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BESHALACH 5783
Are You Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place?
Did you ever find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place? Of course you did; we all have! There are times when we must choose between 2 un-satisfactory options—situations that are much bigger than we are, situations where we need Gd’s help.
We’ve all heard the expression, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. But what if you can’t stand the heat and you can’t get out of the kitchen? Could it be that being stuck between a rock and a hard place may just be the spot Gd needs to bring you to…so that you can accomplish what Gd needs you to accomplish in your life?
What do I mean? Listen to this story. A little boy was leading his sister up a mountain trail and the way up was not easy. “Why this isn’t a trail at all,” the little girl complained. “It’s all rocky and bumpy.”
Her little brother just kept climbing up the mountain. He shouted back to her, “Sure, the trail is rocky and bumpy. But the rocks and bumps are what you climb on!”
Sometimes the very things we see as obstacles, are the things that become stepping-stones in our lives—to propel us ahead out of a difficult situation. (repeat)
We all face times of pressure, times of exhaustion—times we do not know what to do. When you do, I urge you to think about popcorn! Yes, popcorn. Remember, popcorn doesn’t get to be popcorn…it doesn’t get to become what it’s intended to be… until the kernels are put in a fire—put under some pressure. You see, Gd shows up in His timing—not ours. Gd is never early, and He’s never late. Gd’s always right on time if we will just let Him.
In this week’s Torah portion, the Jews have left Egypt and find themselves with the Red Sea in front of them and the advancing Egyptian army behind them. In other words, stuck between a rock and a hard place! They’re trapped—terrified. So, they do what Jews do best. They complain to Moses. Our fearless leader calms them down by saying (Ex. 14:13-14): “Al tira-u, don’t be afraid. Stand tall and watch as Gd saves us from the Egyptians. You see them now, but you’re not going to see them anymore. Gd is going to go to war for you. Just be still and silent.”
What is Moses telling them with the words, “Just be still and silent?” Based on the next verse where Gd asks Moses, Ma titzak Eylai (Why cry out to me? Tell the people to go forward), the commentators explain that what Moses meant is that they shouldn’t even pray to Gd. Now that’s really weird, because if there ever was a good time to pray, it seems like it would be then! Why is Moses telling them to be quiet and not pray?
The answer is that this is the key moment in Jewish history. It’s the birth of the Jewish people. This is when Gd 1st wipes out our enemies and frees us to serve Him. And so, Moses wants the Jewish people to be “all in.” Usually, when stuck between a rock and a hard place, we should pray to Gd. But Moses tells them instead, “Don’t close your eyes and start swaying and crying out to Gd. Keep them open and watch every detail. Burn what is now happening into your memory banks.”
Afterwards, analyze it, digest it, think about it, talk about it. Tell your kids about it so that they can tell their kids about it, so thousands of years later, when each of us each year on Passover sits down at our Seder, each of us through our collective muscle memory of Jewish history, each of us can feel that night every year as if WE were leaving Egypt…because our ancestors then were “all in.”
A few weeks ago, I told you about Nachshon and compared him to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In the passage I just sited, when the Israelites cried out for help at the Red Sea, Gd told Moses (Ex. 14:15): “Why do you cry to me? Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them to go forward.” However, the waters hadn’t parted yet, and no one moved. Then, the Midrash (Mechilta d’Rabbi Yishmael 14:22) tells us, one man named Nachshon—prince of the tribe of Judah—had the faith and the courage to jump in—and the waters didn’t recede until it was up to his neck. Nachshon knew that there is a time for prayer, and there is a time to be “all in” and take action. With the waters up to his neck, Nachshon was the epitome of “all in” for Gd.
Today—even when we’re not up against a wall, stuck between a rock and a hard place—it’s so difficult to be “all in” for anything. You try to pay attention during your Zoom meetings, but there are so many things vying for your attention. Our attention is usually split because of the feeling we’ve got to be multitasking all the time. We’re lured by Facebook, and Instagram, and Whatsapp, and Slack, and email, and texting—and it never ends.
So, how can we be “all in” for the things that really matter? How can we be “all in” for Gd today? The answer is Shabbos! In our Torah portion, Moses introduces the concept of Shabbos to the Jewish people with the miracle food manna. Manna literally fell from Heaven every day for their 40-year trek in the desert to the Promised Land—every day that is, except on Shabbos. There was a double portion on Friday to make up for it. And even though the people were warned not to, don’t you think there were those who went out to the fields to try to collect some extra manna on Shabbos? You see, it was a process getting the ancient Israelites to appreciate Shabbos. And it’s no less of a process to get Jews to appreciate Shabbos today.
Those of us who try to observe the holy Shabbos today get it. Shabbos is a respite that’s unlike anything anyone else has in the world. We get to turn off our phones, our tablets, our laptops. We get to take control of our lives again, connect to family, connect to community, and connect to Gd. Once a week Gd gives us Shabbos to free us—to free us to serve Him.
My friends, when we take on Shabbos in our lives, we have to be so careful not to fall into the trap of using this newfound freedom—our free time away from our devices and distractions—to start talking about sports and politics and current events and the stock market and our business and fashion and gossip. We need to block out most of this free time to come closer to Hashem, to be “all in” with our Father in Heaven…so that we’re on good terms with Him, especially just in case we’re ever stuck again between a rock and a hard place. Amen!
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