In the beginning of this week’s parsha, Pashas Eikev, there is a seemingly benign description of the giving of the manna. This description is a prelude to a direct contrast to what Bnei Yisrael could expect after entering the Promised Land, which is a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey - a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, you will lack nothing in it” (Devarim 8:8-9). This description of Eretz Yisrael is well known, but it is not commonly realized how it contrasts with the manna.
This section of the Torah begins with the statement: “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” (8:3).
The language here seems quite drastic. Did Hashem afflict them? Did he let them go hungry? It is almost possible to read this in a sarcastic nuance… how many times have we heard our children whine - or complained ourselves - “I’m starving.” Moshe here is reflecting the overwrought emotions of the nation when they complained and demonstrating to them that Hashem answered them with something miraculous, something incredible - food from the heavens.
The manna was meant, according to pasuk gimmel, to teach Bnei Yisrael to recognize the ultimate source of our sustenance, which is Hashem. However, after reminding them further of the good Hashem did for them and the filial relationship they have with Hashem, Moshe tells them:
“For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land with brooks of water, fountains and depths, that emerge in valleys and mountains, a land of wheat and barley, vines and figs and pomegranates, a land of oil producing olives and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, you will lack nothing in it, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose mountains you will hew copper” (8:7-9).
Life and sustenance are about to get more complicated. There will be variety - which one did not have with manna. There will be abundance - in contrast to the manna that could be collected for only one day’s portion. And there will be work - which was not a facet of living in the Wilderness.
One can, perhaps, see in this a fascinating comparison to Adam HaRishon. Adam was placed in Gan Eden and given everything that he needed to live a peaceful life. After the chait (sin), he had to work (“By the sweat of your brow shall you live). It was a curse, but it was also a means of enhancing humanity’s awareness of their need for Hashem.
Bnei Yisrael’s time in the desert was always limited because mankind after the initial chait cannot exist long term on unending benificence but must put in effort. Thus the manna was simple, pure, and, perhaps one might even say, limited. The wilderness was like Gan Eden in that everything was provided, but in truth, the Promised Land was the destination - lush like Gan Eden, but requiring effort, and in requiring effort also requiring Bnei Yisrael to know and acknowledge that all things come from Hashem. Indeed, the next pasuk of the perek says: “And you will eat, and you will be satisfied, and you will bless Hashem your God for the good land that He gave you” (8:10).
Moshe was telling them that they were on the verge of entering the world of abundance and variation, but that they should never forget that sustenance is not their acheivment, it is a gift from Hashem. They must do the work, but they must let the work lead them to appreciate Hashem’s graciousness.
Human beings crave a sense of success and accomplishment. In many ways, this was lacking in the wilderness. But with the freedom to achieve comes the possibility of forgetting the ultimate source of success - Hashem. Remembering that everything - our trials and our triumphs, our successes and are failures - come from Hashem, is not an easy task (as i think most of us know). In Parshas Eikev, the Torah records Moshe’s eternal reminder to help us stay focussed on the real work we have in this world…to follow the path of Hashem.
I wish you all a beautiful Shabbas.
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