During the 40 years of the Israelites’ wanderings in the desert, from the Exodus from Egypt to the arrival in the Land of Israel, the nation experienced extraordinary and unique divine kindness, as described in Parashat Beshalach: “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them on the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, to go by day and night” (Exodus 13, 21).
A pillar of cloud guided them on the right path during the day, and at night a pillar of fire went before them, illuminating their way. The sages add that clouds of glory surrounded the camp of Israel from all sides, and the cloud that went before them also paved the way, “lowering mountains and elevating valleys, burning snakes and scorpions, clearing and smoothing the way before them.”
The pillar of cloud that went before the people of Israel served as evidence that the Divine Presence dwelled among them, protecting them, as Moses later stated: “You, O Lord, are in the midst of this people; that You, the Lord, appear to them eye to eye and that Your cloud rests over them. And You go before them with a pillar of cloud by day and with a pillar of fire by night” (Numbers 14, 14).
The significance of the divine cloud
The Babylonian Talmud recounts an interesting story that illustrates the significance of the cloud that went before them in the desert.
First-century Onkelos bar Kalonimus (author of the Onkelos translation of the Torah) was a Roman gentile who converted to Judaism. The Roman emperor sent a group of Roman soldiers after him. Onkelos captivated the soldiers by expounding verses before them, and they also converted.
The emperor sent another group of soldiers after him, instructing them not to engage in conversation with Onkelos so that what happened to the first group of soldiers would not occur again. When they took Onkelos and began to walk, he said to them: “I have a parable for you: A junior tax collector walks with a torch to illuminate the path before a senior tax collector, who, in turn, walks before a governor, and the governor walks before the king. Does the king himself light the way for others?” The soldiers replied, “No, the king does not light the way for others.” Onkelos said to them: “In contrast to the king, God holds a torch and lights the way before the people of Israel, as it is stated: ‘And the Lord went before them... to lead them on the way.’” The soldiers heard this and converted as well” (Talmud Avodah Zarah 11a).
Onkelos, the convert, saw in the pillars of cloud and fire a manifestation of the honor God bestowed upon the nation of Israel. However, a question arises: Why, then, when the children of Israel entered the Land of Israel, did the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire cease to go before them? Is there no longer a need for the Divine Presence? Is Israel, God forbid, no longer worthy of honor? The sages of the Midrash offer an interesting allegory in answer to this question.
Rabbi Levi said that this can be compared to a mother hen. When her chicks are small, she covers them with her wings and warms them, leading them to seek their food. But when they grow up and one of them wants to go under her wings, she pecks him on the head and says: “Go and find your food on your own.” Similarly, when Israel was in the desert, there was a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire guiding them. Once they entered the Land of Israel, God said to them: “Each of you should take your hoe and plant for yourselves” (Vayikra Rabbah 25).
The maturation process requires standing independently on one’s own feet. Parents who assist their toddler in walking hinder his personal development. Similarly, God, who protected the Israelites in the desert, now demands that they take responsibility for themselves.
When an adolescent takes responsibility for his destiny, he discovers that he is expressing the qualities he inherited from his parents. Independence is not detachment. On the contrary, it makes a person implement the education he received from his parents and teachers.
The maturation process of the nation took it from complete dependence on a protective God to the next stage: walking in God’s path, independently, by the light of the values and understandings we learned.
This is both a national and educational message. Just as God gave the nation independence and expected it to follow Torah values, so parents are demanded to give their adolescent children independence after they leave their mark and pave the path for them to walk on. Independence does not negate the educational role. On the contrary, it empowers it. ■
The writer is rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites.