A short Insight into Shmuel 1, Chapter 27 By Rabbi Nisson Dov Miller

(PLEASE LEARN FOR A REFUA SHELAMA FOR HARAV YOSEF SHALOM BEN CHAYA MUSHA) After crossing the Sea of Reeds, B'nei Yisrael traveled towards the wilderness of Shur and could not find water. For three days they traveled and could not find water. After arriving at Marah and finding bitter water, they complained to Hashem. At that point, Hashem transformed the bitter water into sweet water. The verse states (Shemos 15, 25), “There He established for [the nation] a chok u'mishpat (decree and an ordinance).” Chazal learn from the phrase chok u'mishpat that we were given the laws of the Red Heifer (chok) and our civil law (mishpat) in Marah. However, the Ramban understands the simple meaning of the verses to be conveying that as B'nei Yisrael had now entered the desert, a place of desolation and dryness, they needed a new plan for their new lives. “Moshe instructed them in the ways of the wilderness, namely to be ready to suffer hunger and thirst and to pray to Hashem, and not to murmur. He taught them where they should live, to love one another, to follow the counsel of the elders, to be discreet in their tents with respect to the women and children, to deal in a peaceful manner with strangers that come into the camp. He also imparted moral instruction ...” They would need new practices or rules of daily life, chukim and mishpatim, if you will, in order to thrive in the desert until finally arriving in Eretz Yisrael.