NUM263 R. Chamma b. R. Chanina said: If one quarrels with his teacher, it is as if he would quarrel with the Shechinah, it being written: They are the waters of Merivah, whereby the children of Israel strove with the Lord"'; [in striving with Moses]. (Sanhedrin 110a)

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NUM265 If someone whom we tried to help vexes us, it is meritorious to persevere in our efforts to help him. The Midrash points out the greatness of Moshe: "It is customary that if someone does business with another person and that person vexes him, he will leave that person and not want to deal with him again. Moshe, however, was punished (He would not be allowed to enter Eretz Yisroel) because of the Israelites (they pressured him for water and as a consequence Moshe erred), but he did not resign as their leader and benefactor. He continued to do all he could for the people to enable them to enter Eretz Yisroel: "And Moshe sent messengers..." (Bamidbar Rabbah 19:7).

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NUM264 If tribulation befalls the sinner [this verse] and trouble happens upon him, and he justifies the judgment [against him], accepting the chastisement with love-- this will shield him from the many sufferings that are meant for him, as the pasuk says (Tehillim 76:11), "When the wrath of man gives thanks to You, the remainder of wrath You will restrain [tachgor]." This means that when man's suffering gives thanks to You, i.e. when a person thanks You at the time of his suffering -- then "the remainder of wrath" which were to be to be loosed on that person, You will restrain and withhold, and not bring them upon him. ([Tachgor is] similar to what the pasuk says (I Melachim 20:11), "Let one who girds [chogeir] not boast like one who loosens.") ["Let the one who girds his sword for war not boast (for he does not know if he will be victorious or not" like the one who loosens his sword belt, i.e., who has already come from the war victorious" (Rashi). Thus, tachgor means to restrain, as one tightening a belt.]. An allegory [of the verse in Tehillim] is that of one who draws his sword and [subsequently] returns it to its sheath. [So too, Hashem brings a small amount of suffering on a person (i.e. opens His wrath) to frighten him, and by doing so He is able to withhold afflicting him (i.e., girds and restrains His wrath) with more serious forms of suffering (Zeh Hasha'ar)]. The pasuk further says (Yeshayahu 12:1), "I thank You, Hashem, because You were angry at me. [Now,] Your wrath will subside , and You will comfort me." This means: I thank You for chastising me, and I have accepted it with love; because I thank You for Your anger at me, Your wrath will subside, and You will comfort me.

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NUM266 Advice for a Traveler: Never Drink All That One Brought with Him or Her: When the Israelites came to Edom they said to the King, "Allow us through your land. We will not drink the waters of a well" [this verse]. From this we learn good manners. Even if a person traveling in a strange country has all his own supplies with him, he should not eat and drink what he brought with him. Instead, he should buy what he needs from the local shopkeepers in order to improve trade. What Moses meant when he spoke to the King of Edom was, "We will not drink from the well that we have with us, and we will not eat the manna that has been given us. You won't be able to complain that we were nothing but trouble to you, because we will bring you business [Tanchuma on Numbers, Chukkat, 61b].

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NUM267 See [[EXOD220]] Exodus 15:9 pursue SINAI3 196

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NUM268 The Midrash (Otzar Hamidrshim, Midrash Hagadol Ugedolah, p. 78) says that without peace there is nothing as it is equated with everything in the world. Based on the verse in the Psalms (Psalms 34:15), another Midrash (Yayikrah Rabbah 9:9) states that peace is the only mitzvah one is commanded to actively run after to achieve. Other commandments are obligatory only if they happen to come your way--you must then observe them. But a person must actively seek peace, even if it is not easily achievable. Aaron the High Priest is described as one who actively "ran after peace" (Avot 1:12 and would actually lie to two fighting individuals (saying to each that the other one admitted his mistake and wants to make up) in order to bring them together (Avot DeRabbi Natan 12). And it was Aaron, the man of peace, who was the most beloved leader of Israel. When he died, it says [this verse] the entire congregation of Israel wept, but upon Moses' death, it merely says (Deuteronomy 34:8) that the people (but not all) cried (Avot deRabbi Natan 12).

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NUM269 R. Avahu said: If one arraigns his teacher, it is as if he would arraign the Shechinah, it being written: "And the people spoke against the Lord and against Moses" (Sanhedrin 110a)

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NUM270 In addition to being the right thing to do, gratitude is also a prerequisite for happiness [I am grateful to Dennis Prager for this insight.] Consider the mindset of a grateful person: "Look what Sam did for me; he really likes me. Look how Susan helped me; she really cares about me." At the very moment that we cultivate the feeling of gratitude, we also cultivate a feeling of being loved. Conversely, what is the mindset of an ungrateful person? "The only reason Sam helped me is to make sure I'll reciprocate when he needs me. Susan spoke to so-and-so on my behalf so that she can ask me to do something for her." An ungrateful person reveals not only a suspicious and mean-spirited disposition, but how profoundly unloved she feels. Ungrateful people cannot imagine that others care enough about them to be generous with no thought of quid pro quo. Think of people you regard as ungrateful. You will quickly realize that not one of them is a happy person. How could they be, living in a world which they see as loveless and friendless? Then think of those people you know who express gratitude even for small favors. Aren't the people who come to mind among the happier people you know? The emotions most often expressed by the Israelites in the desert were annoyance and ingratitude. Thus, although God supplies them daily with food, the Israelites, angered by their diet's monotony, complain, "We have come to loathe this miserable food" [this verse]. When the demagogue Korach tries to stir up rebellion against Moses, most of the people refused to take sides between Moses--who has devoted his life to helping them--and his rival. The Talmud (Avoda Zara 5a) depicts Moses as calling the Israelites "ungrateful ones, children of ungrateful ones." As is the fate of ingrates--the Israelites--despite having witnessed more of God's glory and miracles than any nation before or since (the revelation at Sinai, the crossing of the Red Sea, the daily provision of manna)--seem, throughout their sojourn in the desert, to be petulant, untrusting, and unhappy.

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NUM271 R. Chiyya b. Abba said: Even a father and his son, a teacher and his disciple, who, in their study of Torah, become enemies, do not budge from there until they love each other, as it is written: "Eth and Hav besufah" -- Read it not "besufah," but "besofah" ["In the end" ("Hav" intimating "ahavah" - "love")] (Kiddushin 30b)

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NUM272 We will not lose by teaching others Torah. The Talmud (Nedorim 44a) expands on this verse that if someone makes himself as free as a wilderness, Torah will be given to him as a present (literally the word Mattanah in this verse is the name of a place, but in Hebrew, mattanah also means a present). The verse refers to someone who makes his Torah free for all, that is, he shares his Torah knowledge with others. (Tosfos and Rosh, ibid.) Some people are hesitant to spend their time teaching others because they feel that this will slow their own progress in Torah studies. But from the Talmud we see that just the opposite is true. By teaching others, a person merits mastery of the Torah in less time than it would otherwise take.

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