Leaving

And it was when Pharaoh sent the people that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines despite the fact that is was near because the Almighty said the people will reconsider when they see war looming and will return to Egypt. Exodus 13:17

After all the Jewish people suffered in Egypt they would really contemplate returning to bondage? After the onslaught of plagues that rained down on Egypt they would now give up? The miracle at the Sea was so easily over and done? Had they so quickly forgotten the oppression? The genocide of the first born males? The agonizing lashes? How could such pain be forgotten?

Every human is comprised of two disparate parts; body and soul. The body is the “shoe” or cloak of life. It is like the house which holds all our worldly possessions. The soul is the gift of the Lord; it is the held prize of the body. The two segments are likened to the olam, world, which is clear and revealed and the elem, the secreted world that is hidden from the eye. Both exist.

The polar extremities of the competing desires between body and soul can be disconcerting to the point where one begins to exert much control over the other. That is why we fall. It is the soul that usually suffers.

We cannot exist in the ethereal realm of God to the total exclusion of the physical self. We need physical nourishment and care. Yet, this is not the problem that most people go through. Where we stumble is when we ignore the smaller, quieter, inner voice. At a moment we can feel elevated, exuberant. In another instant we can forget the sublime joy of the soul. At the time of liberation from Egypt God feared that the newly liberated slaves would succumb to the moment and forget all the wondrous deeds that had only just happened.

Do not despair. Despair is the path away from the Almighty. It steers us away from hope. It drives a wedge between the body and soul that will cause us to lose sight of our true self. That is what the Talmud means when it states that “All that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in His universe, He crafted male and female.” 1 We are different parts, male and female, body and soul, Godly and earthly, that needs to allow both segments of self to work in unison to produce a whole person.



1 Baba Baatra 74b

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I have heard the murmurings of the Children of Israel. Speak to them, saying: In the evening you will eat meat and in the morning you shall be sated with bread. You shall know that I am God. Exodus 16:11

There are four teshukot (or overwhelming desires) in the world:
The first desire is that of Eve for Adam, the second desire is that of the Evil Inclination of Cain, the desire for rain and finally the desire of the Master of the Universe for humanity. 1

This first teshuka is a physical lusting. It is a hunger that floods the conscious mind. Pushing away other thoughts it distracts and deceives. The great deception of this desire is the misguided belief that someone will redeem us. If someone can be brought to love us enough they will save us. This desire strips us of our power and role in our redemption. It is also self-deception.

The second desire is that of the Evil Inclination of Cain.
Cain’s sacrifice was inferior to his brother’s, Abel. Knowing full well that that his brother had succeeded in opening his heart to God while he remained closed and selfish, Cain listened to his Evil Inclination. He bought the lie that if he punished his brother his acts would become more righteous. This is the same lie that causes us to shame or degrade other people. Hurting others by actions or words devalues our self.

The desire for rain is the ill-fated wish for someone or something to rescue us out of our malaise. "If only I won the lottery"…"if only I had a good mate"…"if only I had different parents…." This kind of wishful thinking removes us far from what we could become. God wants a partner not a dependent.

And finally the desire of the Master of the Universe for humanity. This is a yearning that God holds and that we can share. God wears tefilin that bears the prayer, “Israel, who is like you?” From this we understand that God prays for us. We must join God in the prayer for the wellbeing of humanity. It is a belief in what can be. It is a belief in what is possible. It is trust in our ability to grow and mature.


1 Bereshit Rabba 20:7


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Leaving Egypt was no simple task. They were leaving the home they had known their entire life. It was also the place where their families had existed for hundreds of years. Now they were being cast out. Everything familiar was to be left behind. Understandably, the people were frightened. Time and again they queried their leader, How will we survive?

To those who said, "Let us cast ourselves into the sea," Moses responded, "Fear not; stand by and see the salvation of God." To those people who said, "Let us return to Egypt," Moses answered, "You have seen Egypt this day; you shall not see them again forever." To those who said, "Let us wage war against them," Moses said, "God shall fight for you." And to those who said, "Let us cry out to God," he said: "And you shall be silent." Mechilta

To those who said, "Let us cast ourselves into the sea," Moses responded, "Fear not; stand by and see the salvation of God."
It is easy to give up. Saying that life is too painful is simple. Losing one’s employment, becoming addicted, losing a love, death and rejection are all components of a lifetime that repeat. We experience these events many times over. It would be too easy to surrender to those opposing forces and give up.
Moses tells us: You are not alone. There is an Ultimate Master of All that cares intensely about you. Do not give up. God will not turn His Face from you.

To those people who said, "Let us return to Egypt," Moses answered, "You have seen Egypt this day; you shall not see them again forever."
Even pain has a purpose. Hidden deep in the folds of our anguish are seeds of opportunity. There is no pain that does not open up a possibility that would otherwise remain closed. That is not to say that we should welcome pain. Yet, when it comes to our door do not move backward toward the restrictive Egypt that once held us in its vise-like grip. Since we cannot change what has already happened use the experience as a tool for growth.

To those who said, "Let us wage war against them," Moses said, "God shall fight for you."
Do not lose sight of your morals. At all costs, do not lose your integrity. It is what makes you a holy vessel. Remain true to yourself; remain true to your God. Perhaps the greatest victory of evil would be to claim their victim as their own.

And to those who said, "Let us cry out to God," he said: "And you shall be silent."
As Psalms indicates, Leckha dumyah tehilla “to You silence is praise.” 1 Sometimes a wellspring of strength emerges from the darkness in the form of quiet. In the maelstrom of pain, when the tears have subsided, it is time to sit silently with God. From that place may issue the strongest prayer ever uttered.


1 Psalms 65:2