Exodus 16:2-16 (The Hebrew Bible: The Five Books of Moses, Translation and Commentary, Translation: Robert Alter)
2. And all the community of Israelites murmured against Moses, and against Aaron in the wilderness. 3. And the Israelites said to them, “Would that we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt when we sat by the fleshpots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out to this wilderness to bring death by famine on all this assembly.” 4. And the Lord said to Moses, “Look I am about to rain down bread for you from the heavens, and the people shall go out and gather each day’s share on that day, so that I may test them whether they will go by My teaching or not. 5. And it will happen, on the sixth day, that they will prepare what they bring in, and it will be double what they gather each day”. 6.And Moses, and Aaron with him, said to the Israelites. “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord Who brought you out of the land of Egypt.7.And in the morning, you shall see the Lord’s glory as He hears your murmurings against the Lord, and as for us, what are we that you should murmur against us?” 8. And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you meat in the evening to eat and your fill of bread in the morning, when the Lord hears your murmurings that you murmur against him – and what are we? – not against us are your murmurings but against the Lord.” 9. And Moses said to Aaron, “Say to all the community of Israelites, “Draw near before the Lord, for He has heard your murmurings’” 10. And it happened as Aaron was speaking to all the community of Israelites, that they turned toward the wilderness, and look, the Lord’s glory appeared in the cloud. 11,12. And the Lord said to Moses, saying, “I have heard the murmurings of the Israelites. Speak to them saying, , “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning, you shall have your fill of bread, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” 13. And it happened in the evening that the quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning, there was a layer of dew around the camp. 14. And the layer of dew lifted, and look, on the surface of the wilderness – stuff fine, flaky, fine as frost on the ground. 15. And the Israelites saw and they said to each other, “Man hu, What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you as food. 16. This is the thing that the Lord charged: Gather from it each man according to what he must eat………….
Devotion
As many folks know, I am passionate about the Hebrew Bible. I was attracted to the Exodus text and “read/roughly translated” it from the Biblical Hebrew. As I was scanning the Hebrew, I kept reading the root אמְר (Aleph, Mem, Reish), which translates as “he said,” or “she says,” or “they were talking.” In the passage written above, I’ve underscored and emphasized the Hebrew translation that refers to speaking. Hebrew is economical with verbs, often using the same word root that translates slightly differently depending on context. In Hebrew, the formula for speech is usually “and he said,” or “and she said,” or “and they said.” But, in Hebrew, it takes a number of prefixes, suffixes, gender tense indications to write that “she says,” or “he spoke/speaks,” or “they told/will tell.” But the three-letter root is the same. It takes up a lot of text space to give gender, tense, innuendo to the three-letter root ֹאמְר.
In reading the Hebrew, I kept running into that root in many different formats. Suddenly a passage that was about God miraculously providing nourishment for the Ancient Israelites became a passage about talking and conversation. “ֹאמְר” kept running in my head. In this text, Moses speaks, Moses and Aaron speak, the Hebrew people speak. No one “withdraws to pray.” They speak or grumble frequently, as a part of an ongoing exchange. God hears them and God speaks back. It is not a “mountaintop experience” and seems like an ongoing conversation between God and God’s people, often, but not always, through the vehicle of Moses.
I realized that there have been times in my life, when that Sacred Conversation with God has been open and fruitful: a sort of easy going “check in,” rather than an “appointment”: a dialogue of sorts. And at times, the joys and stresses of everyday life crowd out the Sacred Conversation, and I can forget to even “make connection” or to “make an appointment.” My personal goal for “A New and Right Spirit Within Me” is to be more open to the Conversation; the “Prayer on the Fly”; the “Subtle Nudge” that I experience, which is usually connected to God. God is always available for a conversation. I am the one who puts up the walls. I invite you to join me in recognizing your own Sacred Conversation in whatever way works for you. In this way, God, creates the opportunity to “Put a new and right Spirit” within each of us.
I invite you into your own conversation: “And I said and then God said…” or “And God said and then I said…”
Prayer
Gracious God, help us to know that you are always available for a conversation. Help us to realize that you welcome our conversations. Please enable our minds to hear Your Conversations.
In God’s Holy Name, Amen.
Judith Herseth