Dear TBZ Community:
I have this memory from my childhood, which I have shared with you before: I was at my Jewish summer camp, Camp Ramah Chile. I was about 6 or 7 years old, and our activity that day was to reenact the story of the Exodus. We, the kids, were the people of Israel and our counselors were the Egyptians.
My memory is that we escaped “Egypt” (our campgrounds in Hualpen) and that escape meant a long walk that was hot but pleasant and sweet. We relaxed into our stroll and felt that we had won the challenge – we had escaped and were out of danger. It seemed that this was the end of the program. When we arrived at the end of the road and approached the Biobío River, we looked back to see our counselors, the “Egyptians,” coming at us. The counselor dressed like Pharaoh was scary, and I felt afraid (remember, I was no older than 7). It all seemed very real. I don’t remember what happened next, but somehow the activity ended. I don’t believe that the Biobío River split in two, but nevertheless, we were saved.
This experiential activity always comes back to me when we read parshat (the Torah portion) Beshalach. I can still see myself as a child, in front of me the river and behind me the “Egyptians.” I can tap into the fear of “no way out.”
For the past 110 days, I have felt, perhaps more than I ever have, this sense of “no way out.” 136 hostages still in captivity, the humanitarian disaster, the terrible loss of innocent Palestinian life including children, the destruction in Gaza, and the death of soldiers… The horror is hard to grasp and continues piling up. More death, more trauma, more destruction… And it feels like the end of this war is not within reach.
Exodus 14:9-10 reads:
וַיִּרְדְּפוּ מִצְרַיִם אַחֲרֵיהֶם וַיַּשִּׂיגוּ אוֹתָם חֹנִים עַל־הַיָּם כָּל־סוּס רֶכֶב פַּרְעֹה וּפָרָשָׁיו וְחֵילוֹ עַל־פִּי הַחִירֹת לִפְנֵי בַּעַל צְפֹן
And the Egyptians gave chase to them, and all the chariot horses of Pharaoh, his horsemen, and his warriors overtook them encamped by the sea, near Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon
וּפַרְעֹה הִקְרִיב וַיִּשְׂאוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־עֵינֵיהֶם וְהִנֵּה מִצְרַיִם נֹסֵעַ אַחֲרֵיהֶם וַיִּירְאוּ מְאֹד וַיִּצְעֲקוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־יְהֹוָה
As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites caught sight of the Egyptians advancing upon them. Greatly frightened, the Israelites cried out to the LORD
At that moment of fear, at that moment of desperation, they cry out to God. They complain to Moshe and ask why God would take them out of Egypt to die like this.
God responds to Moshe in Exodus 14:15-16:
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה מַה־תִּצְעַק אֵלָי דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִסָּעוּ
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.
וְאַתָּה הָרֵם אֶת־מַטְּךָ וּנְטֵה אֶת־יָדְךָ עַל־הַיָּם וּבְקָעֵהוּ וְיָבֹאוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּתוֹךְ הַיָּם בַּיַּבָּשָׁה
And you lift up your rod and hold out your arm over the sea and split it, so that the Israelites may march into the sea on dry ground.
In Yalkut Me’am Lo’ez, a compilation of midrash (interpretation) and other sources on the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), written in Ladino by Rabbi Yaakov Culi in 1730, and translated to English by Rabbi Ariyeh Kaplan, we learn about these pesukim (verses):
Seeing the Egyptians marching to attack, Moses began to pray to God. He said, “Lord of the Universe, I am like a shepherd who took his sheep from the level plains, and led them on high mountains, from where I can no longer bring them down. My hands are bound, and I do not know what to do. We are trapped between Pharaoh’s armies and the sea, with no place to turn. (From Yalkut Shimoni)
Why are you crying out to Me? asks God.
This is no time for prayer. My people are suffering.
Besides, what need have you to pray? My people have already prayed to me, and I have heard their prayers. There is no longer any need for you to pray.
Speak to the Israelites and let them move. This is obviously their only option. You can rest assured that the sea will not be a barrier to My people. The sea will split because of the merit of the Patriarchs, as well as the merit of My people who believed in your message and left Egypt with you. Tell the people to march forward. They have nothing to fear. (From: Targum Yonatan, Zohar, Shemot Rabbah, Rashi)
(Yalkut Me’am Loez to Exodus 14:15-18, page 184 English edition)
Wow! In this moment of great despair and fear and unknown, God calls God’s people and says, Don’t pray, I don’t need your prayers. I need you to act, to move forward, to believe you can do that. God says, tell the people to march forward.
The call to move forward, to keep going, even when what we see in front of us seems impassable, is an act of resilience. I believe this can inspire us both in our personal journeys in moments of fear and uncertainty as well as guide our collective action for a just world – especially at this moment.
Many of us are familiar with the midrashic interpretation of the Exodus story that imagines Nahshon son of Aminadav being the first one to just jump into the sea, getting deep enough that the water splits and opens. Often we speak about Nahshon as a metaphor for the one who takes the risk, the one who is willing to be the first, the one whose trust, belief, and courage makes a miracle happen.
God says that prayers without courage to act won’t really do much at this time. Your faith, your trust, your belief will give you the courage to act. When my people suffer, says God, it is not time to pray, it is time to act!
I imagine that many of us feel that we stand between the frightening sea in front of us and the frightening Pharaoh behind us, without knowing where to go. Within each of us there is a Nahshon that Torah invites us to tap into. Our tradition challenges us to find the courage to move forward and to act. Indomitable hope is what makes us keep moving to cross the seas that lay before us.
There is another well-known midrash connected to this week’s Torah portion: When the people of Israel erupt in dancing and singing after crossing the sea, the midrash tells us that also the angels in heavens joined the celebration. At that moment God stopped the angels saying:
אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: מַעֲשֵׂה יָדַי טוֹבְעִין בַּיָּם, וְאַתֶּם אוֹמְרִים שִׁירָה?
“The work of My hands, the Egyptians, are drowning at sea, and you wish to say songs? (Talmud Bavli, Megillah 10b)
In the last few months, for many it has been hard to hold both, the capacity to cry and hold our own suffering, the suffering of the people in Israel together with the suffering of the people in Gaza (for some in this order, for others in the opposite order). God does that. God saves the people of Israel from oppression and at the same time, God does not celebrate the suffering of the Egyptians.
The stories of this week’s parasha remind us that action matters and that compassion matters. God calls us to act, to not stay passive, and God exemplifies compassion.
And yes, we still do pray. We pray together so we can find that courage that keeps us moving, to tap into hope, even when it seems too difficult, tap into action, tap into compassion.
May this Shabbat bring blessings and consolation to all of you and your loved ones. May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity. May all those who are ill find healing.
And my most fervent prayer, each day: May all the hostages come home soon to their families and friends, and may we see peace.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia