We are all familiar with the emblem of the American Medical Association; the serpent wrapped around a pole symbolizing healing. That symbol was taken out of this week’s parsha. The Jewish people complained again. They asserted that the spiritual manna which had the ability to taste like any food that one desired, was bland and insufficient. They desired the physically scrumptious and sumptuous smorgasbord from Egypt. (Abarbanel) Thereupon, G-d sent poisonous snakes to silence those naysayers. Moshe prayed for salvation so G-d instructed him to make a copper serpent and place it on a pole. By staring at the serpent, the afflicted person would be cured.
What is the measure for measure here? Why were snakes chosen to be both the punishment and the cure?
Rashi explains that the snake was punished as being the first gossipmonger by saying loshon harah about G-d to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, the people who were now spreading loshon horah on G-d were punished with snakes.
Additionally, the punishment of the snake was that it will eat dust and that all food will taste the same. Contrast that with the manna which tasted like all of the worlds delicacies, and even so they were ungrateful for that bestowal of good. Therefore their punishment was to bitten by the mono-tasting serpents. The measure for measure is obvious. G-d was granting them reprieve from the curse of Adam “by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread” with the best tasting fare of all time, and their response was kafuyei tovah, sheer ingratitude.
Rav Hirsch elaborates that G-d was sending a very clear message to the ingrates. They were focusing on the small items in life that overshadowed everything else. They were forgetting about the daily miracles that was protecting them. There were always serpents lurking in the desert, and it was only through miraculous intervention that they were kept at bay. G-d removed the protection which they enjoyed until then, and out came the snakes. By gazing at the snake, one remembers G-d’s graciousness of providing constant protection from all sorts of dangers in the world. One realizes that every moment of existence is a gift from Heaven, thereby consoling us from everyday disappointments in life. It is all about having the proper perspective in life.
Samantha, a hardworking housewife demonstrated this lesson quite aptly. One day her husband came home from work only to find the house upside down. Toys were strewn everywhere, the children were fighting, and leftovers from breakfast had found their way onto the living room floor. He went running to check on his wife, and there she was reading peacefully in bed. “Samantha, what in the world is going on” he proclaimed. Calmly, she looked up from her book and said, “You know how you always ask me what I do the whole day. Today I went on vacation!”
May we all merit to appreciate the good in our lives and to express the due appreciation!
What is the measure for measure here? Why were snakes chosen to be both the punishment and the cure?
Rashi explains that the snake was punished as being the first gossipmonger by saying loshon harah about G-d to Eve in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, the people who were now spreading loshon horah on G-d were punished with snakes.
Additionally, the punishment of the snake was that it will eat dust and that all food will taste the same. Contrast that with the manna which tasted like all of the worlds delicacies, and even so they were ungrateful for that bestowal of good. Therefore their punishment was to bitten by the mono-tasting serpents. The measure for measure is obvious. G-d was granting them reprieve from the curse of Adam “by the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread” with the best tasting fare of all time, and their response was kafuyei tovah, sheer ingratitude.
Rav Hirsch elaborates that G-d was sending a very clear message to the ingrates. They were focusing on the small items in life that overshadowed everything else. They were forgetting about the daily miracles that was protecting them. There were always serpents lurking in the desert, and it was only through miraculous intervention that they were kept at bay. G-d removed the protection which they enjoyed until then, and out came the snakes. By gazing at the snake, one remembers G-d’s graciousness of providing constant protection from all sorts of dangers in the world. One realizes that every moment of existence is a gift from Heaven, thereby consoling us from everyday disappointments in life. It is all about having the proper perspective in life.
Samantha, a hardworking housewife demonstrated this lesson quite aptly. One day her husband came home from work only to find the house upside down. Toys were strewn everywhere, the children were fighting, and leftovers from breakfast had found their way onto the living room floor. He went running to check on his wife, and there she was reading peacefully in bed. “Samantha, what in the world is going on” he proclaimed. Calmly, she looked up from her book and said, “You know how you always ask me what I do the whole day. Today I went on vacation!”
May we all merit to appreciate the good in our lives and to express the due appreciation!
