Photo by Daniel Tanase on Unsplash
By Rabbi Frankie Sandmel
Parashat Beshalach “When He Let Go”
When, after fleeing from slavery, the Israelites are caught with their enslavers’ advancing army and the sea on the other, they cry out to God. Moses, too, hearing their fear and their doubts cries out to God.
Exasperated, God responds, ““Why do you cry out to Me?! Tell the Israelites to go forward!” (Exodus 14:15)
God responds to Moses as if “forward” is the only obvious choice when caught between a rock and a hard place and God can’t believe Moses didn’t try it.
I often feel stuck between a rock and a hard place, whether navigating sticky interpersonal drama where no matter what I do, a friend will feel hurt or angry, or discerning global political choices where any resolution feels intractable. This experience of looking ahead at a roaring sea and behind an advancing army feels all too familiar. And, in those moments, being told “duh, move forward” feels almost absurd.
So what are we to learn from God’s curt response to Moses and Israel’s cries?
God goes on to present God’s plan: “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.” (Exodus 14:16)
This “plan” is nothing short of a miracle. In fact, it’s the miracle. But God doesn’t present it as such, God presents it as if it is an obvious unfolding of events: continue on the path of righteousness, find the faith to move forward – even just a little bit – and a path will emerge before you.
While I advocate for depending on miracles of this scale to solve your problems, the lesson of continuing to believe that a path out exists, even when you can’t imagine it, feels deep and powerful: find the faith for the next step and you will find the next, and the next, until – God willing – you look back and see the dry land that led you out.
Are there rituals you do, texts you read, or even friends you call when you need to cultivate your faith in the unimaginable? Where do you draw from to move forward even when you can’t fathom the path ahead?
