Testing God: a national pastime?

An anonymous mishnah in the fifth chapter of Avot draws our attention to the propensity of the Jewish people to test their Creator. In translation, Avot 5:6 reads as follows:

With ten tests our forefathers tested the Holy One, Blessed be He, in the wilderness, as it is stated [by God]: "They tested Me these ten times, and did not listen to My voice" (Numbers 14:22).

Many commentators on Avot have little to say about this mishnah, other than to identify and discuss the ten tests. A quasi-official list of God's desert tests appears in the Babylonian Talmud (Arachin 15a-b). Maimonides' list, which is somewhat different, is endorsed by two leading commentaries on the mishnah (Bartenura and Tosafot Yom Tov) but criticised by others (notable Rabbi Yaakov Emden). My feeling is that, while it is right to ask what these tests are, their identity is unimportant when it comes to understanding this mishnah, which addresses our tendency to test God. Let us look at this tendency a little more closely.

If we are honest with ourselves, we must concede that the generation of the wilderness, in testing God, complaining both to Him and about Him, was far from unique. The practice remains deeply ingrained in Jewish culture even today and, from our words and our conduct, it is clear that many of us now assume that God is no longer bothered about being tested. Much Jewish humour is also predicated upon the fact that we have a God to whom we can endlessly complain and who has become quite accustomed to our lack of gratitude for what He does for us.

We should however bear in mind that not just every complaint we make but every request we lodge in our prayers has the capacity to be taken as a criticism of the lot which God has apportioned to us. From a practical perspective it is therefore a good idea to make sure that, whatever one asks for, one always takes care to be grateful in the first place for that which one already has.

Why exactly do we test God? Since this is something we have always done and continue to do, the reason may be connected to our psychological and emotional make-up and may even have a positive side to it. Testing God and trying His patience is not something that anyone would trouble to do unless they believe in God in the first place, since it makes no sense for an atheist to test or provoke an entity which, he holds, does not exist. From this we can see that testing God is, if nothing else, an affirmation of our faith in Him.

Drawing on our own human experiences (we have all been children and many of us will also be parents), we should be able to recall without difficulty those occasions on which a small child, despite every warning, has defied a teacher’s or parent’s threat. Even the most normally obedient child will probably have crossed, on one or more occasion, a red line such as “If you poke your little sister with that stick once more, you’ll have to sit on the naughty step” or “The next person to call out in class without putting their hand up will be sent straight to the Head Teacher.” Sometimes, as often happens at school, the transgression is the product of unrestrained enthusiasm. Sometimes, as frequently transpires in the home scenario, it is simply because the child craves a reaction – any reaction – because it is a source of personal attention.

We are all created in the image of God, though we possess only feeble and finite versions of His qualities. What God does in capital letters, as it were, we do in small print. God tests us because He wants our response. We test Him because we desire His.

Illustration: Nicolas Poussin, "Aaron et les Israélites" (1633), National Gallery, London.