Parshat Hukat

One of the most poignant stories in the Gemara is the story of Choni. The Gemara in masechet Ta’anit (in the Mishna on 19a and the Gemara on 23a) tells us that Choni was the sage that the people turned to in times of drought. His saintliness was such that his prayer for rain was sure to be answered. The Gemara says that Choni once slept for seventy years. When he awoke from his slumber he went to the beit hamidrash and heard the scholars talking about Choni. They said that Choni’s explanations were of remarkable clarity and that Choni could answer any question. Choni then told them “I’m Choni!” but they didn’t believe him He then proceeded to answer all their questions but the scholars just ignored him. Choni died a lonely man.

Why didn’t the scholars believe Choni? And even if they could not believe that Choni would disappear for seventy years why didn’t his answers to their questions persuade them? After all they had just reminisced about the great Choni who could answer any question. Why did they ignore Choni?

The Sfat Emet makes an observation on this week’s parsha that I think can explain the story of Choni. When the Jews crossed the Red Sea they sang to Hashem in thanks, Az yashir Moshe u’vnei Yisrael… In this week’s parsha the Jews again sing a song of thanks for the miraculous well that accompanied them throughout their travels of forty years. But in this song Moshe Rabbeinu does not take part. Why not? One could also ask, why did the people wait forty years to thank Hashem for the well?

The answer according to the Sfat Emet lies in the fact that in this week’s parsha we are reading about the second generation. The generation of the Exodus who saw the great miracle of the tearing of the Red Sea was not moved to sing about the well. And Moshe Rabbeinu at his exalted level also was not moved to sing about the well. But this new generation was moved to sing about the well and they sang alone.

This difference of generations explains the people’s complaint about the manna. Three weeks ago, in B’ha’alotcha, the rabble (asafsuf) complained that they remember the food in Egypt and that the manna isn’t enough. In this week’s parsha the new generation (who didn’t remember Egyptian cuisine) complains that they just don’t like manna. The Sfat Emet (in his Torah from the year 5640) says they were telling the truth. This generation was not on the level to appreciate the manna. The heavenly food eaten by Moshe Rabbeinu could not satisfy this generation. It’s a simple fact that this generation was not on the level of the old generation. And as a consequence of this gap between the generations Moshe Rabbeinu could no longer provide effective leadership for these people.

The leader of the new generation was Yehoshua. But it seems that even he was separated from Moshe Rabbeinu by this generation gap. The Gemara in masechet Temura (16a) tells us what happened on the day that Moshe Rabbeinu died. Moshe Rabbeinu told Yehoshua, that now is the time for Yehoshua to ask all his lingering questions, since I am about to die. Yehoshua answered that he had never left his beloved master , and how could he possibly have any questions at this point. The Gemara goes on to say that upon Moshe Rabbeinu’s death Yehoshua forgot 300 laws and was faced with seven hundred doubts.

The Gemara in Sanhedrin (38b) says that Hashem showed Adam dor dor v’dorshav, dor dor v’chachamav. It seems that every generation has particular needs and Hashem provides the appropriate leader.