Parashat Chukat 2025: God decreed it, but it is still a fight.

Torah: Numbers 19:1-22:1

Haftarah: Judges 11:1-33

Brit Chadashah: Heb 9:11-28, John 3:10-21

Main Sections:

The red heifer and the water of purification.

Miriam dies and Israel’s water supply stops, the people begin to grumble.

Edom denies Israel's passage.

Aaron dies.

King of Arad attacks and Israel is victorious.

People grumble about food and water, snakes bite them.

Israel journeys into Moab.

Defeat of King Sihon and King Og the giant. Several Amorite towns taken.

Israel camps in the plains of Moab by Jordan, across from Jericho.

Israel was stumbling forward, problematically into their future. They were awkward and wayward, but they did have a promise. When I look at what God did with them, it gives me hope in the midst of my own failings and struggles. They complained and grumbled no less than ten times and even earned the wrath of God over and over again. But God kept them faithfully and brought an imperfect people to the land he promised. After the incident with the Waters of Meribah (Numb 20:1-13) and the death of Miriam and Aaron, Israel became impatient and grumbled again. This time they said,

Numb 21:5-6 The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why have you brought us from Egypt to die in the wilderness, because there is no bread, no water, and our very spirits detest the despicable food?” (TLV)

The children of Israel did not have to till, plant, or harvest manna. All they had to do was pick it up and prepare it. God used the manna to challenge their concepts around his faithfulness and whether they could rely on him to fully bring them to the land he promised. He gave them provision and called them to simple obedience and faith. The equation was simple. The test was plain, and God used this to cultivate their character.

The wicked would continue to complain of their lack and/or despise their provision. They viewed the manna as more of a curse than a blessing. The wicked only see the righteousness of God as a limiting factor in their never-ending pursuit of pleasure and greed. When scripture says to taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps 34:8), it draws from the idea that God's presence and blessing are pleasant and fulfilling. The righteous would respond with a greater sense of God's presence and mercy and would be grateful. The freedom and provision God was giving them could only be enjoyed when his people made the pursuit of him their ultimate treasure (Matt 6:21).

This faith would be needed in the Land of Promise. God was continually building their faith so that they could trust him for greater things. In the Land of Promise, they would have to invest their own efforts and trust God for the result. They would have to work the land, plant, and ultimately harvest. Part of this was work and effort and part of it was God's blessing on their efforts and the land.

Manna means, “What is it?”. In Numb 11:7 its shape was described to be like coriander seed and its appearance was like that of dbellium (an aromatic gum also mentioned in Gen 2:12. It was more rounded in shape and was thought to be white or amber in color). In Ex 16:14 it was a fine flake-like thing, as fine as the dew on the ground (like Water droplets) and in Ex 16:31 it tasted like wafers made with honey (a reference to the promised land). According to the sages, it also had a fragrant smell.

The manna they ate was not just food. It was a part of their promise.

They ate manna for forty years (Ex 16:35). It was a daily portion of bread, "rained" from heaven (Ex 16 and Ps 78:23-25) and it was doubled for the Sabbath (this is one reason for the Hamotzi blessing on two loaves, made with honey). When the dew fell in the early morning, the manna fell with it (Numb 11:9). When the morning sun grew hot, it melted (Ex 16:21). Rabbinical thought places the time to gather manna ending on the fourth hour of the day. They were to trust God daily for their provision and could not save anything. This dependency and obedience formed a strong faith that God would provide for their needs and that all of their provision ultimately came from him. This type of faith still exists today with how Jews view the kitchen table and pray after eating (Deut 8:10).

The manna was ground in hand mills or was beaten into mortar. It was then boiled in pots or made into cakes. It tasted like cakes baked with fresh olive oil (Numb 11:8, oil is a reference to the joy, health, and also the Spirit who sanctifies us). Regardless of how much or less the people gathered, he that gathered much had none left over and he that had less had no lack (Ex 16:17-18, this lesson was repeated in 2 Cor 8:13-15 and other places where communal sharing was needed).

In Ex 16 the manna began to fall while Israel was enroute to Mt. Sinai. Joshua 5:10-12 states that the manna stopped after Passover (notice the link to the Feasts). The day after Passover the people ate the produce of the land. The day after that the manna stopped falling.

What was it was for:

God had a purpose for the manna. It was to foreshadow Yeshua. It gave us a picture of how the Spirit of God helps us and sustains us (see Rev 2:17). It also helped their character and sense of obedience. God stated, “I will rain bread from heaven for you. The people will go out and gather a day’s portion every day, so that I can test them to find out whether they will walk according to my Torah or not.” (Ex 16:4, TLV)

The sages link the consumption of manna and the time the children of Israel spent in the wilderness with the learning and following of the Torah. (See Mark 8, Yeshua teaching then feeding the multitudes. There is also a long rabbinic observation that Torah and food go together Pirkei Avot 3:17)

This season created humility, reliance, and trust. In Deut 8:3, 16 Moses wrote that the children of Israel were to take care to perform all of God’s word and remember how God led them, stating “He afflicted you and let you hunger, then he fed you manna-which neither you nor your fathers had known- in order to make you understand that man does not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of ADONAI…in order to afflict you and test you, to do you good in the end.” (TLV) It created a generational testimony to show that God was faithful (Ex 16:33-34, Heb 9:4)

In 1 Cor 10:1-10, the manna and water were likened to spiritual food and drink that Israel received after being baptized into Moses (passing through the sea with the cloud covering them). Paul wrote that it all took place so that we would have an example to teach us to not desire evil or return to idolatry (see Matt 4:1-11).

In John 6:30-58 manna was likened to the Messiah and the pure word of eternal life that Yeshua taught. Yes, the manna was a foreshadowing of Yeshua. Spiritually consuming the “manna” he gave is done through reading the word, prayer, and worship and following in his ways. In Matt 6:11, our dependence on God for "daily bread" made its way into the Lord's Prayer.

There is a lot of symbolism around the manna. think about this:

The manna tasted like honey (probably date honey). That was a part of God's promise, to give them a land that flowed with milk and honey. The word “flowing” is a reference to abundance. David, in Ps 23, stated that his cup overflows (a spiritual reference). For livestock this means that they are healthy, well fed, and have good pastures, another Ps 23 concept. Milk is linked to nourishment and was used in the Brit Hadashah to symbolize understanding the fundamentals of the word.

God's word is compared to the sweetness of honey (Ps 19:10, 119:103-104, both are Torah Psalms). Honey is also a type of wisdom and a Jewish symbol of hope (Prov 24:13-14). More concretely, it was seen in the scroll that Ezekiel (3:3) ate.

The manna gives us a great symbolic picture of how God nurtures us spiritually. The cloud covered Israel. God opened the doors of heaven and rained the manna down with the dew (falling water). The manna (with the dew that fell) was a down payment of God’s promise so that they had a daily reminder of their ultimate destination. This is a symbol of the Spirit. We have the infilling of the Holy Spirit that flows out of us (John 7:38 a sign of abundance), it is the earnest of the inheritance (assurance, 2 Cor 1:22) so we will never forget our ultimate destination. God’s provision comes with the Spirit (James 1:17) as dew (water is a type of the Spirit) came with the manna. The manna was to help them trust and be obedient as the Spirit also does with us (John 14:26, 16:13) and it gives us a good picture of how God leads us, feeds us, and guides us in sanctification.

Also notice that living in the middle of an unconditional promise made them calloused to the miracle and they took it for granted. We can never allow our proximity to Hashem to cause us to fall into spiritual laziness where we lose sight of how holy God is. If we serve Yeshua in spirit and truth, his grace and blessings will draw us closer to him.

Shabbat Shalom

Rav Calev

Next Feasts

Rosh Hashanah begins at sunset, Sept 22^nd and ends at sunset on Sept 24^th.

Yom Kippur begins at sunset, Oct 1^st and ends at sunset on Oct 2^nd.

Sukkot begins at sunset, Oct 6^th and ends at sunset on Oct 13^th.

Hebrew words to know:

Parts of a Tallit-

Beged- The cloth part of the prayer shawl made of cotton, wool, or silk.

Atarah- The piece of cloth sown onto the top of the tallit that is positioned as a collar. It usually contains the blessing said as the tallit is put on.

Tzitzit- The strings tied on the four corners of the tallit. They are to remind us to keep the commandments.

Tallit Katan- A four-cornered undershirt with tzitzit. They are sometimes called “arba kanfot” or four corners.

Talit Gadol- Large rectangular tallit used in prayer services.