Klal Yisrael goes through a significant transformation in Parshas Bahaloscha. Sefer Bamidbar begins on a high note; the Mishkan is complete with Hashem's Presence surrounding His people. Ready to soon enter Eretz Yisrael, it appears that all of the goals of Yetzias Mitzrayim are about to be achieved. At this very moment, though, something goes very drastically wrong. One downfall occurred after another, and Klal Yisroel were then destined to remain in the desert for another forty years. Although the final blow of the sin of the meraglim does not occur until Parshas Shelach, the seeds for this tragedy are planted in this week's parsha.
Complaining about life in the desert began almost immediately after Yetzias Mitzrayim. Lack of food and water had always served as a catalyst for Klal Yisrael to express their frustration with Moshe and to even speak disrespectfully against Hashem. However, in Parshas Bahaloscha, the nature of their bickering takes on a new dimension. The Torah emphasizes the crying of the Jewish People. It is the crying of this week's parsha that foreshadows an even more serious episode that will occur in next week's parsha, when the meraglim return with their negative report about Eretz Yisrael and the response of the Jewish People is to cry uncontrollably. That fateful night of tears was destined to become a night of tears for generations to come. The first Tisha B'av had occurred.
Chazal teach us that even after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash, we can still reach Hashem through the gates of tears. Requests made while crying are always indicative of a person's genuine desire, and as such are always received by Hashem. However, because of the great power of tears, one must be exceedingly careful not to abuse them. One who is brought to tears over frivolous concerns shows that the important things in his life are these trivial matters. Crying to Hashem for meat, as occurred in Parshas Bahaloscha, misuses that special vehicle to beseech Hashem for the important things in life. Weeping because of unjustified fear of entering Eretz Yisrael triggers a real need to cry for generations.
There is a very significant role that crying plays in our avodas Hashem, namely the mitzvah of blowing the chatzotzros, the silver trumpets, and the mitzvah of tekias shofar on Rosh Hashanah. In this week's parsha, we are instructed to sound the chatzotzros on the occasion of war or other national crisis. Similarly, the shofar is blown on Rosh Hashanah, which is a time of great uncertainty as our individual and collective lives are on the line. On both occasions we blow the teruah sound, which resembles the sound of weeping. The imagery of these mitzvos is clear. One who truly is in a moment of crisis and genuinely reaches out to Hashem does so by crying. Hashem very much wants our tears; He wants us to cry for the things that really matter. Connecting to Hashem from the depths of our souls as indicated by our cries is the highest form of tefillah. May Hashem help us discern properly what to ask for and what to cry for. May we save our tears for expressing our total dependence on Hashem for His mercy and not belittle our tears by using them for the trivial matters of this world.
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