Num. 8:1 - 12:16
Précis: The parasha begins with a description of the making of the seven-branched menorah, a central Jewish symbol. Next, the Levites are given specific directions for their duties. The parasha returns to narrative with a recounting of a second Passover celebration (required because some of the Israelites had been ritually impure when the first anniversary of Passover was celebrated). Following is a discussion of the making of silver trumpets. The cloud of God’s Presence lifts, and the march of the People through the wilderness of Sinai begins, led by the Ark of the Covenant. The people begin to murmur, this time about a lack of meat. God provides, but the People are struck with a plague. This time, even Miriam and Aaron seem to have complaints about Moses, cast in terms of their critique about his “Cushite woman.” Moses is stressed by the demands of leadership.
Num. 11:4-5 “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.”
Rabbi Daniel Goldfarb reminds us of a wonderful story which seems perfectly suited to these verses (Torah Sparks, 6/7/17)
The story is told of a young monk who joins a silent monastery. The rules are simple, the abbot tells him. "You can speak two words every ten years." After ten years the young monk says "Bed hard." Ten years later, "Food bad." After 30 years he tells the abbot, "I quit." The senior monk looks at him and says, "I'm not surprised. You've been complaining ever since you got here." Goldfarb concludes that the monk could not be Jewish: his first complaint was not about food!
Complaining about the food, early and often, is a very old Jewish custom, and is certainly illustrated here. Even more incredible is the way in which their true history of hard labor, terrible taskmasters, and the rest, has been forgotten. They even “remember” being given “free fish.” While some commentators suggest that this was because fish were plentiful in the river, Rashi rejects this idea. “Free” (hinam) means to Rashi “free of the commandments.” In other words, having been given burdensome commandments at Sinai, the People looked back upon their time in Egypt as somehow easier.
As we learn in Pirkei Avot (3:21), if there is no flour (material sustenance) there is no Torah, and vice versa. Our tradition suggests we need both sustenance and Torah. We are not ascetic or pleasure-obsessed. As Goldfarb concludes, we need to strike the same balance today that the Jews faced at Sinai.
