Goodness, The Goodness, All the Goodness

Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done for Israel in rescuing them from the Egyptians.                                                              Exodus 18:9

Rabbi Yehoshua says: Moses related the goodness of the manna, saying: “In the manna which the Lord gave us, we taste bread and meat, fish, grasshoppers (some species of which are kosher), and all the tastes in the world, as the verse states ‘goodness, the goodness, all the goodness, for all the goodness’” (i.e. the Midrash reads separately the components of the phrase “all the good things”).

Rabbi Elazar of Moda’I says: Moses related the goodness of the well, saying: “The well which the Lord gave us, we taste the flavor of honey, the flavor of milk, the flavor of new wine and aged wine, and all the flavors in the world, as the verse states ‘goodness, the goodness, all the goodness, for all the goodness’.”

Rabbi Eliezer says: Moses related the goodness of the Land, saying: “The lord is destined to give us the Land of Israel and the World to Come, and a new world and the Kingdom of David, Priesthood and Levites, as the verse states ‘goodness, the goodness, all the goodness, for all the goodness’.”

                             Mechilta d’RebbiShimon bar Yoḥai

            At first glance, the opinions of the sages who disagree with Rabbi Eliezer seem more reasonable, since the manna and the well were already given to Israel in practice by the time of Jethro’s visit, while the Land and its ancillary “goodness,” the House of David and the World to Come, remained in the future. However, Rabbi Eliezer’s opinion is of great significance, since entry into the Land was the purpose of the exodus, as the verse states:

He brought us out from there in order to bring us to the Land he had sworn to our ancestors that he would give us.                                        Deuteronomy 6:23

The simple meaning of the verse is that “God took us out of Egypt for the purpose of bringing us to the Land and giving it to us,” as Malbim writes. The exodus takes on meaning specifically because of Israel’s entry into the Land. Thus Rabbi Eliezer sees the Land as constituting “all the good things the Lord had done for Israel.”

            We can also understand from Rabbi Eliezer’s comment that Moses hinted to his father-in-law that the Nation of Israel is forward-looking. Israel not only appreciates the goodness God has already done for them, but is confident that He will continue to do goodness for His nation.

            We may note two additional differences between Rabbi Eliezer’s definition of “the goodness” and those of his protagonists:

1] The manna and the well were physical “goodness,” while the goodness of the Land combines physical and spiritual goodness;

and

2] The manna and the well were temporary goodnesses. With the death of Miriam, the well disappeared, and manna stopped descending from heaven when Israel reached the edge of the land of Canaan. [Exodus 16:35] Israel’s connection to the Land, on the other hand, has an eternal dimension. Even when exiled from the Land, the Nation of Israel remained faithful to her, and she remained faithful to her nation and its sons. For close to two millennia, the Land has served as the source of hope for the nation’s ultimate redemption.

            In light of the centrality of the Land to the life of the Nation of Israel, it is not surprising that Rabbi Eliezer defines the Land as “the goodness” which God did for Israel.