Fear of Battle, Praise of Miracles
At a time when we again feel the emotions of watching war, fighting, death, fear, loss of home and land, the first two verses of Parashat Beshalach resounded with me.
So at the time when Pharaoh sent the people (out of Egypt), G!d didn’t lead them via the land of the Philistines, even though it was near – for G!d said, “Lest the people rue (their leaving) at the sight of war and turn back toward Egypt…”
Then G!d turned the people (around) toward the wilderness path (at) the Sea of Rushes (Red Sea) – and the Israelites went up in battle array out of the land of Egypt.
The first verse reminded me of the decisions made by various types of leaders regarding the emotions and directing of large groups of people. G!d receives credit in this verse for directing Moshe and Aaron to lead the people on a longer, less direct route out of Egypt. The portrayal of G!d included concern that the fear of the people, the distaste for war, would send them back to their slaveholders and out of the freedom and redemption for which they waited.
Yet, as we consider their fate in Egypt – not just the lack of freedom – I wonder, would they not have eventually come upon war or exile? Over the centuries, people have stayed where they are, under tyrannical rule, in bondage – and still the ravishment of war came upon them, or forced removal from their homes, or even death. By sending the Hebrew people via a new route, G!d seems to be offering a larger protection than just that of their return to captivity.
In the second verse, the narrator noted that the Hebrew people were ready for battle (in formation or armed are two possible meanings of חמש). Even though G!d chose to lead them away from view of war, the Hebrew people were positioned so they were ready to fight.
Indeed, the parsha continues with the story of how Pharaoh’s troops followed the Hebrew people, eventually drowned when the miraculous parting of the Sea of Rushes went back from the banks.
In liturgy, the song led by Moshe and Miriam marks a special Shabbos – but this song is familiar to daveners anyway. This song reflected specific and general praise for G!d, the deity and protector of the Hebrew people, thanking G!d for the miracles enacted on behalf of the community.
A Downtown Brooklyn Talmud Torah
