BackWhat's the Challenge?
By: Rabbi Barak Bar-Chaim
“And you shall remember the entire way on which the Lord, your God, led you these forty years in the desert, in order to afflict you to test you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He afflicted you and let you go hungry, and then fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your forefathers know, so that He would make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but rather, by whatever comes forth from the mouth of the Lord does man live.” (Deuteronomy 8, 2-3)
These verses imply that life for the Jewish people in the desert was an affliction and a challenging test. While one can understand that the Jewish people were hungry before God gave them the manna, it is difficult to understand what the affliction and the challenge was once the manna began falling every day. Additionally, our sages teach us that the people were protected by clouds of glory that smoothed the path before them and protected them from the elements. What then was so difficult about their time in the desert? Compared to their years as Pharoah’s slaves, the desert experience must have been like paradise.
As human beings we have a powerful need for stability and security. We feel secure when we are in complete control of our situation and feel confident that our immediate and future needs are ensured. This was the affliction and challenge of the desert experience. The Jewish people had no idea when they would be commanded to move and, although the manna fell from heaven daily, they had no food stored for the next day and had no guarantee that the manna would continue falling from heaven. God wanted to entrench in the psyche of the Jewish people the understanding that even when they enter a regular mundane lifestyle, they should not rely on anything but Him for their sense of security.
Our mandate is to truly know that even when we think we are in control, we are not in control and should place our trust in God for our deep-seated need for food and shelter. As a reward for our faith, God will shower us with blessing and success.