Let My People Know

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz: “The test of faith never ends.”

Adversity will always exist. Jews frequently complain, claiming, “If we were to experience miracles like our ancestors experienced, we would return completely to God.”

But it turns out that this complaint is unfounded. Even that very jew who lived through Parashat Beshallah with its tremendous revelations is still capable of complaining, of yelling, and of dancing around the Golden Calf.

The complaints continue after the sin of the Golden Calf as well. All those miracles did not stop Korah, nor did they stop Zimri, even though they grew up eating bread from heaven.

Our sages say, “Whoever fulfills the Torah in the midst of poverty will ultimately fulfill it in the midst of riches; whoever neglects the Torah in the midst of riches will ultimately neglect it of the midst of poverty” (Avot 4:9).

One who neglects the Torah will do so whether it is a time of trouble and sorrow or a time of overt miracles, and one who fulfills the Torah will continue to fulfill it even at a time of great difficulty and upheaval.

By his very nature, man tends to fall. Because of this, we must constantly be engaged in spiritual work, with or without miracles; the test of faith never ends.

Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz