Manna Gathering Separates The Men From the Boys There is an interesting Medrash which says that when the Manna originally came down, it came down with precious stones and diamonds. The greatest people (Gedolim shebahem) of the nation went ahead and took these precious stones and diamonds. However, the simple people, the masses, only collected the Manna. This is very strange. Everyone appreciates a bargain - especially free diamonds! How was it that only the leaders of the people took advantage of free riches? I once heard a very interesting observation from Rav Michel Twerski of Milwaukee. He pointed out the unique economic conditions that existed in the Wilderness. For perhaps the only time in the history of civilization, there existed a society where all of a persons physical needs were met. Food was effortlessly available from Heaven. Water was effortlessly available from the Well. Clothing did not wear out, so it was not necessary to buy new clothing. Shelter was available from the Clouds of Glory. We can probably assume that G-d threw in Health Insurance as a guaranteed benefit as well. This was a society that did not have any needs whatsoever. If one does not have any needs, then of what use are precious stones? What would one do with them? There was nothing to buy and no need to buy anything. Therefore, people looked at these precious stones, determined that they had no purpose for them, and considered them worthless. However, the great people among them knew that there would come an occasion when there would be a Mishkan [Tabernacle] and Bigday Kehunah [Holy Vestments (of the High Priest)] which required the contribution of precious stones. This Medrash teaches us that what differentiates the masses from the leadership, is perspective. A person who only sees in front of his nose, who only considers his requirements for the day, is in the category of a non-leader. The leader recognizes that although certain things might be unnecessary in the current situation, in the future there may come a time when these things will have value. It is well known that trees do not grow in deserts. The Jews needed a significant amount of lumber to build the Mishkan. Where did they obtain the lumber? Our Rabbis credit the existence of the trees to the foresight of Yaakov. Our Sages tell us that Yaakov planted cedar trees when he first came down to Egypt so that his descendants would be able to cut them down and take them out with them for the purpose of building the Mishkan. This is the perspective of a great individual. He is not merely caught up in today; he plans for and considers what will be in the future.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 04:20:01 +0000
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