Many of us prefer to see the world clearly, as if looking into a crystal ball. Is the world good or bad? We have little place for choices, differences of opinion. More than that, we don’t like challenges. We prefer when life goes smoothly. Who wants to have a roller coaster of a life? The ups and downs of the stock market? That is why we prefer to know if something is good or bad (who doesn’t check out the ratings online--we all want to know if this is an acceptable product or not).
In this week’s Torah portion, Devarim, Moses spoke with disapproval to the tribes of Gad and Reuven about their desire to stay on the plains east of the Jordan River instead of entering Israel. Their reason was that they had many cattle, and the grass was greener on that side.
Was that really their reason? After forty years of waiting to enter Israel, they wanted to stay behind because the grass was greener?
Let us dig a little deeper. Why did they have more cattle than the other tribes? Were they better ranchers? One reason given is because they didn’t eat meat and so they didn’t slaughter their animals. They preferred to eat the manna alone during their years in the desert, hence they had a lot more cattle.
This leads us to an interesting conclusion. Their reason to stay in the desert—to pasture their cattle—had less to do with their animals and more to do with not going into Israel proper to become farmers. If they entered Israel, they would have to engage in worldly affairs, get involved in commerce, become distracted with the colors of the world, the ups and the downs of the marketplace, such as which commodity is high and which is low. Conversely, if they stayed in the desert, they could be simple shepherds and hang around with their sheep, while dedicating their lives to the service of G-d.
However, Moses wanted to teach them—and us—an important lesson. Life is not about living a perfect crystal-clear life. It is about living with—and through—our challenges. It is about taking all the hurdles, the obstacles, the impediments, and growing through them to become stronger.
We were not created to eat manna from heaven our whole life, but to toil the earth and find bread within it.
Embrace the unknown and grow from it; you have it within you.