The Two Tests of Faith

Parshat B’Shalach

by Rabbi Avi Billet 

I recall hearing the following conversation several times in school. 

Student: Why did you fail me on the test? 

Teacher: I didn’t “fail you.” The grade you got is the grade you earned!

A school test has several purposes. It is meant for the teacher to assess what the students have learned. It is for the students to demonstrate their mastery of the material, and when done right, their ability to transfer their knowledge and skills to new information, scenarios, examples that they haven’t studied yet, but which are solvable with the information they possess. 

There are other kinds of tests as well, such as tests of character, grit, ability, mental capacity, stamina, and even tests of faith. 

In Parshat B’Shalach, there are two events in particular which are described as being tests. The first is when God tells Moshe he will be raining down bread from the heavens (16:4):וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְקֹוָק֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה הִנְנִ֨י מַמְטִ֥יר לָכֶ֛ם לֶ֖חֶם מִן־הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם וְיָצָ֨א הָעָ֤ם וְלָֽקְטוּ֙ דְּבַר־י֣וֹם בְּיוֹמ֔וֹ לְמַ֧עַן אֲנַסֶּ֛נּוּ הֲיֵלֵ֥ךְ בְּתוֹרָתִ֖י אִם־לֹֽא: The second time comes at Rephidim when the people are faced with the prospect of no water, and they complain to Moshe. His response (17:2): וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לָהֶם֙ מֹשֶׁ֔ה מַה־תְּרִיבוּן֙ עִמָּדִ֔י מַה־תְּנַסּ֖וּן אֶת־יְקֹוָֽק: After Moshe brings water from them from Chorev (17:6), the segment ends with (17:7): וַיִּקְרָא֙ שֵׁ֣ם הַמָּק֔וֹם מַסָּ֖ה וּמְרִיבָ֑ה עַל־רִ֣יב׀ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל ועַ֨ל נַסֹּתָ֤ם אֶת־יְקֹוָק֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר הֲיֵ֧שׁ יְקֹוָ֛ק בְּקִרְבֵּ֖נוּ אִם־אָֽיִן: 

To summarize: 

 • God tests the people with the rules of manna from heaven (henceforth “mon”) (e.g. not to leave it over until morning, not to collect on Shabbos), to test them to see if they will follow His teachings.

 • The people test God, wondering if He is truly with them in their distress when there is no water 

Understandably, these are very different tests. Not only that, as many point out, the question reportedly presented by the Israelites of “Is God among us or not?” is followed by the words ויבא עמלק, “and Amalek showed up,” indicating the possibility that their question of faithlessness opened the door for Amalek to appear and to negatively impact Bnei Yisrael. 

 It is not coincidence that the two tests are over bread and water. The two appear together in many contexts. 

 Avraham gives water (for washing) and bread to his guests. He also sends Hagar and Yishmael on their way with bread and water. Later on we will hear that Moshe goes up Mt Sinai and “bread he did not eat and water he did not drink” (Shmos 34:28). The people will complain of lack of non-mon-bread and water in Bamidbar 21. Yechezkel speaks of the difficulties of those who lack bread and water (chapter 4). Famously (because it has been made into a song), Amos spoke of “days which are coming in which there will be a hunger in the land. But it will not be a hunger for bread or a thirst for water, but to hear the word of God” (8:11): הִנֵּ֣ה׀ יָמִ֣ים בָּאִ֗ים נְאֻם֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְקֹוִ֔ק וְהִשְׁלַחְתִּ֥י רָעָ֖ב בָּאָ֑רֶץ לֹֽא־רָעָ֤ב לַלֶּ֙חֶם֙ וְלֹֽא־צָמָ֣א לַמַּ֔יִם כִּ֣י אִם־לִשְׁמֹ֔עַ אֵ֖ת דִּבְרֵ֥י יְקֹוָֽק: And perhaps also famously, in Pirkei Avot 6:4, כך היא דרכה של תורה פת במלח תאכל ומים במשורה תשתה – “This is the way of the Torah. Eat bread with salt, and drink water with measure.” 

 The Maggid of Mezrich referred to the “mon” as a test for each individual to demonstrate if they truly are humble before God. It is a greater test to have a guaranteed income and to have no worries about where your next meal(s) are coming from, and to still be God-fearing!, than it is to be poor and to have trust in Hashem. 

While this is not a knock on anyone who has no financial worries, I personally hear of how things are in God’s hands, and a demonstration of deep appreciation for God’s role in bringing about salvation, much more from people who are destitute than from people who are doing well. There are always exceptions, and there are many financially successful יראי שמים! But the Maggid was saying that those who are well off are actually more challenged in their Emunah, because they tend to forget to credit God with their successes. 

In the book Kehillas Moshe, the author questions how the “mon” could be used as a test to see if the people are following the ways of God. Zeroing in on the popular interpretation that the “mon” could taste like whatever the taster wanted it to taste like, he notes the B’raisa from Avos quoted above, that the way of the Torah is to simply eat bread and water. Those who have the strongest Yiras Shamayim eat for a simple reason – to suppress their hunger. What they eat is to sustain themselves, and it’s not about the flavor or taste, but about survival in order to be able to serve God. Those whose focus was on what the “mon” tasted like essentially failed the test of whether their focus is on serving God through clinging to the Torah and her teachings. This is proven through the reference to Bamidbar 21 above when those complaining give every indication of being sick of this supernatural bread.

Undoubtedly some people passed the test of the “mon.” But surely some did not. 

When it comes to the water, the people test God to see if He is there. This is a kind of test that can only come as an extension of the failure of the test God put on the people in the case of the “mon.” Meaning, those who test God’s presence among them are suffering from a lack of Emunah – their faith in God is quite weak. As noted, their test led immediately to Amalek coming out and attacking them. 

 Rabbi Moshe Eiger noted that the numerical value (gematria) of Amalek is 240, which is the same as that of the word ספק, doubt. 

 One of the biggest challenges to faith, until today!, is doubt. We can have questions, we can live with questions, and we can also try to be content with lack of answers. But having doubt as to the existence or presence of God in our lives only leads to the destruction of our nation that Amalek aims for, and that Amalek ultimately represents in our lives even now, when there isn’t a formal nation we can necessarily identify as Amalek. 

 So Rabbi Eiger suggests that what defeated Amalek is the opposite of doubt – and that is Emunah, faith. And this is something Moshe inspired in the people when he stood on a hilltop with his arms being supported by Aharon and Chur, as the verse says (17:12) - וַיְהִ֥י יָדָ֛יו אֱמוּנָ֖ה עַד־בֹּ֥א הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ – his hands were a source of faith, which he was able to transmit to the people through the course of battle, leading to their incredible success in that space. (See Mishnah Rosh Hashana 3:8) 

These tests – of the “mon” and the water – one directed at the people, and one directed at God – were really the same test. Will the people demonstrate that they know and appreciate God’s role in their lives – both when the going is good AND when the going gets rough? Sometimes when it is rough, faith is more strongly challenged. Sometimes when the going is good, faith is more strongly challenged. Like the teacher in the opening anecdote said, it is not the teacher who gives us our results, it is we who have to do our utmost to pass the test before us. 

 Let us strengthen our own Emunah and pay special attention to the gifts we have in life. Even when the going is rough, God is with us. Particularly when the going is good, let us remember that the ease that we feel is a personal blessing heaped upon us by the Master of the world, our Father in heaven.