Ever feel like you're so close to a goal, you can almost taste it... and then BAM! You're thrown back to square one? The Israelites knew that feeling all too well.
Imagine this: After decades wandering in the wilderness, they’re finally at the border of the Promised Land. Can you feel the anticipation? The collective sigh of relief?
But here's the twist. The king of Edom refuses them passage. Just like that, their dream is deferred. As we read in Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, because of this refusal, they had to detour around the entire land of Edom. Can you imagine their frustration?
The people, already worn down by years of wandering, started to grumble. "We thought we were there!" they cried. "Now we have to turn around again? It’s just like our fathers, who were so close, only to wander for another thirty-eight years! Is that our fate too?"
Their disappointment morphed into resentment, directed at both God and Moses. Ginzberg notes that the people treated "master and servant being to them as one.”
And then came the complaints about the manna. You remember the manna, right? That miraculous, heavenly food that sustained them in the desert. But even miracles can get old, apparently.
Now, here's where it gets a little darker. The text hints that some of these complainers were destined not to enter the Promised Land. According to Ginzberg's retelling, God had already vowed that they wouldn't see the land He'd sworn to give their ancestors.
Why? Well, perhaps their hearts weren't truly in it. The story tells us these folks couldn't even bear to look at the fruits of the land of Israel. Merchants brought in produce from Palestine – the very food they were supposed to inherit – but these particular Israelites couldn't partake. They were stuck with the manna, a constant reminder of their desert existence.
It makes you wonder, doesn't it? What does it mean to truly desire something? Is it enough to physically reach a goal, or do you need to be ready, in your heart and soul, to embrace it? Maybe those Israelites weren't just hungry for different food. Maybe they were hungry for a different perspective, a different way of seeing the journey – and the destination – ahead.