Parashat Chukat

Saturday 27 June 2015                Tamuz  10  5775

Parashat Chukat                                                                            Rav Moshe Aberman (with my comments in brackets)
Numbers 19:1-22:1; Judges 11:1-33; John 3: 10-21

Parashat Chukat presents the start of a new era in biblical history. The Netziv (Rabbi Yehudah Tzvi Naftali Berlin, who lived in the 19th century) in his introduction to Sefer Bemidbar distinguishes between Divine guidance in the desert and in Eretz Yisrael.

Israel’s wilderness wanderings were characterized by daily miracles that       were visible to all and obviously supernatural in origin. In Eretz Yisrael, on     the other hand, Divine providence takes on a more natural guise. Though it includes miracles, many of them appear as natural occurrences, only occasionally being of a more obvious nature.

(Malcolm Hedding, who not so long ago step down from his position as the executive director of The International Christian Embassy, Jerusalem, in a     talk here in Cape Town, mentioned that throughout his travels around the world, he finds believers always looking for something new, a breakthrough, a new revelation …. something that was supernatural. Malcolm said that he instead was seeking after the supernormal and the example he used is found in John 2 where Yeshua turned water into wine.)

According to Netsiv, this change, began in a gradual manner during the fortieth year of the travels of Bnei Yisrael in the desert. It is in Parashat     Chukat that we find the beginning of this process.

It seems that Chazal accepted that our parasha pertains to events that occurred in the last year of Am Yisrael's travels in the desert; in fact, they see this as a turning point where a new set of rules in God's conduct with the Jewish people comes into effect. Using this idea, they attempt to explain several points in the parasha.

Let’s just focus on one such instance. In Numbers 20:1, we read: “In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh”.  However, when translated directly from the Hebrew, it reads ‘then came the children of Israel – the whole congregation of Israel –  to the wilderness of Zin”. (It is a sad reality that many of the English translations miss the nuances that are only evident when translated directly from the Hebrew)

Why does the Torah state "kol ha-eida – the whole congregation" when it has just said "kol Bnei Yisrael – all the children of Israel"?

Rashi suggests that ‘kol ha-eida’ – the whole congregation – is mentioned to emphasize that this is an entirely new generation. (If you recall, after the bad report of the spies, HaShem determined that only Joshua and Caleb would enter the Land and that entire first generation would die in the wilderness)

Borrowing the Ramban's idea that the words "kol ha-eida" is an introductory code, we may suggest that Chazal saw it as an introduction to places where a change in God's conduct with Am Yisrael is about to occur. In both cases major changes take place.

In the first, at Midbar Tzin, Am Yisrael loses the water well that accompanied them throughout their travels in the desert (Miryam's death). At Hor Ha'har, they lose the protection of the Ananei ha-kavod (Aharon's death).

This can underlie Rashi's explanation as well. These stories all relate to a new generation, historically and organically distinct from the Am Yisrael of the previous parashiyot that emerged from the Egyptian oppression. This 2nd generation experiences a different sort of Divine guidance as it begins the process of preparing to enter Eretz Yisrael.

In Massekhet Ta'anit (9a) we learn that three gifts of a miraculous nature were given to Am Yisrael in the desert: the manna, the clouds of glory, and the well (or rock) that travelled with them, supplying all the water they needed.

(In A book Called The Legend of the Jews by Louis Ginsberg, the author states that the rock that provided Israel with nourishment and water throughout the 40 years of their wilderness wanderings, accompanied them throughout their travels. In 1 Corinthians 10, it is Rav Sha’ul (the Apostle Paul), who gives credence to and explains this legend.
1 Cor 10:1-5
1       For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all          passed through the sea.
2      They were all immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
3      They all ate the same spiritual food
4      and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was                 Yeshua, Messiah )

Now, the classical commentators explain that the miraculous gifts and miracles that Israel experienced in the wilderness are associated with the merits of Moshe, Aharon, and Miryam.

But, with the death of these three giants of the faith, HaShem’s interaction with Israel changed. There was no longer the supernatural – manna and the provision of quails etc. Instead, Israel would now work the land and their food and provision would come through their own toil and efforts.
(However, HaShem still promises to bless them in out-of-the-ordinary ways. For example, he would bless their harvest in the 6th year so that it would    provide for them during the Sh’mittah or Sabbatical year, until they gathered in the new harvest sown in the 8th year! He would use that things of the natural created realm but in His usage of them, the Father elevated them to the realm of the miraculous!)

We see this to in the Canaanite attack. Israel would no longer have the miraculous, supernatural protection but still had the providential support of God. This is exemplified by the course of events which follow the attack. The Canaani have initial success but they are beaten after Am Yisrael prays to     God. Am Yisrael can no longer depend on the miracle of Shemot 14:14 - "God will fight your battle and you will be silent". They can, however, depend on a more natural support of as revealed in Bemidbar 10:9 - "When you will call out to God then you will be saved from the hands of your enemies". Israel had    been fed milk throughout their wilderness years; now was the time for them to strive to eat meat!
(So too do we experience this tension today. With Messiah’s death and resurrection, the Kingdom of G-d has broken through into this worldly realm.y. It is here but it is not fully here yet! This sometimes creates confusion among believers who when they experience difficulties and hardships and perhaps no immediate answer to their prayers, become discouraged.

We must never forget that HaShem is the faithful covenant partner and that Messiah promised that He will never leave us not forsake us and that He     would be with us always, even to the end of this age! Baruch HaShem! Thank G-d that He is the unchanging One! The manner in which His providential support for us might change but He Himself never changes!