Beshalach: Uncertainty in the Desert

Thesis: The Ma’an was Hashem’s way showing the Jews that it is ok to live with uncertainty.

Question: Why does the Torah stress the fact that the Jews complained about the Ma’an in the desert?

There is a theory in Physics called the Heisenberg principle. It states that we cannot know both the speed and location of an electron – we can know one or the other. With that background, there is a great joke that is told about Professor Heisenberg.

Professor Werner Heisenberg is speeding down the highway, when a cop pulls him over. The cop walks up to his car and asks, “Excuse me sir, do you know how fast you were going?” And Heisenberg responds, “No…but I know exactly where I am!”

There is an uncertainty in Physics that always exists. No matter how much your drive is to know, you can never know both the location and the speed of an electron. This inherent uncertainty in life is also the cause of the Jews’ complaint in this week’s parsha.

After the Jews cross the Yam Suf, they travel for a while and at last reach the desert of Siyn, and before long the Jews follow the classic stereotype – and complain.

However, the story is missing one very large, perplexing detail. There seems to be a missing passuk before they complain that indicates that there is a lack of food in the camp. The previous section discusses their complaint about water at meiy marah and the Torah stresses:

וַיֵּלְכ֧וּ שְׁלֹֽשֶׁת־יָמִ֛ים בַּמִּדְבָּ֖ר וְלֹא־מָ֥צְאוּ מָֽיִם׃

That they did not find water. Similarly, later in the Torah when they complain at rifidim and Moshe hits the rock for the first time, it is emphasized:

וַֽיַּחֲנוּ֙ בִּרְפִידִ֔ים וְאֵ֥ין מַ֖יִם לִשְׁתֹּ֥ת הָעָֽם׃

There was no water for the people to drink.

However, with the Ma’an, they reach the Siyn desert and launch straight into the complaint. Why is there no mention of a lack of food?

The Ramban picks up on the problem and focuses on an extra word in the passuk:

וַיִּלּ֜וֹנוּ כׇּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל עַל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃

The Jews complained IN THE DESERT. The Ramban suggests that the Jews complained BECAUSE they were in the desert.

At first glance, this may be similar to your initial reaction when hearing about the Jews complaining about food – there just isn’t any food around in the desert. We classically associate deserts with a lack of food. However, the problem is that the Torah does not say they ran out of food. On the contrary, they most likely had plenty of food since they had herds of sheep, goats, and cows they took from Egypt!

If they were not hungry, then why is the desert the source of their complaint?

I think the answer lies in the overarching-meta-mindset of the Jews. The Jews were probably not hungry – but were scared. Deserts are not a place that lack food, but where food is uncertain. The Jews feared the uncertainty of food IN THE FUTURE.

This becomes apparent in the complaint of the Jews. The Jews complain:

וַיֹּאמְר֨וּ אֲלֵהֶ֜ם בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל מִֽי־יִתֵּ֨ן מוּתֵ֤נוּ בְיַד־יְהֹוָה֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֔יִם בְּשִׁבְתֵּ֙נוּ֙ עַל־סִ֣יר הַבָּשָׂ֔ר בְּאׇכְלֵ֥נוּ לֶ֖חֶם לָשֹׂ֑בַע כִּֽי־הוֹצֵאתֶ֤ם אֹתָ֙נוּ֙ אֶל־הַמִּדְבָּ֣ר הַזֶּ֔ה לְהָמִ֛ית אֶת־כׇּל־הַקָּהָ֥ל הַזֶּ֖ה בָּרָעָֽב׃

The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the hand of יהוה in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meatvpots, when we ate our fill of bread! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to starve this whole congregation to death.”

There is no way that they ate that well in Egypt – they were slaves! However, in Egypt they had constant food and did not starve.

This is why the Torah emphasizes the fact that they complained IN THE DESERT. Since, as the Ramban points out, is what gave them this fear and made them complain. They saw the arid land in front of them and became afraid of the uncertainty that they were facing.

If we develop this idea slightly further, we can look at how the Torah describes the Jews arriving at Midbar Siyn. It describes it as the half-way point between eilim and har sinai and as the half-way point between Egypt and Har Sinai. They were at a metaphorical in-between place – or middle of nowhere. They did not lack food, but they lacked faith.

Hashem’s response to their complaint is quite interesting. He provides them with Ma’an – a heavenly bread that falls every day. The Jews were not able to collect more than a days worth at a time or save parts for the next day. Instead of removing the fear of uncertain food supply, Hashem reinforced it. He wanted to the Jews to understand they are dependent on Hashem – especially when they are in the desert in the middle of nowhere.

Our lives are similar to the Jews. We tend to know where we are going, but are stuck in an in-between space of uncertainty. This can be goals in learning, family life, and careers. Yet, the question of how we will get there is something that is uncertain – and frankly can be scary.

The message of the Ma’an is that while it is scary to not know how all the steps will fall into place, we should accept that Hashem will help us along the way. It is our job to keep moving towards our goal, and Hashem will help us find the steps along the way.

We all have uncertainty in our lives. This can be where you will find your next job, how to help your child learn in school, or what the next steps should be for a sick family member. We all want that uncertainty to go away and just know what will be. However, it is precisely this uncertainty that can help us connect with Hashem and realize that in the end he is in charge.

It is why Hashem gave the Jews Ma’an – to teach us that life is like the Heisenberg principle – we can know about our destination, but we need to live with the uncertainty of the present.