Did God Find Us in the Desert? |
Sponsored by Vicky Wu in memory of JJ Greenberg, whose blessed memory has given many Jews and Israelis strength to continue to love life and each other, and to pursue truth. As Ramban describes it, Parshat Ha’azinu is a song that plainly tells us all that will befall us, opening first by describing the kindness God bestowed on us since He chose us for His people, followed by a record of his bounty towards us in the wilderness and how He disinherited mighty nations for us. Devarim 32:10 states: “Yimtzaehu bieretz midbar…”, “He found them in a wilderness country…” What does this mean? Did God “find” B’nai Yisrael in the desert? Wasn’t God protecting them the whole time starting from the Exodus from According to Rashbam, God didn’t literally find us in the desert. Rather, he made provisions for B’nai Yisrael. The Netziv says that God took care of them by giving them food and water, a place to live, values and safety from dangerous creatures. Just as God watched over and took care of B’nai Yisrael in the desert, we hope and pray that God will continue to protect us and ensure that every human being will always have enough food and water, a roof over their heads, moral values and safety from all danger and inscribe us all in the Book of Life. |