~ Our portion, Chukat, opens with an interesting tidbit of law - the law of the red heifer. It moves then to Aharon's and Miriam's passing, and we know - at least I think we all do - that Moshe eventually dies at the end of Sefer Devarim. Remember, the books of the Torah do not present time passing equally: the entirety of Devarim is but one day. This reading has a cryptic mention of a book called Book of the Wars of Ad-nai, which we do not have anymore according to the commentators.
~ Our triennial picks up from after a defensive war against the Canaanite king of Arad. We will read mutterings and also the Song at the Well.
~ Look at the ways, complaints and at the Song. Do they ring any bells? Where did you hear these expressions before? What has changed since then, in your opinion? What has not changed?
וַיִּסְע֞וּ מֵהֹ֤ר הָהָר֙ דֶּ֣רֶךְ יַם־ס֔וּף לִסְבֹ֖ב אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ אֱד֑וֹם וַתִּקְצַ֥ר נֶֽפֶשׁ־הָעָ֖ם בַּדָּֽרֶךְ׃ וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר הָעָ֗ם בֵּֽאלֹקִים֮ וּבְמֹשֶׁה֒ לָמָ֤ה הֶֽעֱלִיתֻ֙נוּ֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם לָמ֖וּת בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר כִּ֣י אֵ֥ין לֶ֙חֶם֙ וְאֵ֣ין מַ֔יִם וְנַפְשֵׁ֣נוּ קָ֔צָה בַּלֶּ֖חֶם הַקְּלֹקֵֽל׃
They set out from Mount Hor by way of the Sea of Reeds to skirt the land of Edom, but the soul of the people became small with the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why did you make us leave Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread and no water, and our souls have come to loathe this substandard bread.”
(ו) לָכֵ֞ן אֱמֹ֥ר לִבְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֘ל אֲנִ֣י ה' וְהוֹצֵאתִ֣י אֶתְכֶ֗ם מִתַּ֙חַת֙ סִבְלֹ֣ת מִצְרַ֔יִם וְהִצַּלְתִּ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵעֲבֹדָתָ֑ם וְגָאַלְתִּ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ בִּזְר֣וֹעַ נְטוּיָ֔ה וּבִשְׁפָטִ֖ים גְּדֹלִֽים׃ (ז) וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֥ם לִי֙ לְעָ֔ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָכֶ֖ם לֵֽאלֹקִ֑ים וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם כִּ֣י אֲנִ֤י ה' אֱלֹ֣קֵיכֶ֔ם הַמּוֹצִ֣יא אֶתְכֶ֔ם מִתַּ֖חַת סִבְל֥וֹת מִצְרָֽיִם׃ (ח) וְהֵבֵאתִ֤י אֶתְכֶם֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֤ר נָשָׂ֙אתִי֙ אֶת־יָדִ֔י לָתֵ֣ת אֹתָ֔הּ לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם לְיִצְחָ֖ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹ֑ב וְנָתַתִּ֨י אֹתָ֥הּ לָכֶ֛ם מוֹרָשָׁ֖ה אֲנִ֥י ה'׃ (ט) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר מֹשֶׁ֛ה כֵּ֖ן אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹ֤א שָֽׁמְעוּ֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה מִקֹּ֣צֶר ר֔וּחַ וּמֵעֲבֹדָ֖ה קָשָֽׁה׃ (פ)
(6) Say, therefore, to the Israelite people: I am the LORD. I will free you from the labors of the Egyptians and deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and through extraordinary chastisements. (7) And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your God. And you shall know that I, the LORD, am your God who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians. (8) I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you for a possession, I the LORD.” (9) But when Moses told this to the Israelites, they would not listen to Moses, due to the crushing of spirits and hard work.
(יז) אָ֚ז יָשִׁ֣יר יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את עֲלִ֥י בְאֵ֖ר עֱנוּ־לָֽהּ׃
(א) אָ֣ז יָשִֽׁיר־מֹשֶׁה֩ וּבְנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶת־הַשִּׁירָ֤ה הַזֹּאת֙ לַֽה' וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ לֵאמֹ֑ר אָשִׁ֤ירָה לַֽה' כִּֽי־גָאֹ֣ה גָּאָ֔ה ס֥וּס וְרֹכְב֖וֹ רָמָ֥ה בַיָּֽם׃
כי אין לחם, "for there is no bread" - until this moment they thought that they would enter the land and eat from its produce.
Our souls loathe - The expression קצה is familiar from when Rivkah experiencing so much tension with her daughters-in-law, the wives of Esau, told her husband she would become fed up with living - קצתי בחיי. (Genesis 27:46)
ותקצר נפש העם בדרך, [“and the people became impatient because of the length of the way.”] The root קצר in the sense of impatient, occurs also in Exodus 6:9, when the people did not respond to Moses’ promises, i.e. ומקוצר רוח, “on account of an impatient spirit.” In this instance, the lengthy and strenuous detour around the boundaries of the Kingdom of Edom had tried their patience to breaking point. Rashi explains why the meaning of the word could not possibly be the “shortness of the way,” as after 38 years plus they perceived themselves as getting further away from their destination rather than closer to it. An alternate interpretation: the people were impatient due to the sun beating on them, since the protective clouds had ceased to function, as a result of Aaron’s death.
The clouds had been due to his merit, just as the water supply had been due to Miriam’s merit.
[The way became insufferable for the people.] It was insufferable because they came close to the place from which they would enter the Land and then they faced a long distance again. This is as expressed in Eruvin (53b), that a short cut that becomes the long way is more difficult than a long way that is closer.
And the soul of the people diminished - and this the Holy One did for the good of Israel, and they thought it was bad: this is why you read "the people complained against God and Moshe" (21:5). And the Holy One only did that so they wouldn't fall prey to their enemies, the Edomites, and also to give them the lands of Sihon and Og. and moreover, God had given them water from the land and food from heaven, and they were saying we lack everything that's good - and this is really what they said when they say "our souls loathe this substandard bread."
(א) (במדבר כא) וַיִּסְעוּ מֵהֹר הָהָר דֶּרֶךְ יַם סוּף. הָא אִתְעָרוּ חַבְרַיָיא, דִּנְטָלוֹ מִלְּאוֹלָפָא תַּלְמוּדָא, דְּאִקְרֵי הֹר הָהָר. אַמַּאי אִקְרֵי הֹר הָהָר, בְּגִין דִּמְתַמָּן נָפֵיק הוֹרָאָה לְעָלְמָא. דִּכְתִיב (שמות כד) אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתִּי לְהוֹרֹתָ''ם, וְדָא אִיהוּ תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֶּה.
And they set out from Hor Hahar through the way of the Sea of Reeds. That is that the group stopped studying the Talmud, which is called Hor HaHar. Why is it called Hor HaHar? Because from there comes teaching [hora'ah] to the world, as "I have written to instruct them [lehorotam]" (Exodus 24:12) - and this is the Oral Torah [Mishnah, Talmud and Midrash].
אֲבָל תָּא חֲזֵי, רָזָא דְחָכְמְתָא אִית הָכָא. הַאי אַתְרָא דְּאִיקְּרֵי הֹר הָהָר, אוֹרְחָא הוּא לְיַמָּא דְסוּף, סוֹפָא דְדַרְגִּין, דַּהֲוַת מֵדַבְּרָא קֳדָמֵיהוֹן בְּמַדְבְּרָא, וּמְאַלְפָא לְהוֹן אוֹרְחִין דְּחַיִּין, בְּגִין דְּאִיהִי אוֹרְחָא, לְמֵיעַל לְעָלְמָא דְאָתֵי.
But come and see: there is a vision of wisdom in here. The place called Hor HaHar its way was near the Sea of Reeds, the end of the steps/levels, that she [the Shechinah] was speaking in front of them in the desert, and taught them the ways of life, to go above the present world.
And they [Israel] went left her and on her way, and went after the way of the snake Akalton, which reigns in the land of Edom, so it says "the soul of the people became smaller in the way" this is because they left the way of life, and so they "spoke against God and Moshe" [Moshe represents the Shechinah]. They rejected all: the Oral Torah and the Written Torah. "There is no bread" - this is the Oral Torah. "There is no water" - this is the written Torah. And this is "kelokel bread" - the words of the Oral Torah were light [kal] in their eyes.
(יא) וְתָּא חֲזֵי, כַּמָּה הִיא עִילָאָה חֵילָא דִתְיוּבְתָּא עַל כֹּלָא. בְּגִין דְּכַד בַּר נָשׁ תָּב קַמֵּי מָארֵיהּ, כְּדֵין בְּאֵר מַיִם חַיִּים אִתְמְלֵי, וְנָפְקִין מַבּוּעוֹי לְכָל סִטְרִין, וּלְכָל שִׁבְטָא וְשִׁבְטָא נָגֵיד לֵיהּ בִּתְרֵי עֲשַׂר תַּרְעֵי, לְאַשְׁקָאָה חֵיוָן זְעִירָן עִם רַבְרְבָן.
(יב) יִשְׂרָאֵל כַּד תָּבוּ בִּתְיוּבְתָּא, כְּדֵין אָמְרֵי שִׁירָתָא. וְאִינוּן שֶׁבַע דַּרְגִּין דְּתָבוּ מִבַּתְרֵיהוֹן, אַהֲדָרוּ לוֹן בְּשִׁירָתָא דִילְּהוֹן, וּסְלִיקוּ בֵּירָא עִילָאָה לְעֵילָא, דְּאִתְפְּרַשׁ חִוְּיָא מֵעָלְמָא. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב, (במדבר כ״א:י״ז) אָז יָשִׁיר יִשְׂרָאֵל וְגו', עֲלִי בְּאֵר עֱנוּ לָהּ, דְּסָלְקָא לְעֵילָא לְעֵילָא, וְאִתְחַבְּרָא אִימָא תַּתָּאָה בְּעִילָאָה.
11. Come and see how great is the strength of teshuvah (return) over all that there is, because when a person returns to her Source then the well of living waters is replenished to the brim, and from all its sides [water] from the core comes out, and the twelve gates of a person are drenched from smallness of living with largeness of living.
12. When Israel returned in teshuvah then they sang a song. And those are the seven levels that they returned with their song, and the higher well was raised high, and the snake disappeared from the world. This is what is written "Then Israel sang" (Numbers 21:17) "raise well, answer to it", and the lower mother [malchut, our reality] is infused with the higher mother [binah, understanding]