The congregation had no water so they assembled against Moshe and Aharon (Bamidbar 20:2)

This week’s parsha includes the account of Moshe’s sin which kept him from entering Eretz Yisrael. When Miriam passed away, the Jews no longer had water to drink and the Jews complained to Moshe. Moshe responded to them and hit the rock he was supposed to speak to. I would like to focus this week on one idea we can see from this account, which is a person is angrier and complains more when he is hungry or thirsty. The Jews lacked water and therefore whined more than usual.

Orchos Tzaddikim states that when a person is hungry, he is more susceptible to anger. Therefore, he must be extremely careful during these times not to become angry. The best advice is for the person to remain silent or to at least speak in a soft voice. By raising his voice, his anger will only increase.

I have a funny advertisement for a candy bar hanging in my kitchen. It is of a zebra chasing after a lion and it states “you are not yourself when you are hungry.” A person behaves differently when he is hungry. One thing is that he is more likely to become angry.

When a person starts to feel angry and wants to complain about everything, the first thing he should think is if there are any external factors that are affecting him at that moment. Is he hungry? Is he tired? First, try to solve any external factors, because then he will better be able to deal with his anger. Eat something or take a quick nap before responding.

Good Shabbos!
-yes
please send any comments or questions to: [email protected]
to see previous Divrei Simcha on the Parsha, please go to www.divreisimcha.com OR www.chesedclub.com > Torah Study