Making sense of the sedra: Ekev

“He afflicted you and let you hunger, and He fed you the manna.” (Devarim 8:3)

In this week’s parsha, Ekev, the Da’at Zekeinim MiBaalei haTosfot explain that the affliction was the hunger Am Yisrael felt by only receiving only the manna for each day. Relying on the daily manna was considered a “test” from Hashem (Shemot 16:4).

Why was the receipt of our physical livelihood, served to us daily on a metaphoric silver platter, considered an affliction and a test, rather than a blessing? If the manna tasted like whatever the eater wanted it to taste (Yoma 75a), why would the people have preferred regular bread rather than the miraculous manna?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that the people wanted the ability to eat and taste that which they could see. The manna required imagination as the key to activate it. The reason why the manna was an afflictive and testing experience was because it was predicated upon imagination.

We don’t realise it, but we often are reticent to utilise the powerful tool of imagination, because with imagination we can conjure up in our minds the image of our ideal selves, which then creates an obligation to live up to that standard. We therefore prefer not to imagine or dream, because if we don’t think about it or imagine it then it doesn’t exist in our minds. We prefer to take the easy route of eating the “regular bread” of the here and now, focusing on the reality of what is rather than envisioning a picture of the ideal existence of what could be.

We need to use our imagination, have dreams, goals and aspirations, thinking big and looking ahead to create the best possible future of the people we can become and lives we can lead!

This is the test but also the opportunity of life!