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 "...Because of their testing God, saying, is there God among us or not." (Beshalach 17:7) You should not read "is God among us" according to the simple meaning of the text. We are talking here
of the "Dor De'a", a generation whose people witnessed with their own eyes how God was with them, performing miracles and wonders. Therefore, "in our midst" cannot mean whether God was present in the midst of the Jewish people or not; "bekirbeinu", in our midst, refers to what the Sages describe in Taanit 11a: "Let a man always consider himself as if the Holy One dwells within him." (R. Chaim Vital, Etz HaDaat Tov: Ki Tisah)
One can wonder how, after having experienced the exceptional and personal care with which God sustained the Chidren of Israel when He gave them the Manna, they could still argue and doubt His ability to provide them with their needs. What R. Chaim Vital indicates, is that they did not question God's power, or His aptitude at performing miracles. The struggle was in realizing that God's Presence was within each and every one of them. This is what caused them to quarrel and test God at Masa U'Merivah.
When we compartmentalize our lives so that we allow God in at certain times but not at others, or so that we are comfortable with being in His Presence in certain places but not in others; when we acknowledge what God does on our behalf, yet act in ways that are inconsistent with such a belief, how are we answering the question "is God among us or not?"
It seems that what we did in the desert, and what we are still doing now, is not as much testing God as it is testing ourselves and challenging our own ability to live with the intimate awareness that God dwells within each one of us, everywhere and at all times. Living with this awareness scares us, as does the tremendous responsibility that goes with it.
The Lechem Mishneh, as a symbol of the Mannah, gives us a new opportunity every week to go from the sense that God is somewhat in our midst or somewhat involved in our lives, to the point where we embrace the kind of life described by our Sages: "let a man always consider himself as if the Holy One dwells within him."
The Lechem Mishneh, as the embodiment of the ultimate Heavenly sustenance and as the nourishment that allows us to reattach to the highest roots of our soul, can help us internalize the realization that we are Godly and therefore beyond any limitation.
And this time, may we transform the question:"Is there a God in our midst or not?" into the powerful declaration: "Yes, God dwells within me!"
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