The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts on the parsha that R' Frand spoke about in his shiur tonight. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
R' Frand began the vort by noting that the Medrash Rabbah links the lighting of the menorah by the Kohain Gadol with the pasuk in Tehillim 34:10 - יְר֣אוּ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה קְדֹשָׁ֑יו כִּ֘י אֵ֥ין מַ֜חְס֗וֹר לִֽירֵאָֽיו - fear Hashem His holy ones, there is nothing missing for those who fear Him.
But what is the connection between this pasuk and the menorah?
R' Frand quoted the Alexander Rav who cited to the Gemara in Shabbos about the process of lighting the menorah. The western candle would be used to light all the other candles twice a day. However the western candle itself would burn for 24 hours, even though it had the same amount of oil as the other candles which only burned 12 hours. Why? Because Hashem has the power to change the teva as He sees fit.
R' Frand linked this to the concept of Hishtadlus. A person knows that he needs to make an effort for his parnasah. But how many hours a day should he work? Will he benefit from putting in more hours...and what about his absence from the home and not being involved in his children's lives? R' Frand said that we learn from the menorah that Hashem will provide us what He decides we need and all of the "additional work" which we think we need to do, will not change the equation.
R' Frand then connected this with a Zohar discussing the manna in which the Torah states in Bamidbar 11:8- שָׁ֩טוּ֩ הָעָ֨ם וְלָֽקְט֜וּ וְטָֽחֲנ֣וּ בָֽרֵחַ֗יִם א֤וֹ דָכוּ֙ בַּמְּדֹכָ֔ה וּבִשְּׁלוּ֙ בַּפָּר֔וּר וְעָשׂ֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ עֻג֑וֹת וְהָיָ֣ה טַעְמ֔וֹ כְּטַ֖עַם לְשַׁ֥ד הַשָּֽׁמֶן - the first word of the pasuk is commonly translated as they walked around. However the Zohar teaches the word as meaning they were foolish. They thought that in order to enjoy the manna, they needed to grind it, or pound it, and cook it and make into cakes. However this only made the manna taste like oil cakes. Had they done absolutely nothing and just ate it in the form that it came, the Zohar says that it would have had the taste of Gan Eden.
Rabbi Frand said that this again shows that extra Hishtadlus will not yield a better result.
R' Frand also said a second vort on the Jews travels in the desert. He quoted R' Hirsh who notes that the travelling and the assembling and disassembling of the Mishkan was based on the movements of the Annanei HaKavod. The Torah does not tell us how long they stayed in one place and when they moved. And this was before the decree that they were to wander for 40 years. Sometimes they stayed in one place for weeks and sometimes they would move for a day and then set up the Mishkan, only to have disassemble and move again the next day.
R' Frand remarked that this is a lesson in Bitachon - Hashem knows what's best for us and if its time to move then its time to move. He again quoted R' Hirsh who connects this to the constant moving around in Galus. There are times that we need to move, even if we don't understand why. R' Frand noted that Dovid HaMelech called our relationship with Hashem as being a shepherd with sheep. The sheep does not understand why when he got to water the shepherd immediately moved him away - because the sheep does not see the wolf lurking nearby.
R' Frand closed the vort by quoting R' Melech Biderman who observes that sometime people wait years to find their spouse or to have a child. If you were to tell them that they would be getting married in x months or having a child in x years, they would accept it. But the waiting without knowing is hard. The lesson of the camping in the midbar is that Hashem has our best interests in mind.
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