The most profound way of quelling rebellion is by exposing its true nature: our refusal to be satisfied with our present understanding of God and our revulsion against the shallowness of our relationship with Him. Our rebellion articulates our despair: “If this is all there is to the Divine life, I want nothing of it!”
Seen in this light, our rebellions — and the rebellions of the Jewish people so soon after they set forth on their journeys — are a cry for sincere return to God (teshuvah), for reestablishing our relationship with Him on a deeper level than it ever was before. (Chayenu: Beha’alos’cha, 5775)
