בס”ד
A THOUGHT ABOUT PARSHAT BEHAALOTECHA 5785
When Leaders Ask Honest Questions
Parshat Behaalotecha begins with light—the menorah is lit in the Tabernacle. But quickly, the tone shifts. The Israelites complain. Moses is overwhelmed. A craving for meat turns into a spiritual and emotional crisis.
Amid this chaos, we hear something surprising. Moses, the faithful shepherd, says to G-d: Numbers 11: 21-22
| 21 And Moses said: ‘The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot; and yet Thou hast said: I will give them flesh, that they may eat a whole month! | כא וַיֹּאמֶר, מֹשֶׁה, שֵׁשׁ-מֵאוֹת אֶלֶף רַגְלִי, הָעָם אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי בְּקִרְבּוֹ; וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ, בָּשָׂר אֶתֵּן לָהֶם, וְאָכְלוּ, חֹדֶשׁ יָמִים. |
| 22 If flocks and herds be slain for them, will they suffice them? or if all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, will they suffice them?’ | כב הֲצֹאן וּבָקָר יִשָּׁחֵט לָהֶם, וּמָצָא לָהֶם; אִם אֶת-כָּל-דְּגֵי הַיָּם יֵאָסֵף לָהֶם, וּמָצָא לָהֶם |
What follows is G-d’s pointed response:
| 23 And the L-rd said unto Moses: ‘Is the L-rd’s hand waxed short? now shalt thou see whether My word shall come to pass unto thee or not.’ | כג וַיֹּאמֶר ד’ אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, הֲיַד ד’ תִּקְצָר; עַתָּה תִרְאֶה הֲיִקְרְךָ דְבָרִי, אִם-לֹא. |
At first glance, it seems like a moment of doubt. But as we’ll see, the tradition invites us to look deeper.
Looking Deeper: What Was Moses Really Asking?
Many commentators were struck by this exchange. But instead of reading it as theological doubt, they offer a more textured picture of what was really going on.
1. Da’at Zekenim: Practical Concerns, Not Theological Doubt
Moses wasn’t doubting G-d’s ability—he was grappling with the purpose. Why provide so much meat, knowing it would likely lead to excess and become loathsome to the people? He was asking a deeper moral question: Will this really help them?
2. Ibn Ezra: Moses Didn’t Expect a Miracle
The Ibn Ezra takes a more literal approach. He suggests that Moses genuinely didn’t know a miracle was intended. He assumed G-d would use natural means to fulfill the promise — and was confused about how that would be possible.
This isn’t a lack of faith in G-d’s power but rather an assumption about G-d’s mode of action. Moses thought the goal was to justify his prophecy, not perform a supernatural feat.
3. Or HaChaim: Multiple Layers of Concern
The Or HaChaim offers two fascinating explanations:
- First, Moses wasn’t questioning G-d’s power, but rather asking how a single type of meat could satisfy all the people’s cravings. Maybe some wanted fowl, others wanted fish, others venison. He wondered if a single category of meat would suffice to quiet such diverse desires.
- Second, Or HaChaim interprets the concern as being about the logistics of slaughtering and preserving the meat. Until this point, Israelites could only eat animals offered at the Mishkan (Tabernacle). Moses wondered if they even could eat their own animals freely — to which G-d responds: they now have that permission.
4. Rashbam and Rashi: A Legal and Narrative View
Rashbam sees the issue as legal: Moses assumes that feeding so many people with the available flocks would either require a massive loss of life (to reduce the population) or a miracle — and he’s not sure the people deserve that.
Rashi, in contrast, notes that only those who left Egypt — the 600,000 — were complaining, since they remembered the fish in Egypt. He underscores the specific audience Moses is referring to.
5. Toledot Yitzchak: Not Lack of Faith, But Strategic Questions
Toledot Yitzchak argues that Moses wasn’t doubting — he was probing, trying to understand how G-d’s word would be fulfilled. He even suggests that the people had plenty of livestock, but due to the requirement that all slaughter go through the Mishkan, they couldn’t just eat it freely. Moses wanted clarity: Would G-d change the rules? Would He miraculously provide meat?
He also suggests a psychological reading: Moses wanted to delay the fulfillment of their craving, hoping that doing so would prevent the deadly consequences of their gluttony.
Woven Reflection: What Kind of Faith Do I Practice?
What emerges is not a portrait of a prophet in crisis, but a leader who dares to question in the service of compassion, justice, and truth.
- Do I leave room in my spiritual life for honest questions?
- When I see something difficult in the world—or even in the Torah—can I wrestle with it without losing faith?
- Can I distinguish between doubting G-d and caring deeply about outcomes?
- When I am called to lead, do I simply obey—or do I engage the challenge with heart and mind?
Conclusion: Faith That Thinks, Cares, and Questions
Moses didn’t doubt G-d’s power. He wrestled with its meaning. He took G-d seriously enough to ask—to care about the how, the why, and the consequence.
That’s not weakness. That’s greatness.
In a world that often confuses certainty with strength, Moses shows us another model: that real leaders—and real seekers—can stand in awe and still ask. They can believe deeply while also questioning responsibly.
Let this passage remind us: G-d’s hand is never too short. But He welcomes the heart that wants to understand what that hand is reaching for.
By Angelique Sijbolts
With thanks to Rabbi Tani Burton for the feedback
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