Beha’aloscha: The Complaint Behind the Complaint

By Eric Lenefsky

ויהי העם כמתאוננים רע באזני השם

The nation was like complainers, wicked in the ears of God.

In our parsha, Parshas Beha’aloscha, Hashem punishes those who complained. But what's so wrong about complaining? Why are complaints so bad? Why do we complain in general? And what can be gained by delving into this subject a bit more substantially?

In essence, a complaint is an expression of the feeling that one has been wronged.

We think we know what's best for us. We have a certain life plan; we expect X and Y, but when Z comes out of left field, we make a value judgment. Either this new thing is good – an exciting development, a beautiful surprise – or we judge it to be bad. We ask, “Why did this happen? Why do I deserve this?” We complain: “This isn't what I expected. This isn't part of my plan. This isn't supposed to happen to me.”

At the most basic level, we complain because we think we have an understanding of what's best for us, and then something happens that we think doesn't fit into our life plan.

Yet, if there's anything the latest developments surrounding Israel can teach us, it is that, in reality, we know absolutely nothing.

If you would have read the headlines in Israel in the beginning of the week, you would have seen “The Knesset is going to be dispersed,” “Huge tensions between Chareidim and the rest of the country over the army.” You would have seen divides between left and right, and between the American and Israeli governments. Things seemed to be trending in a negative direction.

But in reality, we just witnessed something miraculous – an incredible strike on Iran that significantly damaged one of its nuclear facilities and eliminated multiple of its leaders in the military and nuclear fields. Hopefully, this is only the beginning of an incredibly successful operation that weakens and defangs Iran.

This operation has been in the works for months, without anyone knowing. Everything that happened in Israel this week was affected by this plan, without us being aware. The levels of deception and secrecy are astounding.

If we can't even know what's truly happening because of the deceptions of mankind, all the more so, we can't truly know what's happening when it comes to the plans of the Divine. We think we know what's best for us. But Hashem is the one who makes the plans.

כי לא מחשבותי מחשבותיכם ולא דרכיכם דרכי נאם יהוה

For My plans are not your plans, Nor are My ways your ways, declares God.

Though we may think we know what's going on, we don't. We don't have a grasp of the full picture of reality; only God does. Therefore, when we complain, we are putting our own plans above God's. We are saying, I know what's best and not You. That is what is so wicked about a complaint.

May the recent events teach and remind us of the very small piece of reality that we are able to glimpse. May they show us that while we think we may truly know what's happening and that we have control over every situation, we don't.

We don't know what's going on behind closed doors and in government meetings, and we certainly don't know what's going on in God’s mind.

May this operation be successful for the State of Israel and all of our soldiers, and may it concretize for us that Hashem is the ultimate maker of plans. Whatever happens to us is for the best, even if we cannot see that right now.