Elim – The Challenge of Comfort By: Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
The portion of Masei opens with God commanding Moses to record the more than forty locations where the children of Israel camped during their forty-year journey in the desert. Other than the list of places, this lengthy list has almost no information. Most of these places were not even the location of any significant event along the way. And even when most of the places where significant events occurred appear in the list, the events are not mentioned. One notable exception is a place called Elim.
The textual question is obvious. Of all the details relating to the dozens of stops along the journey that were omitted, why were these details—the number of plam trees and springs of water—included in this list at the end of the Book of Numbers?
To answer this question, we need to understand the significance of Elim to the Exodus narrative. This takes us back to Exodus 15-17. A series of events are recorded in the two chapters after the splitting of the Red Sea.
Israel travels for three days and cannot find drinkable water. Moses performs a miracle that sweetens the water. (Exodus 15:22-25).
They travel and complain that they have no food. God sends Quail and Manna from heaven. (Exodus 16:1-18).
They travel and again complain about having no water to drink. God tells Moses to hit a rock to bring forth water. (Exodus 17:2-6).
This section is made up of a complaint about water, a complaint about food, and another complaint about water. After the first water complaint and just before the food complaint, the following verse appears:
Right between a complaint about lack of water and a complaint about lack of food, they camp in a place that is abundant in both water and food! And we must ask, what is the significance of the number of date palms and springs?
It is important to note that all the complaints in this series are interpreted by Moses and God as crises of faith. But is this fair? Why should a complaint that there is no water be understood as a lack of faith in God? If there is no water, why not take the complaint at face value?
It’s important to note that the children of Israel were not criticized for their first water complaint. They were simply told after the water had been sweetened, that they must believe in and be obedient to God.
At this point, they travel to Elim -the place with the date palms and the springs. Mechilta deRabi Yishmael – a Midrash from the second temple era, comments on the significance of the numbers – seventy date palms and twelve springs.
Rabi Elazar HaModai says: On the very day that the Holy One Blessed is He created His world, He created there twelve springs, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, and seventy palm trees corresponding to the seventy elders. – Masechta VaYasa 2
Not only were the people’s needs provided for at Elim, but the precise number of trees and springs made it obvious that this place was designed by God specifically for the People of Israel. This, like the scenes before and after it, was a test of the people’s faith.
After they complain about the water and God solves the crisis, He provides the people with the perfect place. All their needs are filled in this unique custom-made oasis. After experiencing such a bountiful and explicit blessing from God, they are once again placed in a situation where their needs are lacking. How they react to this second crisis will reveal the extent to which they learned a lesson from their stay in Elim.
Now we can understand why the twelve springs and seventy palms were included, forty years later, in the list of all the places where Israel camped. The entire purpose of the list is to recall the forty-year journey that is now coming to a close. Moses wanted to remind the people that God took care of them along the way. The one place that most represented this lesson, that God had their needs in mind at all times, is Elim, the custom-made oasis.
On the other hand, when all of our needs are provided for, and life is as it should be, we scarcely notice. After they left Elim and wanted food, the People of Israel did not say, “Well, God provided for us perfectly in the last place. He’s obviously taking care of us.” The fact that their crisis of faith persists – and even intensifies after their stay in Elim shows how little they learned from their stay there.
Like at Elim, God often gives us exactly what we need, and we don’t appreciate it. If we are going to blame God for the bad times, we must acknowledge that He is also responsible for the good times.
___________________ By: Rabbi Pesach Wolicki
The portion of Masei opens with God commanding Moses to record the more than forty locations where the children of Israel camped during their forty-year journey in the desert. Other than the list of places, this lengthy list has almost no information. Most of these places were not even the location of any significant event along the way. And even when most of the places where significant events occurred appear in the list, the events are not mentioned. One notable exception is a place called Elim.
The textual question is obvious. Of all the details relating to the dozens of stops along the journey that were omitted, why were these details—the number of plam trees and springs of water—included in this list at the end of the Book of Numbers?
To answer this question, we need to understand the significance of Elim to the Exodus narrative. This takes us back to Exodus 15-17. A series of events are recorded in the two chapters after the splitting of the Red Sea.
Israel travels for three days and cannot find drinkable water. Moses performs a miracle that sweetens the water. (Exodus 15:22-25).
They travel and complain that they have no food. God sends Quail and Manna from heaven. (Exodus 16:1-18).
They travel and again complain about having no water to drink. God tells Moses to hit a rock to bring forth water. (Exodus 17:2-6).
This section is made up of a complaint about water, a complaint about food, and another complaint about water. After the first water complaint and just before the food complaint, the following verse appears:
Right between a complaint about lack of water and a complaint about lack of food, they camp in a place that is abundant in both water and food! And we must ask, what is the significance of the number of date palms and springs?
It is important to note that all the complaints in this series are interpreted by Moses and God as crises of faith. But is this fair? Why should a complaint that there is no water be understood as a lack of faith in God? If there is no water, why not take the complaint at face value?
It’s important to note that the children of Israel were not criticized for their first water complaint. They were simply told after the water had been sweetened, that they must believe in and be obedient to God.
At this point, they travel to Elim -the place with the date palms and the springs. Mechilta deRabi Yishmael – a Midrash from the second temple era, comments on the significance of the numbers – seventy date palms and twelve springs.
Rabi Elazar HaModai says: On the very day that the Holy One Blessed is He created His world, He created there twelve springs, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel, and seventy palm trees corresponding to the seventy elders. – Masechta VaYasa 2
Not only were the people’s needs provided for at Elim, but the precise number of trees and springs made it obvious that this place was designed by God specifically for the People of Israel. This, like the scenes before and after it, was a test of the people’s faith.
After they complain about the water and God solves the crisis, He provides the people with the perfect place. All their needs are filled in this unique custom-made oasis. After experiencing such a bountiful and explicit blessing from God, they are once again placed in a situation where their needs are lacking. How they react to this second crisis will reveal the extent to which they learned a lesson from their stay in Elim.
Now we can understand why the twelve springs and seventy palms were included, forty years later, in the list of all the places where Israel camped. The entire purpose of the list is to recall the forty-year journey that is now coming to a close. Moses wanted to remind the people that God took care of them along the way. The one place that most represented this lesson, that God had their needs in mind at all times, is Elim, the custom-made oasis.
On the other hand, when all of our needs are provided for, and life is as it should be, we scarcely notice. After they left Elim and wanted food, the People of Israel did not say, “Well, God provided for us perfectly in the last place. He’s obviously taking care of us.” The fact that their crisis of faith persists – and even intensifies after their stay in Elim shows how little they learned from their stay there.
Like at Elim, God often gives us exactly what we need, and we don’t appreciate it. If we are going to blame God for the bad times, we must acknowledge that He is also responsible for the good times.
___________________
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