June 23, 2024|י"ז סיון ה' אלפים תשפ"ד Moshe Rabbenu's Road Trip and Generational Diversity By Rabbi Jonathan Muskat

Have you ever lost it in the car with the kids on a long car ride? We are driving to Toronto for a wedding this coming week and I only have to deal one child who will be in the car, so I don’t think that I will lose it. However, I can recall many times years ago when our family went on road trips and I lost it. After all, we had my son Netanel in the car. Yes, Netanel who just got semicha, was the key to a successful road trip or not. If he was well-fed and well-rested then we would be okay. But if he was tired or hungry or just in the mood to wreak havoc… let’s just say that there were times that I lost it during some of the Muskat road trips when my children/Netanel was younger.

 

But that’s okay. Because the greatest of all time, Moshe Rabbenu, also lost it during a road trip. And the story when Moshe lost it during a road trip does not merely provide comfort for all fathers and mothers on road trips that it’s okay to lose your cool once in a while – after all, Moshe did. But the story is also about how we relate to our kids and how we relate to the younger generation. 

 

Now what exactly happened on Moshe’s road trip. Moshe’s road trip was a road trip through the desert and the people didn’t like the food. They were provided with manna that fell from the sky, but they wanted meat. They were sick of the manna and they were crying and complaining to Moshe, and Moshe simply lost it. He turns to God and says, “I don’t want to do this anymore.” He had enough of their complaints and he uses fascinating imagery. He says (Bamidbar 11:12-15):

 

הֶאָנֹכִ֣י הָרִ֗יתִי אֵ֚ת כָּל־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֔ה אִם־אָנֹכִ֖י יְלִדְתִּ֑יהוּ כִּֽי־תֹאמַ֨ר אֵלַ֜י שָׂאֵ֣הוּ בְחֵיקֶ֗ךָ כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יִשָּׂ֤א הָאֹמֵן֙ אֶת־הַיֹּנֵ֔ק עַ֚ל הָֽאֲדָמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖עְתָּ לַאֲבֹתָֽיו:

Did I impregnate all these people, did I give birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a caregiver carries an infant,’ to the land that You have promised on oath to their fathers?

מֵאַ֤יִן לִי֙ בָּשָׂ֔ר לָתֵ֖ת לְכָל־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּֽי־יִבְכּ֤וּ עָלַי֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר תְּנָה־לָּ֥נוּ בָשָׂ֖ר וְנֹאכֵֽלָה:

Where am I to get meat to give to all this people, when they whine before me and say, ‘Give us meat to eat!’

לֹֽא־אוּכַ֤ל אָנֹכִי֙ לְבַדִּ֔י לָשֵׂ֖את אֶת־כׇּל־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֑ה כִּ֥י כָבֵ֖ד מִמֶּֽנִּי׃ 

I cannot carry all this people by myself, for it is too much for me. 

וְאִם־כָּ֣כָה ׀ אַתְּ־עֹ֣שֶׂה לִּ֗י הׇרְגֵ֤נִי נָא֙ הָרֹ֔ג אִם־מָצָ֥אתִי חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֶ֑יךָ וְאַל־אֶרְאֶ֖ה בְּרָעָתִֽי׃ 

If You would deal thus with me, kill me rather, I beg You, and let me see no more of my wretchedness!”

 

Now I want to just clarify that on the Muskat road trips, there were times that I did lose it, but I don’t remember ever turning to God to either take my children away from me or end my life. No matter how effectively Netanel managed to provoke all of his siblings, it never got to the point similar to Moshe’s road trip with the nation when he wants to end his life. He turns to God and asks, “Am I their mother? Am I their father? Did I give birth to them?” He doesn’t want to be their father or their mother anymore. Why? On a simple level, he can’t provide for them. The job of a parent is to provide for his or her children and he can’t. The children want meat and he can’t provide them with meat. Again, Moshe could have simply asked God to provide them with meat without threatening to quit his job as leader of this nation. Something else is bothering Moshe. Therefore, God’s response is not only to provide meat for this nation and to discipline them for not appreciating the manna, for that matter. God does more. He tells Moshe to gather seventy elders. 

 

What is the function of the seventy elders? Do they help Moshe get meat? It doesn’t seem so. How is the appointment of seventy elders a response to Moshe’s complaint to God? God tells Moshe (Bamidbar 11:17):

 

וְיָרַדְתִּ֗י וְדִבַּרְתִּ֣י עִמְּךָ֮ שָׁם֒ וְאָצַלְתִּ֗י מִן־הָר֛וּחַ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָלֶ֖יךָ וְשַׂמְתִּ֣י עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וְנָשְׂא֤וּ אִתְּךָ֙ בְּמַשָּׂ֣א הָעָ֔ם וְלֹא־תִשָּׂ֥א אַתָּ֖ה לְבַדֶּֽךָ

I will come down and speak with you there, and I will draw upon the spirit that is on you and put it upon them; they shall share the burden of the people with you, and you shall not bear it alone.

 

Moshe’s complaint to God was that לֹֽא־אוּכַ֤ל אָנֹכִי֙ לְבַדִּ֔י לָשֵׂ֖את אֶת־כׇּל־הָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֑ה – I cannot carry all this people by myself, so God provides a solution that Moshe did not offer. Moshe offered two potential solutions – fire me or kill me. God says, “I have a third solution – I will hire assistants.” What is the role of the assistants? They will share the burden of the people. What does that mean that they will share the burden of the people? Will they provide meat if the people ask for meat? Will they handle the complaints that the Bnei Yisrael may have for Moshe? What is their exact role?

 

Moshe already had judges to assist him. Yitro gave him that advice already in Parshat Yitro. But now Moshe wanted something different. He wanted a mother for the nation. He wanted a father for the nation. He wanted someone who would be יִשָּׂ֤א הָאֹמֵן֙ אֶת־הַיֹּנֵ֔ק – someone who would act as a caregiver to an infant. But what exactly does that mean?

 

What does God do with these newly appointed elders? Again, he tells Moshe (Bamidbar 11:17):וְאָצַלְתִּ֗י מִן־הָר֛וּחַ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָלֶ֖יךָ וְשַׂמְתִּ֣י עֲלֵיהֶ֑ם  - And I will draw upon the spirit that is on you and put it upon them.

 

Many meforshim interpret this as giving the elders prophecy, and through their spirit or prophecy, they will share the burden with Moshe. How so? Says the Abrabanel – למשוך לבם אל האמת – that these elders will inspire the people to the truth. The goal of the navi is more than simply transmitting God’s message. It’s to inspire the people with God’s message. In fact, this is the only time that we read about these elders receiving prophecy and Rav Hirsch explains that the reason why the elders only prophesized once was to establish their credentials. Once they did that, then they could help Moshe inspire the people. Moshe had trouble relating to and inspiring the people all by himself, so God created a community Kollel of seventy people to help Moshe inspire the people.

 

This is beautiful solution to the problem, but it’s a bit sad. Moshe could no longer relate to the people. The Malbim suggests that Moshe could not relate to the people’s mundane requests for meat because he was on a completely different spiritual plane. Precisely because the seventy elders were not so spiritual, they would be more able to relate to the people. And that is sad. The great Moshe Rabbenu realizing that he could no longer relate to the people. The great Moshe Rabbenu realizing that he could no longer inspire the people. And how does Moshe deal with this realization? Like an absolute hero.

 

Eldad and Medad are prophesizing in the camp, and Yehoshua wants to stop them. He was trying to protect his rebbe’s honor. According to some mefarshim, the problem is the content of their prophecy that Moshe will die and Yehoshua will lead the Bnei Yisrael to Egypt, and according to other mefarshim, the problem is the location of the prophecy. They should not be prophesizing in the middle of the camp. This is not the way we do things. We prophesize in private. And how does Moshe react. It’s great. ומי יתן כל עם ה׳ נביאים, says Moshe. I wish all of God’s people were prophets. Moshe is not afraid of this change. Moshe understands that this is good for the nation. It’s not traditional. It’s not how Moshe went about prophesizing, but if it inspires people, then it’s a good thing.

Moshe’s challenge on this journey mirrors our challenge with the new generation, whether it’s our kids and grandkids, the younger members of our community, or today's school-aged children. Parents, grandparents, older community members, and educators often look at the younger generation and lament their perceived lack of respect for tradition, weak work ethic, or obsession with technology. They say, “What inspires us no longer inspires today’s youth,” and they are frustrated. Like Moshe Rabbenu, they might feel overwhelmed and say, "I just can’t deal with the kids or the younger generation today."

But perhaps the answer lies in what God told Moshe. What inspired us religiously may not inspire the children, students, or young adults of today. They may choose a different path than ours. I personally try to inspire my children and students to follow my religious worldview because it works for me, but I try to give them space to choose different paths. We must do more than give them space; we must embrace generational diversity and adapt to help everyone connect to God in a manner that is both authentic and meaningful to them. Instead of lamenting the flaws of the new generation, we should recognize that they might need Torah values translated differently for them than they were for us. Moshe’s road trip provides more than just solace to us all when we lose it on our road trips. It teaches us about the complexity of generational diversity and relationships. Instead of reacting like Moshe did when he was frustrated with the new generation, let us emulate Moshe when he praised Eldad and Medad for their new ways of being inspired to serve God.