsteps. How can they complain?

Rashi tells us that Hashem had this reaction too. Hashem exclaimed, ‘Look at what My children complain about, the wonderful manna!’ Life was so sweet and easy, and they were complaining about a gift. Imagine a close friend of yours surprises you on your birthday and turns up to your house bearing two first-class plane tickets to the Caribbean for you and your husband. ‘Enjoy your birthday,’ your friend winks as she drops off the envelope. As you sit on the plane, air stewardesses at your beck and call, blue skies awaiting, gourmet food piled before you, you turn to your husband and say, ‘It’s a shame that this vacation is the only birthday present she got me this year…’ 

Such a reaction is simply crazy! An all-expenses trip to an exotic island is an unbelievable gift, and complaining about it is just wrong. But, says Rav Pam, isn’t this exactly what we do? Doesn’t Hashem sometimes hear our complaints and exclaim, ‘Look at what my children complain about…!’ We complain about the mess our children make, disregarding the fact that each child is a Divine gift. We complain about the colleague we don’t get on with, discounting the fact that finding a job is a total blessing. We complain about the stress of wedding invitations, ignoring the fact that making a simcha is a true present from Hashem. We receive kisses from Hashem all the time, far more precious than a couple of tickets to the Caribbean, yet we sometimes forget to stop and absorb how much these daily gems mean to us. Yes our husband always runs late, but don’t we remember the days when we davened to meet our match? Yes our car has a massive dent, but don’t we recall the driving lessons we once had to sit through until we passed our test? 

Is there a place in Judaism for crying over our lacks and praying that Hashem fills them? Of course. But what occupies more of our brain space? And more of our conversation? Is it the gift of having a family? The gift of having a job? Or is it complaints about the mess, the bills? When we feel the need to complain and vent, pick up a Tehillim, and talk it out with Hashem. Or just speak out the struggle in your own words. He is the One Who will fill your lacks. But when it comes to our everyday conversations, let’s try and be the person who always has something positive to say. Hashem will help you out and send you plenty of blessings so that you can share them!

Complaints are always about lack. ‘If my boss was more accommodating then…’ ‘If my salary was higher then…’ ‘If I met my match then…’ ‘If my husband was more helpful at home then…’ Lacks are real, we all have them. But what if we made a rule for ourselves, for our family, that for every complaint we make, we have to thank Hashem for one blessing? Three blessings? We would quickly realize how rich we are. We would soon see that despite our lacks, our lives are full of bounty.  We would be ashamed to complain to Hashem, because we would be so overwhelmed by His love and kindness. We would hear the voice of Hashem: ‘Look at what My children complain about, the wonderful manna!’ and we would quickly be silenced. 

Is there a place in Judaism for crying over our lacks and praying that Hashem fills them? Of course. But what occupies more of our brain space? And more of our conversation? Is it the gift of having a family? The gift of having a job? Or is it complaints about the mess, the bills? When we feel the need to complain and vent, pick up a Tehillim, and talk it out with Hashem. Or just speak out the struggle in your own words. He is the One Who will fill your lacks. But when it comes to our everyday conversations, let’s try and be the person who always has something positive to say. Hashem will help you out and send you plenty of blessings so that you can share them!

We say in Ashrei every day, ‘V’divrei niflotecha asicha,’ ‘I will speak of Your wonders.’ 

It is our job to fill our speech with stories of Hashem’s kindness to us, to talk about how things ‘just happened to’ work out, because of His master plan. To paint our lives with positivity. Interestingly, the word used for ‘speaking’ is ‘asicha’ which comes from the word ‘sicha,’ conversation. Talking of Hashem’s wonders is not just for shiurim and Torah classes, they should feature in our daily conversations and interactions. It is part of our essence as Jews. Yehudi, Jew, means to thank. It is part of our genes to use our words to praise Hashem. Incredibly, Rabbi Sussman writes, if we take these words of ashrei, ‘divrei niflotecha asicha,’ the first letter of each of these words spells DNA! Let’s live up to our great name and use our conversations to praise Hashem. If we fill our mouth with His praises, He will ensure that it never empties!

Inspired by Rav Twerski zt’l in ‘Twerski on Chumash’