The main story of Bamidbar is a grand reversal and its aftermath. The book begins on a very hopeful note, with plans in place to march directly to Eretz Yisrael. The journey should take less than two weeks, and would culminate in an entrance that will crown the exodus from Egypt.
The original forecast Hashem gave to Moshe in Egypt was that the people would be taken out, would receive the Torah, and would go to Eretz Yisrael to fulfill the promise that was made to the patriarchs. All of these plans are still in place -- and Moshe Rabenu is the chosen leader to carry them out -- as this week’s Parasha opens. The reversal will not only affect the timing of the journey but also the status of its leader. Like most episodes in this book, the relationship between the leader and those he is leading is far more than a subplot.
Most people think of the reversal of these grand plans as taking place next week, when the spies are sent and come back with a report that demoralizes the nation. But the reversal of fortune in the desert truly begins this week. The reversal can be pinpointed because Moshe Rabenu immediately indicates his sense that things have gone terribly awry.
The last act Moshe Rabenu did before the march began was to try to convince his father- in-law to join them (10:29 - 32). As he pleads with him, he describes their destiny in superlative terms. In the space of three verses, he describes the future in variants of the word “Tov” (good) no fewer than five times.
But as the camp begins to march, there is a quick series of breakdowns. Moshe turns to Hashem (11:1-18) and despairs of leading a nation like this. In these eighteen verses we see variants of the word “Rah” (bad) also five times. [The last is when the people say it is Tov for us in Egypt, which implies that they see Eretz Yisrael as Rah.]
The reversal here -- moving from extreme to extreme -- is unsettling. But it can’t just be that one side sees only bad and the other only good; it’s not possible that they are looking at the exact same thing but one sees red where the other sees blue. This isn’t a news show argument about Israel and the Palestinians, where one has to be all right and the other has to be all wrong.
Rather, R’ Shimon Schwab, ztz’l, says that it is instead a clash of competing levels. The reason Moshe Rabenu sees good is because he has completely assimilated Hashem’s point of view. The nation, however, is not there, at least not yet. All they can do is worry that they will never reach, or will not be able to sustain, such a level. The result of that will be Rah.
This plays out in two connected areas. The crying of the Asafsuf, the rabble, relates to two areas -- they want meat instead of the Mahn and they want more latitude in matters of intimacy. They ask for meat explicitly (10:4) while the Sages interpret their “weeping for their families,” (10:10) as a euphemistic way to express their wish to be free of some of the prohibitions regarding illicit relationships.
R’ Schwab points out that both areas highlight a gulf between Moshe Rabenu’s level and that of the people. Compared to meat, the Mahn is a very refined, even delicate, taste. The people do not think that they are on the level to find this satisfying for long. To Moshe, of course, it provides satiation but the nation fears that such spiritual nourishment might not be enough.
In terms of illicit relationships, the nation needs to be reminded periodically by leaders with credibility in this area that such liaisons are unworthy of a holy nation. But Moshe Rabenu, who spends no time with his wife, is not seen as someone who can be effective. Without regular encouragement from a source to whom they can relate, the people fear that they will not be able to restrain themselves.
Is all lost at this point? R’ Soloveitchik used to say that Moshe Rabenu has a premonition that it is. But Hashem has a plan. When Moshe despairs of being a wet nurse (10:12) who can give suck to the nation, it is not that he is unwilling. It is that he has not given birth to people like him, and therefore cannot automatically give them what they need. If so, perhaps lesser prophets can help. Hashem commands Moshe to gather worthy men and then explains that the spirit of prophecy will be shared. It will come from Moshe but it will flow down through them. How this will help can be seen in the two leaders of this group, Eldad and Medad, whose names mean “to the breast” and “from the breast.” They will be the wet nurses, the role Moshe Rabenu could not play.
This stop-gap measure was designed to avert a further reversal. But what has happened this week introduces a certain foreboding in both the people and in their leader.
