Parashat Beha'alotcha

In the middle of our stormy portion, after and before quarrels and the people's sins against their God, a self-contained passage appears: "And it came to pass when the Ark set out, that Moses said: Arise, O Lord, and let Your enemies be scattered, and let those who hate You flee before You. And when it rested, he said: Return, O Lord, unto the myriad thousands of Israel." The Sages call this passage "a book unto itself." Rav Kook explains that these verses express the depth of the bond between the Holy One and the people of Israel. Against the Christian conception that God abandoned the people of Israel when they sinned, the Jewish conception is that God does not forsake His creatures. And therefore, even when we are in the lowest depths, He shines His light upon us with no connection to our deeds or our place. This does not contradict reward and punishment, but it does explain and deepen the divine bond of the Holy One with the people of Israel as an unconditional bond.