No Plans Just Trust
Parshas Beshalach is filled with important lessons, from the miracles of the Yam Suf to the wonders of the mon. Let us focus on a sometimes overlooked episode, when Klal Yisrael reached Refidim. The Torah tells us that there was no water in Refidim for the nation to drink, and yet interestingly, we find Klal Yisrael’s request for water being viewed as a terrible rebellion against Hashem! The pasuk relates, And the nation fought with Moshe, and they said, “Give us water and we will drink! And Moshe said to them, Why do you fight with me? Why do you test Hashem?” What is so evil about a request for water by thirsty travelers when there is no oasis in sight? This was not an ungrateful or unnecessary request, and yet we find that because of this episode, that place became known as Masa Umereivah; as an everlasting testament to this rebellion. What is the Torah teaching us here? The Rosh Yeshiva, ztvk”l, gleaned a most important lesson from this passage. The issue, the “rebellion”, that took place was that instead of asking Hashem to solve their problem, the nation limited their belief in His power by asking for a specific solution, one that was apparent to their mortal sensibilities. Whenever one asks of Hashem to take care of his needs, he must believe that Hashem is all powerful and can fill his needs in any number of different ways, including ones that do not fall under the purview of what normally happens around us. Instead of seeing the lack of water and asking Hashem to send water, Klal Yisrael should have trusted completely in Hashem, and presented Him with their need of thirst, and waited to see what it was that He would do. Just as easily as Hashem could bring them water, He could make their bodies not need hydration! When a person offers Hashem the solution, he is making a terrible mistake and limiting Hashem’s powers to his finite understanding of the world and its workings. This was the test that Klal Yisrael threw at Hashem here; they could not fully believe His complete control over the laws of nature, and therefore they demanded the natural solution to their thirst. How many times are we guilty of similarly applying limitations of Hashem’s abilities in our own minds? We almost always approach our most heartfelt pleas with thought-out solutions of exactly how Hashem will hopefully alleviate our plight. But this is not correct! All Hashem wants to hear from us is an expression of our reliance on Him and our expressing the faith and trust that He alone can help us. No solutions and no plans are necessary from us, because Hashem makes the plans, and no one else can. When a person needs money, he should never daven with a specific solution for Hashem to carry out in mind. His lack of Emunah that Hashem can turn things around in an instant for him is what drives him to rely on the solution he is thinking of. Maybe this or that will happen, or has happen to other people; this is what a person tells himself. This is not called putting one’s belief in Hashem. And this is true with any and all troubles a person may encounter on his journey. The solution is always pure faith and trust, and Hashem will solve the issue as only He knows how. A gut Shabbos! A Project of the YSI Alumni Association Written by R’ Moshe Weiss
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