LOOKING BACKWARD

A Lesson from Torah

Life often calls us to look back — not with regret, but with remembrance. The Torah repeatedly commands Yisrael to remember Y’hovah’s faithfulness, for memory strengthens faith. The wilderness journey recorded in Devarim [Deuteronomy] reminds us that Y’hovah’s hand guided, tested, and sustained His people. In every challenge, His purpose was restoration and growth.

When we look back through the lens of faith, the wilderness becomes a testimony of His presence and provision.

Remember the Way — Faith in the Wilderness

“You shall remember all the way which יהוה your Elohim has led you these forty years in the wilderness, in order to humble you, to prove you, to know what is in your heart, whether you guard His commands or not.”
— Devarim [Deuteronomy] 8:2–3 (TS2009)

Faith often begins without certainty, yet as life unfolds, each step reveals evidence of His guiding hand. When we trust that an eternal, unseen world surrounds us, our conviction in Y’hovah’s reality becomes stronger than our confidence in our own understanding.

It is good to look back and see the way we have come — to recognize the thread of Divine purpose that connects the many-colored moments of our lives.

Led and Fed by Y’hovah

“Who led you through the great and awesome wilderness — with fiery serpents and scorpions and thirst, where there was no water; who brought water for you out of the flinty rock; who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know — in order to humble you and to test you, to do you good in the end.”
— Devarim [Deuteronomy] 8:15–16 (TS2009)

The repetition of “Who led you” and “Who fed you” emphasizes that where Y’hovah Elohim leads, He also provides. His guidance always comes with care. Those who allow Him to lead will not lack.

Looking back, we can see that even in times of struggle or loss, He never ceased to provide manna from heaven and water from the Rock. The wilderness of loneliness and the fiery serpents of temptation all served to show us His power to deliver.

Remember the Source — Humility of Heart

“You will say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand have made for me this wealth!’ But you shall remember יהוה your Elohim, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, in order to establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is today.”
— Devarim [Deuteronomy] 8:17–18 (TS2009)

Pride forgets the Source. Humility remembers. Our strength, wisdom, or success are not self-made; they are gifts from Y’hovah, given so that His covenant might be established through us.

To look backward rightly is to see His faithfulness — and to renew our pledge to serve and worship Him alone.

Moving Forward with Him

As you climb the hill and descend into the valleys ahead, you may not see what lies beyond the mist. Do not fear. Tighten your girdle, take His hand, and walk on. The same Y’hovah who led Yisrael through the wilderness walks beside you today.

He who guided, fed, and strengthened them still leads His talmidim to do good, to bear fruit, and to bless the world in His Name. Looking back — not with regret, but with remembrance of where He brought you from. This gives us the strength to persevere.

By Rabbi Francisco Arbas
📧 franciscoarbas.yisrael@gmail.com
Following His ‘WAY’ — Netzari Mashiach Judaism