God takes the Jews from Egypt, splits the sea for them,

does protective things like that, again and again.

They complain about water, Hashem has Moshe make it sweet,

and then this verbal dissatisfaction they continue to repeat.

They cry they don’t have food, God provides the “mon,”

and so this pattern continues, on and on.

They travel to Refidim; there’s no water, they’re in shock,

God tells Moshe, “Just simply hit that rock.”

There’s a chiastic structure here and at the center is food,

and surrounding it are examples of a bad attitude.

Each time they complain, God comes to their rescue,

their actions say, “Doesn’t matter, we’re still going to test you.”

Rashi provides an analogy in order to explain,

the meaning of these stories and the last one in the chain:

Once there was a father who on his shoulders carried his son,

who kept asking his father for things he needed, and for fun.

Whether for food or drink or shade, his father did oblige,

until the father was taken for granted in his son’s eyes.

The son began to wonder how he floated in the air,

and what happened to his father, unseen anywhere.

The boy called to a stranger, “Where’s my father?” with a frown,

his dad heard this and decided to take his son down.

The son ran around wildly on a whim,

until he got scraped up and a dog bit him.

He remembered from where he got protected, consoled.

He remembered his father and his loving hold.

Today,  like when from Egypt we were freed,

God takes care of everything we need.

It’s unfortunate and uncomfortable to discuss,

but, sometimes, we forget all the good God does for us.

Sometimes, He loosens His hold and then we get hurt,

we run back to Him, our dependence we reassert.

May we never forget that God carries us from above,

and may we appreciate how He provides us with love.

Rabbi Neil Fleischmann, an ordained rabbi from RIETS, has taught Torah for over 30 years, primarily at The Frisch School, where he coached the award-winning poetry team. As an integral part of the Yeshiva Poetry Society, Fleischmann is a passionate advocate for the arts within the Torah world. He was named New York’s funniest rabbi and has performed stand up comedy, as well as presenting as scholar in residence, across the city and country. His literary work includes the haiku collection, “In The Field,” and he has contributed close to 20 poems to the “Stories of Our Lives” anthologies, parts 1 and 2. Currently, Fleischmann is working on a book of parsha poems that combines meaningful content with whimsical formatting. You can reach him at [email protected].