It may be argued that the Dor Deiah (Vayikra Rabbah 1:9), the generation of Israelites that “knew G-d” in the midbar. took root starting with the Exodus from Egypt. They literally saw G-d, so having belief was not difficult. It must be noted, however, that Nachshon ben Aminadav jumped into the Red Sea based on a pure belief in G-d that led to sea splitting, so there was still some room to expand faith within the Dor Deiah.
Are we at a disadvantage today when we live with no “open” miracles, or is there a way for us to inculcate within us even a stronger sense of belief?
Isaiah gives an opening to answer this question. He famously says (Isaiah 1:3), “Yada shor koneihu, Va-chamor eivus be’alav; Yisrael lo yadah ami, lo hitbonen – An ox knows its owner, a donkey its master’s crib: Israel does not know, My people do not ponder.”
There are two requirements that Isaiah is pointing to when it comes to belief: knowledge and pondering, or as some say, emunah and bitachon. Emunah is the knowledge that there is G-d, bitachon is trusting that G-d is involved in every detail of our lives.
Moshe, the redeemer, the greatest prophet that lived and the one closest to G-d, had both. He had daat of G-d, “speaking face to face,” but his belief began as a mitbonen, a ponderer who saw the burning bush that was on fire but not consumed (see Sforno). He thought and came to conclusions. Thinking and internalizing something takes effort, and Moshe engaged in that process. When one takes the time to ponder, they grow in that area in which they are contemplating. Moshe’s contemplation brought him to an unbreakable bond with a G-d that he did not see with his own eyes but Whom he could figure out was the Almighty behind everything.
As we noted in the introduction, the Jews in the midbar were the Dor Deiah, not the “Dor Ha’Mitbonen,” the generation that ponders. They did not need to contemplate G-d as He was in front of them. Lack of pondering and internalization can lead to full removal of belief as we witnessed in that generation. Nothing without effort endures.
If we jump to today’s times, we are at an advantage of reaching a stronger level of belief than the Dor Deiah, since everything is now hidden. This offers a fantastic opportunity to look for and ponder a G-d that is behind every detail, but without being out in the open. Rabbi Frand notes that one message G-d is giving by being hidden is that we should hide ourselves in humility, just as He is. But, with thinking and pondering, we can form a profound bond with our Creator based on hitbonenut.
Isaiah gave the formula for the necessary type of belief necessary to declare our allegiance to G-d. If we see Him in everything based on our pondering, it goes without saying that we have daat of Him. The Seder is a time to grow in our belief and an opportune moment to solidify our trust in G-d.
