In this parsha we learn about the fiery serpent: “G-d said to Moses, ‘Make yourself a fiery [serpent] and place it on a pole, and it will be that anyone who was bitten will look at it and live.’”  What is the message here?  Perhaps it means that for people who have been “bitten” (and everyone has in some way or another), not only can they survive, but they can chai, truly live and excel and  have a meaningful life.  There is a reason for the bite and it is there to help us thrive.  We must use it in a positive way.  We can use the bite to show compassion to others, to understand and be sympathetic to their “bites,” or we can use the bite to be bitter towards others and life itself and in that way, we won’t be really living at all.

As well, we are told that after the bite we must “look at it and live.”  Face the fears.  Examine what happened.  Take that negativity and say I’m going to beat this. 

The question that is asked is why did G-d feel the need to use a serpent for healing?  Because, according to the Bachur Shur, it natural means were used then there would have been the fear that they would have believed they were cured through natural means (not G-d).  But it could also mean that we are being told life is full of snakes and ladders and we must try not to slip down the snakes, but rather see that they too have a purpose in creation. No matter how “snaky” someone may appear to us, they are a part of G-d’s creation and must be respected as such.  They can bring good, or a lesson or something but G-d has deemed them necessary in this world.