דור דיעה

The time spent in the desert was mostly peaceful and uneventful. The problems that existed for the Jewish people happened at the beginning and end of their travels in the desert.

The middle thirty-eight years were spent in relative quiet. Nineteen of those years was spent in a place called Kadesh. This is why the period in the desert is known as דור דיעה, the generation of knowledge. Because they ate the מן, and were protected by the clouds of glory, the nation had nothing to do but study the Torah, and begin transmitting the written and oral law from generation to generation.

It is interesting to note the chronology of events. In the second of the exodus, in the month of Iyar, much of the trouble began. On the 22nd of Iyar, they complained about lack of meat, and were sent the quails. A month later, Miriam and Aharon had spoken לשון הרע against Moshe. Seven days later on the 29th of Sivan, Korach rebelled against Moshe. The spies left for their infamous mission on the 29th as well. Their forty day mission ended on Tisha B’Av.

It was only after all of these events that things quieted down, and they focused on learning Torah.