As I have noted before in a TftD, Chazal (T.B. Megilla 14a) tell us there were 1,200,000 prophets; 600,000 men and 600,000 women. On the other hand, we only have written prophecy from 55 of them (48 men and seven women). The reasons for that huge discrepancy have to with the nature and intent of prophecy, which is way outside scope for this TftD (but addressed in another, Prophets and Prophecy -- What They Are, What They Aren't). The one point I want from there is that anything that was directed to be written was to impart a message for all time. That is true of all of our Holy Writ, but particularly so for the חומש/Pentateuch itself. Just knowing that fact should definitely be a game changer for anyone learning parsha (which, of course, we all do; at least twice in Hebrew and once in a translation that incorporates the explanation of our Sages).
Deriving practical lessons to apply to one's daily life is not, to say the least, always so straightforward. Sure, things like "though shalt not steal", "thou shalt not murder", "thou shalt not wear clothing made of linen and wool intertwined", "thou shalt remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy", etc, etc, etc... all pretty self explanatory. But how are we supposed to apply the lesson of the מן/manna (you know, from Heaven) to our daily lives? I mean, for goodness sake, the מן itself only existed for 40 years!
Consider this (Rashi to Shmos 16:33, explaining why Aaron HaKohein had been told to set aside a jug of מן): Yermiyahu has been rebuking the people for not learning Torah. The masses responded, "Leave our jobs and learn Torah? How will we support ourselves?" A reasonable question, to which Yermiyahu gave an irrefutable answer. Yermiyahu lifted that jug of מן that had been prepared so many centuries earlier, showed it to the people and reminded them:
In other words, I would have missed the point. Yirmiyahu didn't finish his speech with reminding them that their ancestors had been supported by the מן; he started his speech that way. (Aside: I am constantly asking people to let me finish my sentences before they answer. Which, of course, means that I am the most guilty of answering based one the first four words and ignoring the rest of their reply.) Yirmiyahu's message to that generation -- and all the more so to ours -- is that HaShem has many, many ways to provide us with a livelihood. What does the מן show us? At least three lessons (cf. Mishna Brura 1:13 and, l'havdil, Who Got What מן, Where, and How Much?): (1) At the end of the day, you are going to get precisely what was decreed for you; no more, no less. (2) It will be precisely what you need; nothing would nor could be better. (3) How much effort you need to expend and how it will taste is up to you.
Of course we have to work for a living; there is an obligation of השתדלות/effort. Of course we have to learn Torah; that is a straight out positive mitzvah. It is up to you to balance your degree of השתדלות with your level of ביטחון ואמונה/trust and faith.
Deriving practical lessons to apply to one's daily life is not, to say the least, always so straightforward. Sure, things like "though shalt not steal", "thou shalt not murder", "thou shalt not wear clothing made of linen and wool intertwined", "thou shalt remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy", etc, etc, etc... all pretty self explanatory. But how are we supposed to apply the lesson of the מן/manna (you know, from Heaven) to our daily lives? I mean, for goodness sake, the מן itself only existed for 40 years!
Consider this (Rashi to Shmos 16:33, explaining why Aaron HaKohein had been told to set aside a jug of מן): Yermiyahu has been rebuking the people for not learning Torah. The masses responded, "Leave our jobs and learn Torah? How will we support ourselves?" A reasonable question, to which Yermiyahu gave an irrefutable answer. Yermiyahu lifted that jug of מן that had been prepared so many centuries earlier, showed it to the people and reminded them:
!בזה נתפרנסו אבותיכם, הרבה שלוחין יש לו למקום להכין מזון ליראיוApparently that was enough for them. Personally, though, my first reaction is not one of contrition, but more of ... umm.... what? I fear my response would have been something like, "Rabbi Jerimiah, with all due respect, that's a great answer for our ancestor who actually had the מן. However, we don't have מן, so we need to work, so we can't just go learn Torah.
With this -- ie, the מן -- your ancestors were supported. The Omnipresent has many agents/schemes with which to prepare food for those who revere Him!
In other words, I would have missed the point. Yirmiyahu didn't finish his speech with reminding them that their ancestors had been supported by the מן; he started his speech that way. (Aside: I am constantly asking people to let me finish my sentences before they answer. Which, of course, means that I am the most guilty of answering based one the first four words and ignoring the rest of their reply.) Yirmiyahu's message to that generation -- and all the more so to ours -- is that HaShem has many, many ways to provide us with a livelihood. What does the מן show us? At least three lessons (cf. Mishna Brura 1:13 and, l'havdil, Who Got What מן, Where, and How Much?): (1) At the end of the day, you are going to get precisely what was decreed for you; no more, no less. (2) It will be precisely what you need; nothing would nor could be better. (3) How much effort you need to expend and how it will taste is up to you.
Of course we have to work for a living; there is an obligation of השתדלות/effort. Of course we have to learn Torah; that is a straight out positive mitzvah. It is up to you to balance your degree of השתדלות with your level of ביטחון ואמונה/trust and faith.
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