Parshas Beha'aloscha 5762 Something's Fishy

                By Rabbi Joshua (subconsciously known as The Hoffer) Hoffman
  

     In this week's Torah reading, we learn of the complaints that the nation in the wilderness had about their diet, which consisted completely of the manna that came down to them each day from heaven. "Who will feed us meat," they complained. "We remember the fish that we would eat in Egypt free of charge; the cucumbers, and the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. And now, our life is dry, there is nothing ; we have nothing before our eyes but the manna" (Bamidbar 11:4-6). Rashi, citing the midrash, explains that when the people said that they received fish in Egypt free of charge, they really meant that it was received free of any obligations to perform any mitzvos in conjunction with it. The Torah then describes the unique characteristics of the manna, and then reports that Moshe heard the people "crying by their families, each one at the entrance of his tent" (Bamidbar 11:10). Rashi explains, again from the midrash, that what they were really crying about was the restrictions of arayos, forbidden sexual liaisons, that had been imposed upon them by the Torah. Thus, both in connection with the people's specific complaints about the manna and their more vague act of crying, the rabbis tell us that there was more to their complaints than what was presented on the surface. 
  
    Rabbi Ya'akov Kaminetsky, zt'l, in his Emes L'Ya'akov, writes that the rabbis were using their keen sense of psychological perception in explaining what was really behind the people's complaints. It did not seem logical to them that the bitter complaints of the people were solely about the manna they received, particularly considering the wondrous nature of that food, as described in the Torah. Rather, the rabbis discerned, something else was bothering them, but they were afraid to articulate it openly. Therefore, they covered up their true grievances by focusing their remarks on the manna. This observation is very important for parents and educators in dealing with children and students. Very often they may have problems in carrying their normal activities, and, when questioned about their performance, will give seemingly superficial or dishonest explanations. What must be understood is that there is something deeper bothering them that they do not wish to spell out or acknowledge. This phenomenon, of course, is not restricted to younger people. Psychological blocking is a common occurrence, and it often requires the protracted efforts of a therapist to get to the bottom of the problem. 
  
    What Rabbi Kaminetsky does not explain, however, is how the rabbis were able to uncover the true reason for the nation's complaints. How did they know that when the people were complaining about their food, they were really complaining about the restrictions that the Torah placed upon them in connection with food and sexual relations? I would like to suggest that the rabbis understood that there is an inherent connection between food and sexual relations. This connection is very common in popular culture. Many years ago I read that a very famous Hollywood director (name revealed upon request) uses this connection as a recurrent theme in his films. In fact, in parshas Vayeshev, when the Torah describes the powers given to Yosef by Potiphar, it says, " He left all that he had in Yoseph's custody and he did not know anything that was with him except for the bread that he ate" (Bereishis 39:6). Rashi there, citing the midrash, writes that 'bread' in that verse is really a euphemism for Potiphar's wife. When the rabbis, therefore, noted the particular intensity of the people's complaint about their food, and understood that this complaint related to the kashrus restrictions imposed upon them, they also detected that there was a connection to their sexual restrictions, as well.   
  
     What is the connection between these two areas? I believe that it is the connection of kedusha - holiness. Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik has pointed out that the Rambam, in his Book of Holiness, includes three sections relating to two areas, those of eating and sexual relations : the laws of forbidden foods, the laws of kosher slaughtering, and the laws of forbidden sexual relations. These two areas constitute the apex of carnal indulgence, and the Torah, in calling on us to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, imposes restrictions in these areas. The rabbis, thus, understood that when the people complained to Moshe, they were complaining to him as the transmitter of the Torah which required them to strive for holiness. What they really sought, then, was no less than a release from the entire life style that the Torah imposed upon them, which explains the frustration that Moshe expressed over their complaints, and the swift divine response to them.