My Weekly Drash (a mini D'var Torah) - Sh'lah-Lekha (2)
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel on June 17, 2009 | Tags: Shlach
God has a major complaint against the Israelites in the wake of the story of the spies in Parshah Sh'lach L'cha. "How long will the people spurn Me, and how long will they have no faith in Me despite all the signs that I have performed in their midst?" (Num. 14:11). Today we would call it a crisis of faith, and it's part of the human condition. We doubt and question and worry and wonder, perhaps looking for a sign from God. But wait. The Israelites in the desert didn't have that excuse. They had direct and immediate evidence of God's presence and interest in their welfare from the liberation from Egypt to the cloud that guided their journey to the daily arrival of manna. Perhaps that's the real human condition. Even in the face of irrefutable evidence - indeed, outright miracles - they remained insecure, even to the point of ingratitude. Maybe the lesson here isn't that there's something wrong with uncertainty, but that we should open our eyes and look around us before declaring that all is lost.
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Daniel M. KimmelJoined: October 2, 2007 Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston area film critic, lecturer and author. He does these weekly mini-lessons for the Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood's newsletter. You are free to use them for similar purposes. Divrei Torah (117) |
