Heavenly Hunger: Parshas Eikev
By Chaya Mushka and Nechama Dina Krimmer
“Man does not live on bread alone, but by the utterance of G‑d’s mouth does man live" (Devarim 8:3).
This is a verse from this week’s Torah portion, Parshas Eikev, spoken regarding the Maan, the heavenly bread that Hashem provided the Jewish people during their sojourn in the desert. The people complained of hunger although they received more than enough bread to physically satiate every member of the congregation. What were the Jewish people actually hungry for?
One interpretation of our Sages is that the hunger of the Jewish people was metaphoric in nature, that our spiritual intake, or "heavenly bread," doesn’t satisfy but rather feeds the flame of the G‑dly soul, leaving us yearning for greater spiritual awareness.
This Thursday, Chof Av, was the 77th yahrtzeit of the father of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneersohn, z"l. The yahrzeit of Reb Levik, as he was known, generally falls out during this parsha. Reb Levik, Chief Rabbi of Yekaterinaslav, was a prime example of how a taste of Torah leads to a hunger for G‑dliness.
From a young age, Reb Levik was identified as a prodigy. His thirst for gaining a deeper and more esoteric understanding of the Torah grew exponentially throughout the course of his life.
During his teenage years, he began writing down the insights he had while learning, and he continued on to become a renowned scholar in both Halacha and Chassidus.
Later in life, Reb Levik was arrested, imprisoned, and tortured under Stalin's regime for opposing the party's attempts to stamp out Jewish education and observance. Eventually he was exiled to a remote village in Kazakhstan. His wife, the Rebbetzin Chana, accompanied him into the perils of exile where life was nearly unbearable and food was scarce.
When she saw a chance to slip away unnoticed, the Rebbetzin would hurry to a field near their settlement and gather berries to make ink for her husband to continue writing down his Torah insights on the weathered margins of the few books he was able to smuggle into exile.
Through her devotion, Reb Levik was able to pen his observations on the Zohar, the Tanya, and on Halachic issues, which were later codified and published in a collection of works entitled "Likutei Levi Yitzchok".
As we approach the holy month of Elul, may we all gain inspiration from Reb Levik's "heavenly bread," his scholarship, brilliance, and hunger for learning.
