Parshat Eikev - A Manna Mentality

“Every commandment that I command you this day you shall keep to do so that you may live... (Devarim 8:1)”

Moshe in the opening words of Chapter 8 of our Parsha admonishes Klal Yisrael to observe and to guard the mitzvot in order that they may live and that they may prosper in the Land of Israel. The challenges that await Klal Yisrael are great as they stand at the threshold of territorial acquisition and eventual sovereignty. To lead a life that is guided by moral rectitude within the solitude of the desert is one matter but to do so within the hustle and bustle of cities, towns and marketplaces is an entirely different matter altogether. Hence, as Moshe is in the midst of delivering his final sermon to the Jewish people, as they stand at the threshold of entering the Land of Israel, he is especially concerned with the continuity of religious purpose and moral vision.

This is something that I think many of us are concerned with lately as well. With images of political corruption, money laundering and Ponzi schemes etched into our minds from the front covers of so many newspapers over the past year there seems to be a severe breakdown in the moral character of our society.
 
What did Moshe choose to emphasize when cautioning Am Yisrael? “He afflicted you and let you hunger, then He fed you the manna that you did not know, nor did your forefathers know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of God does man live (8:3).” Moshe decides to conjure up the memory of the manna as an illustration to why the Jewish people on the verge of becoming free, with all of its trappings and temptations, should continue to observe the precepts of the Torah.
 
The manna, as Nahmanides explains, vividly teaches the dependence of humanity on God and that all of human life is woven within the plans of God. In other words, the manna educates us about the humility of life. It puts all of our grand plans, our desires and our wants within the infinitely larger framework of God.
 
When one is reminded that even the most basic commodities like bread to eat and water to drink is dependent on God, it makes the lure of an unethical behavior just that bit less attractive. I think society at large, and the Jewish people in particular, could benefit from a little more of a manna mentality. The cautioning of Moshe to Klal Yisrael as they stood in that wilderness all those years ago remains as relevant today as it did then.
 
Therefore, it is my prayer that the next time we open up the Boston Globe or the New York Times and we read articles of communal leaders, both in general society and in the Jewish community, it is a depiction of just and upright work and not the reverse.