Oceanside Jewish Center
Weekly Parsha
By Jonathan Wolf



















Parshat BeShalach
The Children of Israel left Egypt in great haste. They took with them some of the spoils of Egypt (gold and silver) as God commanded them. They were not led directly to Canaan through the land of the Philistines. God led them through a more circuitous route manifested by a cloud, during the day, and a pillar of fire, by night. When the cloud would descend, the Israelites would make camp. When the cloud ascended, they would move on.

The people camped beside the Red Sea as Pharoah regretted his decision to let the Israelites go. He grew increasingly angry and finally sent his army out to pursue them and bring them back to Egypt. As the chariots approached, the people grew fearful and cried to Moshe about heir impending fate. Moshe prays to God and is told that God would lead the people through the sea. The pillar of fire temporarily blocks the Egyptians path and Moshe is told to stretch his staff over the sea. God divides sea and the people walk between the walls of water. When they reach the other sides, the water comes crashing down on the Egyptians drowning them. Miriam and the women begin dancing and Moshe, and all the people sing a great song of praise to God for delivering them.

The people now march south through the wilderness of Shur to a place called Marah
(Bitterness). This was named because the people complained to Moshe about thirst since the water was unfit to drink. God shows Moshe a special tree which when thrown into the wells, made the water sweet. They then moved on to the oasis of Elim.

One month later, the people complained about the lack of food. God causes manna to rain down from the sky which was to be collected every morning. A double portion would fall on Friday while none would fall on the Sabbath. An omer (just under four pints according to today’s measurements) of manna was kept in a pot near the Ark as a testimony to God’s kindness (since this was the amount to be collected each day). At Rephidim, the people gain murmur against Moshe because of a lack of water. Moshe strikes a rock at, God’s command, and water gushes out. The people continue to move on their journey.

The tribe of Amalek wages war on the people, striking them from behind. A draft is held and an army fielded to fight Amalek. Moshe ascends a hill and when his arms are raised, the people prevail. The Israelites are victorious and God commands Moshe to tell the people that the name of Amalek is to be wiped from the world because of their treachery. “And the Lord said unto Moshe, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak to the Children of Israel, that they go forward.”

With their backs to the sea, the Jews saw the army of Pharoah approaching. What were they to do? I recently learned of a Midrash on this verse from the writings of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Schneersohn. He wrote that according to the Mechilta, an early midrashic commentary on the Book of Exodus, the Jews were divided into four camps. One group said, “Let us throw ourselves into the sea”. A second group said, “Let us return to Egypt”. A third group said, “Let us wage war upon the Egyptians”. The fourth group said, “Let us pray to God.” The Mechilta points out that Moshe had a fifth option, as it says, “And Moshe said to the people, Fear not, stand by and see the salvation of God which He will show you today; for as you have seen Egypt this day, you shall not see them again, forever. God shall fight for you, and you shall be silent”.

“Fear not, stand by and sea the salvation of God”, is, says the Midrash, Moshe’s response to those who were so petrified with fear that they wanted to plunge into the sea. “As you have see Egypt today, you shall not see them again”, is addressed to those who wanted to surrender and return to Egypt. “God shall fight for you”, is addressed to those who wanted to fight for themselves. “And you shall be silent”, is for those who said, “this is all beyond us; all we can do is pray to God”. And what is God’s answer? “…they should go forward”.

The analysis by the Lubavitcher Rebbe is this. Each camp corresponds to one type of Jew. There are those who fear the outside world and all of its stresses. Some want to retreat away from the world and escape. Perhaps a the Red Sea, there were those, at the time, that literally wanted to throw themselves into the sea. All that was happening was too overwhelming for them to comprehend. The “sea” can also refer homiletically to the “sea of the Torah”. There are people that want to enclose themselves in enclaves and never contact the outside world. The sages in Pirke Avot warn us not to isolate ourselves from the community. Don’t be a hermit. Don’t wrap yourself up into an insular ball and think everything will be alright. God helps those who help themselves. Torah study is vital and important when accompanied by deeds of action. The sage ssay that if a person’s wisdom exceeds his deeds, his wisdom will not endure. Also, don’t wrap yourself in a flag of piety and feel that you can’t interact with the world. We were placed on earth for a mission. Some of us may not know what that mission is. As Jews, we must engage in “Tikkun Olam”, repairing the world and make it a better place. You can’t do that from inside a sheltered life.

The second camp advocates surrender. “What’s the use”, they say. “Egypt is a world power, we are nothing, we might as well surrender and let them clothe and feed us”. This is not the answer either. Life is a challenge; nobody said life is easy. We are born Jews and we can’t change that. The surrender aspect can also refer to assimilation. If we completely assimilate, then they will leave us alone. We have a job to do and a set of obligations given to us from Sinai. We must carry it out as best we can. The sages write in Pirke Avot that God does not expect us to complete the task, but neither are we free to desist from it.

The third camp wants to fight everyone like a “tough guy” who carries a chip on his shoulder. This is not the answer either. Sometimes it is necessary to fight evil (as in the battles with Amalek or Hitler); but battles must be chosen wisely.

The spiritualist looks to God for the answer. He can do nothing for himself. This is important but sometimes, the Torah says, “Go forward!”. God says to Moshe, “Why are you praying to me now? Tell the Israelites to move forward and I will fight for them”. The Midrash Rabbah states that the Israelites began to walk into the red Sea until the water was up to their necks. Then, God saw that they were willing to have God fight for them, and the sea parted. All four concepts have their time and place. Not to escape reality, not to submit to it, not to wage war on, and not to deal with it only on a spiritual level, but to move forward.

The Torah ends, in Devarim, with the journey incomplete. The Jews never do enter the “promised land” in the Torah. This teaches us that we don’t need to be perfect, but we must strive for perfection. Maybe it is not the foal that counts, but the way we handle the journey.The ladder in Yaakov’s dream showed angles moving up and down. There was constant movement. This is our motivation to move forward on our own spiritual ladder of learning and observance.

I find an interesting parallel to the four sons of the Haggadah from the Rebbe’s analysis. The wise son asks all the questions. He wants to absorb everything and analyze every detail. He is so consumed with learning that he doesn’t apply what he knows. He wants to escape reality and be sheltered from responsibility. The wicked son wants to know why we even bother. He would rather seek his fortune through assimilation. He doesn’t deny his Jewish heritage, he just wants to keep it in his “back pocket” somewhere. The son who asks, “What is all this?” seeks reassurance from God that all will be alright. He doesn’t know what else to do but pray. Finally, the one who doesn’t even know how to ask, will act out of instinct. The urge to “fight it out”, is an animalistic born out of frustration, ignorance, and the need to survive.

However, as I said, all four are important and vital for a healthy person. In the right doses and at the right time, these can be the seeds of success against evil forces and impulses. Taken at the wrong time and in the wrong doses, they can be as deadly as taking the incorrect medication in the wrong doses and the wrong time. This will damage us physically, but the former can damage us spiritually!

Inside each of us is the power to change the world. In the “Song at the Sea”, we hear Moshe sing “Zeh Eli”, “This is my God and I will glorify Him”. How does one glorify God? By emulating the attributes of God; mercy, kindness, charity, thankfulness, etc, we glorify God. Through sanctification of God’s name (Kiddush Hashem), through the enhancement of mtizvot, through Torah study, through tzedakah, we glorify God. “Mi kamocha…”, “who is like You”, we say in the shacharit service. This comes from the “Song at the Sea” in our parsha Beshalach. Not surprisingly, this Shabbat is called “Shabbat Shira”, the “Sabbath of song”. Every Shabbat is ushered in with song. What better way to move forward than with songs of praise! And move forward the Children of Israel did. In the next parsha, they camp near Mt. Sinai and prove themselves worthy to receive the Torah!