Dr. Natan Klein
A friend of Torah Mitzion since its inception
Strategy & Economic Consultant
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Moshe turns to Yitro with a request: “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will be as eyes for us.” (Numbers 10:31). Yitro is asked to remain with the Israelites to contribute his vast experience in desert life and assist the people of Israel in navigating the arid dunes of Sinai.
However, two verses later, it is stated: “…and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord traveled before them a three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.” This implies that the guidance of the Israelites was miraculous, and their camping locations and duration were determined by the Almighty.
Why, then, do the Israelites need help through Yitro’s navigation skills?
Moshe Rabbeinu teaches a great lesson here. Although Israel’s leadership is sublime and miraculous, there is a place—and even an obligation—for human action. Moshe, the servant of God, understood the duty of the simple and perfect fulfillment of the Divine command on one hand, and the necessity of human action and free will on the other.
In the very heart of a period where miracles surround and shield the nation, Moshe casts the patterns of normal behavior for the nation, its tribes, and its armies. Therefore, it was appropriate to find an expert guide to teach the people the secrets of the desert.
Since the beginning of the Book of Numbers, a process began where the people were divided into camps and armies, with flags representing the tribes. Primary and basic governmental structures were implemented among the Israelites, who until recently lived as slaves, servants of the great Egyptian Empire.
A misunderstanding and lack of internalizing a deep recognition of God’s miracles on one side, and the duty of developing human responsibility and natural conduct on the other, led to several difficult results in the Book of Numbers.
For example, the people’s complaints about the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic that they ate in Egypt “for free.” The lack of gratitude for the exodus to freedom, and for receiving the Manna and water from the flinty rock, deeply wounded Moshe. His feeling was that he failed to instill in the people the recognition of God’s miracles. This feeling led to a statement very uncharacteristic of the patient leader: “I cannot carry all this people alone, for it is too heavy for me. If You treat me this way, kill me now, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your eyes; and let me not see my wretchedness.” (Numbers 11:14-15).
On the other side, when the Almighty joined seventy elders to him to create a modular hierarchy, a governmental pyramid, another misunderstanding was created: “A youth ran and told Moshe, saying, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Yehoshua the son of Nun, Moshe’s attendant from his youth, answered and said, ‘My lord Moshe, imprison them!'” (Numbers 11:27-29). That is to say, even Moshe’s closest assistants did not feel the natural need to create a human system with the right spirit to lead the people alongside Moshe, following the recognized need to appoint captains of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. Moshe’s response to Yehoshua’s severe appeal was: “And Moshe said to him, ‘Are you zealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His spirit upon them!'” (Numbers 11:29).
Moshe the man understood—at a time when a maidservant at the Sea saw what later prophets did not—that within a period of miraculous leadership, he must establish educational governmental systems, judicial systems, and military structures. Moshe understood it was his duty to cast solid earthly molds simultaneously with training the nation to absorb the spiritual content unique to a “Chosen People.”
The feet of the Prophet of Prophets were planted on the ground and his ears were turned toward Heaven; that which he captured with his special senses, the prophecy of God, he applied on earth with grace, knowledge, and great wisdom.
Moshe felt the failure of the people who, during a magnificent period characterized by supernatural leadership, became pressured due to a temporary lack of water or a specific food.
Simultaneously with building the natural patterns for the nation, Moshe understood it was impossible for the spirit of the nation to fall due to a temporary, and perhaps even experimental, shortage. Despite the sense of failure, Moshe saw this as a temporary fall stemming from human weakness.
The vision of Moshe the man was a long-term and wide-spectrum vision, driven by immense love, while providing a great and exceptionally powerful defense for them.
A lesson for the generations: The theological-philosophical understanding of Moshe Rabbeinu that was right for his generation is right for every single generation. In every generation, a person must see themselves as if they went out of Egypt. We must look with eyes of faith at what is happening in the world, while standing firmly on the ground of reality. We must understand the laws of nature as the Creator, blessed be He, established them, to learn and be educated in every vital field, to use force and valor when necessary, and simultaneously to understand that “it is not my power and the might of my hand that has made me this wealth.”
(Taken from the book Massa – A Journey through the Torah Portions, which is out of print).
For comments: natankn@gmail.com
Dr. Natan Klein is the author of the books: Massa (on the Weekly Torah Portion)
and Chachamim in the Time Tunnel (2 volumes).
For details and purchase: natankn@gmail.com
