This week it was not so easy to walk in the streets due to the thick smoke that came all the way from Canada. The sun also turned red from the smoke. We really know the cause of the smoke, but what we don’t know is the spiritual reason behind all this.
Of course we believe that people have free will, but when this free will affects so many people, we need to ask the question, “Why did it happen?”
Perhaps we can try and learn the answer from this week’s Parasha. In the Parasha we learn that when Am Yisrael saw the cloud above the tent rising up, they all understood that it is time to leave, and all needed to get ready for a journey following the cloud.
Wherever the cloud would stop and cover the tribe of Yehudah like a Sukkah, that is where Am Yisrael would stop. The Torah goes into details about the phenomena of the cloud, and explains that it would sometimes rest for one night, or two days, or one month, and even a full year, and then continue the journey. Am Yisrael would set up the tents to rest when the cloud rested, and when the cloud left, they did too.
The Nachmanidies explains that the reason why we go through all these details is to praise Am Yisrael and show that even if it was not convenient to continue with the next journey without proper rest, or even if the location wasn’t so comfortable, Am Yisrael did not complain. They strictly followed wherever HaShem took them leading them with this cloud.
Similarly, the Orach Chaim says that this is the meaning of the Pasuk:
זכרתי לך חסד נעורייך אהבת כלול תחיל לכתך אחרי במדבר בארץ לא זרועה
Remember the love and trust you had in the desert where you didn’t ask any questions but you trusted in me [HaShem] and you believed in me.
In other words, HaShem takes this love, and protects Am Yisrael with it in the future. This is our test. Any incident, whether good or bad, it should always be with Emunah in HaShem, even if it’s hard to see the good in it from the face of it.
The Midrash tells a beautiful story about a very wealthy person that gave a lot of charity, but did not believe in Hashgacha Pratit (that HaShem specially supervises everything). He thought all of his wealth came only through his hard work.
Once he went to the market to buy oxen. On the way he met Eliyahu HaNavi disguised like a merchant. Eliyahu HaNavi asked him, “Where are you going?”
He responded that he is going to buy oxen.
Eliyahu HaNavi told him, “Say G-d willing.”
The man responded, “What is the point? I have the money in my pocket, and it depends on me.”
Eliyahu HaNavi told him that if this is how he feels, he will not succeed.
The man continued on his way, and the money fell from his pocket without him noticing. Eliyahu HaNavi saw the money, and put it on a big rock in the middle of the forest where nobody would see it.
Meanwhile, the man got to the market and after spending hours looking for good oxen, he put his hand in his pocket, and couldn’t find his money. He went back home extremely disappointed.
After a few days, the man again went to the market to buy oxen. Eliyahu HaNavi appeared to him as an old man this time. He repeated the same question, “Where are you going?”
Again, the man made the same mistake. He didn’t say he is going to do business with HaShem’s help. Eliyahu HaNavi saw that the man wasn’t getting the message, so he put him to sleep. Eliyahu took his money and put it in the same place that he put the money the first time. Again the same thing happened, The man went and searched for good oxen and didn’t find the money.
The third time Eliyahu HaNavi appeared to him as a young, poor boy who was looking for a job. This time the man answered that he is going to buy oxen with HaShem’s help.
The boy (who was really Eliyahu HaNavi) blessed the man, and told him that if he needs help, he could help him. The man told the boy that, “If HaShem helps me, I can buy the oxen, and with HaShem’s help, I can also hire you.” The man succeeded in his business, found good oxen for a good price, and hired the boy.
As the man was on the way back, his oxen escaped towards the forest. He chased after them and found them standing next to the big rock with his money on it. The man thanked HaShem, and truly understood that everything was under HaShem’s control.
The smoke that we had this week reminds us of the clouds we have in this Parasha. It teaches us that HaShem controls everything, and we are really dependent on him. If we trust in HaShem that it is good for us, even if we don’t understand it, HaShem will use this love to protect us now and in the future,
Amen
Rabbi Eliyahu Tal