Welcome to KOE's project, dt@koe. Thank you to Ethan Isenberg for contributing this week's dvar torah. If you are interested in participating in this program, through writing or receiving divrei torah, please contact Jason Herman at dt@koe.org. Shabbat shalom.

Rabbi Yoni Grossman points out that the events of Parshat Beshalach follow a literary pattern known as a chiastic structure, ABCBA:

A. CLASH WITH AN ENEMY: Bnei Yisrael narrowly escape certain death through God's intervention. The sea splits, allowing them to pass, and then closes again on the pursuing Egyptian army.

B. COMPLAINT OVER WATER: The people arrive at Marah and are unable to drink from its bitter waters. Hashem shows Moshe a tree that he uses to sweeten the waters. The Torah tells us, "Sham sam lo chok u'mishpat, v'sham NISA'HU", "there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there HE TESTED THEM".

C. COMPLAINT OVER BREAD AND MEAT: The nation then encamps in the desert and begins to complain about the missing luxuries from their days in Egypt. In response, God brings quail and manna. But before that, the Glory of God is revealed to the nation for the first time. Hashem describes one purpose of the manna as: "lema'an ANASENU ha'yelech b'torati im lo", "that I MAY TEST THEM, whether they will follow my Torah or not".

B. COMPLAINT OVER WATER: The people reach Refidim and, once again, complain about the lack of water. Hashem commands Moshe to strike a rock in order to give them drink. The place is named "Masah U'merivah," "al riv Bnei Yisrael v'al NASOTAM et Hashem, leimor ha'yesh Hashem b'kirbeinu im ayin" "because of the strife of Bnei Yisrael, and because THEY TESTED Hashem, saying, 'Is Hashem among us, or not?'"

A. CLASH WITH AN ENEMY: Amalek attacks the people in Refidim, but the people prevail under the leadership of Yehoshua, and with Moshe, Aharon, and Chur providing inspiration.

A chiastic structure serves to draw attention to the center of the pattern, the section labeled here as C, in this case the complaint of the people over bread and meat, and it's resolution. What is it about this section that's so important? How is it any different than the myriad of other grievances littered throughout the Chumash?

The key here is to focus on the nature of the complaint: "The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moshe and Aharon in the desert. And the Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the Hand of God in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, when we ate our fill of bread! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to starve this whole congregation to death.'" (16:2-3)

The complaint is really two-fold: 1. Dying by the "Hand of God" in Egypt versus in the desert by starvation 2. The abundance of food -- "flesh pots", "fill of bread" -- in Egypt, versus nothing here.

The second complaint is similar to others, and is simply one of hunger and lack of comfort. However, the second is different. For some reason, the people perceived Egypt as being a place where one can die by the "Hand of God", as opposed to the desert. This can be explained by understanding the religious beliefs of the time. In a polytheistic setting, each god is limited by his/her "territory". Although the power of God was experienced in Egypt, and the Red Sea, the desert was a whole different experience. This is why the Torah emphasizes that "The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moshe and Aharon IN THE DESERT," by Midbar Sin, while it leaves out this detail in the incidents at Marah and Refidim. The people saw Moshe and Aharon as the ones leading them into the desert -- "YOU have brought us into this wilderness" -- not God. Therefore, the solution to this problem needed to be two-fold. The hunger aspect was handled by providing the people with quail and manna to eat. However, the spiritual crisis, was solved in a different manner. God decides to educate the people that he does play a part in the desert as well. The first step is to reveal this truth to them: "And it came to pass, as Aharon spoke to the whole congregation of Bnei Yisrael, that THEY LOOKED TOWARD THE DESERT, and, behold, the glory of Hashem appeard in the cloud. (15:10) "God reveals the Shekhinah for the first time, and it is done specifically in the desert. However, that one-time revelation is not enough. Therefore, the manna comes to reinforce this reality. Every day, the people are forced to rely on God's providence in giving them manna, as they are warned not to take more than what is required for that day. On Friday, they take a double portion, in anticipation of the absence of manna the next day. Eventually, this teaching will become understood, without anymore questioning or doubts. This educational process continues when the nation eventually enters Eretz Yisrael. The produce that makes up their sustenance is dependent upon the land, and the land is dependent upon rain. Since the message is a bit more indirect than in the desert, the challenge is to still recognize the role of God in everything. And, of course, that's our challenge as well.

For more information, please contact us at dt@koe.org.