D’var Torah – Jan 30

I pray this finds you all well.

One of the most meaningful and heartfelt B’nai Mitzvah projects I ever witnessed took place when I was a student rabbi. At my student pulpit, one of my Bat Mitzvah students decided that she would make brown-bagged lunches for the homeless folks in her city. After preparing each lunch, the Bat Mitzvah student and her mom would drive around town and give them to the destitute who were begging for change on the side of the road.

I was reminded, and quite frankly inspired and humbled, by my bat mitzvah student’s selfless and caring act of chesed shel emet (an act of true loving kindness) when I sat down to write this homily. In this week’s parsha of Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16), we read that after safely crossing the Sea of Reeds and arriving in the Wilderness, the people have no food and begin to speak out against Moses and Aaron (Exodus 16:2-3). God tells Moses, “I will rain down bread for you from the sky, and the people shall go out and gather each day that day’s portion..” (*Exodus 16:4). We are further told, “The house of Israel named it manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and it tasted like wafers in honey…And the Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a settled land; they ate the manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.” (*Exodus 16:31, 35)

I’ve always been fascinated by the sacred call to “walk in God’s ways” that is spelled out in Deuteronomy 19:9. It’s a beautiful petition, but I’ve always wondered how can we, mere mortals, despite all of our accomplishments, actually walk the walk of the Eternal- that which has no corporeal body, that which is not bound to mortality, form, or time, that which has known all, knows all, and will know all, that which is the author of life and death, that which is the knower of history and future, that which is the judge of the judges, that which is the kings of kings, and that which is the master of the universe?

Thus, I would argue that by giving food to the hungry, we are in fact walking the same holy path by which God sustained our ancestors with manna.

And here’s the beauty of giving food to the hungry. It’s not herculean- it’s not immense, it’s not like damming a raging river, tunneling through a mountain, or trying to reach the moon. In fact, it’s the result of each one of us doing our part in rather manageable, tangible, palpable, and doable ways. What does that mean? Perhaps it’s organizing a canned food drive at your synagogue, office, or civic club; participating in a community garden where the entire harvest goes to the needy; buying one- just one- extra item every time you go to the grocery store and taking it to the local food pantry; or like my bat mitzvah student and her mom, preparing bagged lunches for those begging on the side of the road.

When I’m reminded of such noble endeavors, I think of two powerful pieces of scripture. This first, near the end of the Torah proclaims: “It is not in the heavens, that you should say, ‘Who among us can go up to the heavens and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who among us can cross to the other side of the sea and get it for us and impart it to us, that we may observe it?’ No, the thing is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to observe it.” (*Deuteronomy 30:12-14). The second from the Talmud Yerushalmi declares, “anybody who preserves a single life, it is counted as if he preserved an entire world.” (*Sanhedrin 4:9)

Thus, every tomato from our garden, every tuna sandwich in that bagged lunch, and every can of soup that goes from our grocery cart to the food pantry is the equivalent of the life-saving manna that God used to preserve and sustain the lives of our people in the harshness and austerity of the Wilderness.

Bizrat HaShem, with God’s divine example, may we all be challenged and inspired to lead canned food drives, plant gardens, and perform acts of tzedakah (acts of charitable giving) wherever we live for those who are hungry.

Wishing you all a Good Shabbos and a great weekend.