Parasha Beha’aloscha:

The Complainers!

We are are beginning a new weekly Series –

“How this Parsha addresses the Struggler”

Have you ever felt like life wasn’t treating you like you deserved?  Maybe it was spouse or your boss or your so called friends – Once again LIFE has let you down and you were full of Resentment of Fear!

Check out Bamidbar Chapter 11 Verse 1 – which appears exactly after the “middle of the Torah” (with the inverted “nuns”).  It says as follows:

ויהי העם כמתאננים

The People took to seeking COMPLAINTS;

it was evil in the ears of Hashem…

The Ramban comments how when the People of Israel after leaving Sinai and receiving the Torah were about to venture into the great desolate and UNKNOWN wilderness, they grew frantic and acted like they had the right to COMPLAIN and bemoan their fate!

The Sifre comments how right after they left the Spiritual High of G-d’s revelation at Mt. Sinai – how quickly the Compainers reverted back to their corrupt nature of their existence in Egypt!

Let’s consider how this Message speaks to us...whether we find ourselves “lost on our Journey” thru life – complaining that we are lacking the money, the status, the love we want and expect.  Or we find ourselves full of Resentments and Fears, that we turn to our Drug of Choice – how quickly we revert to the ADDICTIVE behaviors we are trying to change!

Are we not just like those in the desert who are freaked out about the unknown and the unmanageability of life?  Don’t we also feel like we deserve better?  And soon find ourselves running to our “Escape” and acting out!

Take a close look at the Hebrew word for COMPLAINERS and look at these 3 letters inside  that are “אננ”

Now take a look at the famous story of Yehuda and Tamar.  After Yehuda’ first son Er died after marrying Tamar, Yehuda asked his second son ONAN to marry Tamar.  What was ONAN’s selfish response?  As it says in Genesis Chapter 38, Verse 9, ONAN “SPILLED HIS SEED!”

Now we can tie this all together – The story of the COMPLAINERS and ONAN!

If we start COMPLAINING with little reason – or we are full of Selfishness, Resentment and Fear – we may ultimately fall into the habit of Masterbation!

Isn’t time my friends that we Turn our Wills and our Lives over to the care of our Higher Power?

And then we can finally live a life of Serenity, Acceptance and GRATITUDE!!

SHABBAT SHALOM!!