Machshavot HaLev - Yeshivat Lev HaTorah

101
בלה תובשחמ
Why do Bnei Yisrael have a sudden lack of emunah? Why do they keep on
complaining as Hashem keeps giving them what they need?
Rabbi Akiva Tatz (Living Inspired, pp. 21-28) talks about how the natural pathway
of all life experiences begins with inspiration and soon fades into disappointment.
Human consciousness and human senses are tuned to an initial burst of
sensitivity and then rapidly decay into dullness. In the events surrounding the
exodus from Egypt, the source for this idea becomes apparent. Bnei Yisrael was
at its lowest point in history during our slavery in Egypt. We had fallen to the
49th level of tumah, and were at the point of spiritual annihilation, when Hashem
miraculously uplifted us. At the splitting of the sea, the lowliest of the Jewish
people experienced more than the highest prophet subsequently. Once through
the sea, we now had 49 days until the receiving of the Torah, corresponding to
the 49 levels of tumah that Hashem had uplifted us from. Hashem elevated us
spiritually, although we did not deserve it, since we had not yet earned it. Once
we were saved, inspired, and had become aware of our higher reality, we were
required to earn our spiritual level genuinely.
Inspiration is a gift from Hashem, and unfortunately, it doesn’t last. The idea of
inspiration is that it gives us a glimpse and taste of what it could be like, but
then He takes it away. It is almost impossible to maintain inspiration and one
must fight back to the point of inspiration and permanently build it into one’s
character. When the first stage of inspiration fades, the challenge of the second
phase is to remember the first stage we experienced, remain inspired by that
memory, and use it as fuel for our constant growth. The Rambam describes life
as a dark, stormy, cold, and rainy night, where one is lost and faced with despair.
Suddenly, there is a flash of lightning and for a split second, it becomes clear as
day and one is able to see which direction to go. You can use the memory of that
flash of lightning as guidance and inspiration to help you on your way. That flash
of lightning or inspiration, is chesed from Hashem to help us, to remind ourselves
of our goals, and to show us the direction to take toward our destination.
Before we have earned our spiritual level, though, when Hashem raises us up to
higher levels that we have not worked for, there is no ground to stand on and we
fall. The idea is for us to work towards and achieve that level, resulting in a longer