Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 14 Shevat, 5784
Parsha Be-Shallah: (Exodus 13:17 – 17:16)
Fourth Portion: Exodus 14:26 – 15:26

Good morning! We are here! Tonight is the full moon of Shevat – and we enter into a CELEBRATION! The old trees that have caused us to remain stuck have been uprooted. There may be some residual harshness today, and when the sun goes down, it will be time to plant. New trees, new life. New spirituality.

I am not sure the source of the picture here, but someone posted it on facebook and it is breath taking. First, I reflect on the roots. To have our old trees uprooted and removed from our lives? Painful. And as this new tree is planted – the strength of our lives exists beyond what we see externally. It is winter. And; Spring is on the way.  It is this framework for us that we join the Torah as we are in the midst of the sea with the children of Israel. With the Egyptians bearing down on them. We are in process of moving from slavery to freedom. Let’s go!

Here’s the context – When we left off yesterday, we were talking about arrogance. The Egyptians were arrogant. They had pursued the children of Israel into the sea.  All the players of this story are now camped in the sea – with the walls to the right and the left.

The Children of Israel saw this as a miracle. They knew Moses was behind this with Hashem.  Egypt? They were driven by arrogance. They could not see the miracle and who the miracle was for. So, Hashem was about to teach us all a lesson.

26Thereupon, the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, and let the water return upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen

27So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and toward morning the sea returned to its strength, as the Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord stirred the Egyptians into the sea.

I am struck here by how the sea returned to its strength AS the Egyptians were fleeing TOWARDS it.

This is the ultimate arrogance, isn’t it? They didn’t flee AWAY from the sea. They went towards it. They could not move from arrogance to leadership and find the prize of humility. And this was their end. (Or was it?)

28And the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, the entire force of Pharaoh coming after them into the sea; not even one of them survived.

None of them survived. And if you read my thoughts from last year – how we view life (A body with a soul inside vs a soul with a body wrapped around us) will determine the harshness in which we read this passage.

Because if the Egyptians were souls with a body wrapped around them, I could just imagine their souls returning to the “one soul” (or Hashem) and being like “welp, that didn’t work – let me digest the experience we just had on earth as human, and let me see what I can learn from that and go again!”

So that is the end of arrogance here. Now, let’s see what happens with Israel:

29But the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the water was to them like a wall from their right and from their left.

30On that day the Lord saved Israel from the hand[s] of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dying on the seashore.

31And Israel saw the great hand, which the Lord had used upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in Moses, His servant.

Something about this is interesting to me. Verse 29 and 30 seem to be a smidge confusing. 29 paints an image of the children of Israel being on dry land with a wall of water on either side of them. As I picture that, I picture a canyon. So how in verse 30 did they see the Egyptians dying on the seashore? Especially given they were swallowed up by the sea?

For me, when this happens, I often wonder if the Torah wants us to pause and digest what just happened. Maybe the children of Israel had a “different” lens? So they could get a picture of what was going on to the Egyptians – their arrogance deal with. And the Torah is telling us – make no mistake – the children of Israel knew exactly what happened here. This is something to remember as we move on from here.  It wasn’t like Egypt was dealt with and Israel was unaware.

And verse 31 seems to indicate this – the children feared the Lord. They believed in the Lord, and in Moses.

So what is our takeaway?

For me it is a question.

What are we in awe of? Where are we at with awe? Is there anything?

What is awe? I have come to the place that awe is fear integrated with safety.  It’s the harmony of these concepts. Fear mixed with safety.

I have been reflecting on the idea that “fear is safe.”  This is awe. When we are afraid, we need to be reminded that we either believe arrogantly that we know better – that fear is NOT safe. Or in humility MEET fear with courage. To trust.  Fear is safe. This is the message I think.  This is what the Children of Israel took away. Fear is safe. Let’s see their external reaction:

5:1Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and they spoke, saying, I will sing to the Lord, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea.

The awe? Led to SONG. Fear and safety. Let’s feel into the song of the children of Israel:

2The Eternal’s strength and His vengeance were my salvation; this is my God, and I will make Him a habitation, the God of my father, and I will ascribe to Him exaltation.

3The Lord is a Master of war; the Lord is His Name.

4Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He cast into the sea, and the elite of his officers sank in the Red Sea.

5The depths covered them; they descended into the depths like a stone.

6Your right hand, O Lord, is most powerful; Your right hand, O Lord, crushes the foe.

7And with Your great pride You tear down those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning wrath; it devours them like straw.

8And with the breath of Your nostrils the waters were heaped up; the running water stood erect like a wall; the depths congealed in the heart of the sea.

9[Because] the enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will share the booty; my desire will be filled from them; I will draw my sword, my hand will impoverish them.

10You blew with Your wind, the sea covered them; they sank like lead in the powerful waters.

11Who is like You among the powerful, O Lord? Who is like You, powerful in the holy place? Too awesome for praises, performing wonders!

12You inclined Your right hand; the earth swallowed them up.

13With Your loving kindness You led the people You redeemed; You led [them] with Your might to Your holy abode.

14Peoples heard, they trembled; a shudder seized the inhabitants of Philistia.

15Then the chieftains of Edom were startled; [as for] the powerful men of Moab, trembling seized them; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted.

16May dread and fright fall upon them; with the arm of Your greatness may they become as still as a stone, until Your people cross over, O Lord, until this nation that You have acquired crosses over.

17You shall bring them and plant them on the mount of Your heritage, directed toward Your habitation, which You made, O Lord; the sanctuary, O Lord, [which] Your hands founded.

18The Lord will reign to all eternity

19When Pharaoh’s horses came with his chariots and his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought the waters of the sea back upon them, and the children of Israel walked on dry land in the midst of the sea,

20Miriam, the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a timbrel in her hand, and all the women came out after her with timbrels and with dances.

21And Miriam called out to them, Sing to the Lord, for very exalted is He; a horse and its rider He cast into the sea

Just feel that. Songs produce a sense of awe. They are a response.

And, I shared a picture initially that produced awe in me. I now want to share a song that feels the same.  Kristina Sullivan (who I will be doing a live chat tomorrow with – here) shared this song with me when we first started connecting.  It’s a song with very few words, it reminds me of a Jewish Neggun.  It’s from a Swedish artist Jon Henrik Fjallgren. (His first name is pronounced “Yohn” ).  I encourage us all to pause and just feel this. And when I say feel this, I mean within our bodies. Within our souls.  Link HERE to the music.

Whew. Wow. My body just feels almost “activated” by the song listening to it. I can almost imagine the children of Israel being led through the sea to this song (I know this isn’t the song they would have heard, but the feelings within my body listening to it).  It feels like a song of freedom. Like a rising up.  It takes me from a sense of arrogance about myself (what is this? I am not sure I like this, this is different) to the waves crashing around me and feeling smaller; the bigness of the universe.  Then I get a chance to catch my breath.  And when I do, the process starts again. I am curious to your take about this song.

How AMAZING this is for the Children of Israel. Being led from slavery to freedom. To awe. To fear of the Lord. To believing in God. To trusting Moses.

And? What did they do with this?

22Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea, and they went out into the desert of Shur; they walked for three days in the desert but did not find water.

23They came to Marah, but they could not drink water from Marah because it was bitter; therefore, it was named Marah.

24The people complained against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?

Lol. We are an amazing people, right? We just experienced this awe. And then IMMEDIATELY went three days without water and then COMPLAINED.

And. Those of us with kids – we feel this, don’t we? We have an AMAZING moment with them.  It’s beautiful. It’s profound. And then? A sibling jumps in front of them to use the bathroom? And its ALL OVER.

We can get upset by that, or we can just see the beauty of it, right?

Some of us (many of us?) the past two weeks have been STRUGGLING with the harshness. We feel trapped. Like we are on the cusp of being overtaken. The sea is about to open once again for us. How will we navigate it? Will we remain in awe? Or will we be in arrogance?

Back on Rosh Hashanah – we were asked “who is sovereign in our hearts?”  We went through a process through Yom Kippur where this was sealed in us for the next year. The next two weeks, we will be receiving blessings (assuming we have not chosen the path of Egypt for this year) – what will we do with them? Will we remain arrogant (YES!!! I’ve DONE THE WORK AND I DESERVE ALL OF THIS! HAHAHHAHAHAH!!!) or will we see these blessings and LEAD with Humility? Will we SING for JOY and AWE at what is coming our way? That is a choice we have.

Don’t ignore or repress our arrogance. We cannot remove arrogance from us. We need to love that arrogant part of our selves and be true to that. And. See that arrogance as the soil for us to LEAD in our Humility – from a place of Awe.

This. This is the takeaway. And what did Moses do?

25So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord instructed him concerning a piece of wood, which he cast into the water, and the water became sweet. There He gave them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them.

Moses put a piece of wood into the bitter water and it became sweet.

What is that wood? It is a framework. The water was the same. I am not sure the water changed. What changed was the RELATIONSHIP to the water. Water was bitter to the children of Israel – because OF COURSE it would feel bitter. It DESTROYED and KILLED a bunch of people.

But with a single piece of wood. A single act of surrender by Moses. The opportunity presented itself for the Children of Israel to change their relationship to the water. To the flow.

26And He said, If you hearken to the voice of the Lord, your God, and you do what is proper in His eyes, and you listen closely to His commandments and observe all His statutes, all the sicknesses that I have visited upon Egypt I will not visit upon you, for I, the Lord, heal you

This is the message for us. It is an if/then statement.

If:

• We hearken to the voice of Hashem (hearken means “to give respectful attention to”)
• We do what is “proper” in His eyes (we can talk about that in the future – I can see this feeling threatening – or I can see this as the safety of boundaries a father gives to his children)
• We listen closely to the ways he wants to connect with us (His commandments)
• Observe his statues (follow his boundaries)

THEN

• All of the sickness that was on the Egyptians? Won’t be on us – because we will be healed.

This could be read as a threat. OR. This could be a father knowing what is out there. And wanting us to be safe. This isn’t a prison Hashem is building for us. It is an ark.

And it’s beautiful if you think about it – 1212 harmony:

• 1: Give respectful attention
• 2: Do something
• 3: Listen
• 4: Observe (do).

This is what we are called to do with our awe.

These are my thoughts. What are yours?

Here are my thoughts from the past two years:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 10 Shevat 5783

As I reflect on this passage, I go back to the humans who passed in the sea.

I think some of this comes down to identity. Are we souls with a body wrapped around us, or are we bodies with a soul inside.

If we see ourselves and our identity as a body with a soul inside, the Egyptians were treated harshly.

If the Egyptians were souls with a body wrapped around them, then all that happened is their bodies were taken away from their souls; and their souls returned to the collective soul. The one soul. That isn’t as harsh.

It’s an interesting distinction. How often we prioritize and focus on this reality, without recognizing the multiple realities that possibility exists. Almost like Marvel’s multiverse.

And the idea of song. Singing. How often do we allow our souls to just “sing?” The idea of freedom and liberation causing a song in our hearts?

That’s what I am reflecting on this morning. You?

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for Shevat 10, 5782

Todays portion jumps into the middle of the sea. God had just struck the Egyptian camp with some harshness (boiled mud that took the shoes off the horses, chariot wheels burning and dislocation of riders limbs, etc). Egypt said “let’s run away.” They got it. The Jews were protected. They weren’t getting anywhere.

But today we learn God tells Moses to stretch his hand over the sea and the water will revert into the Egyptians.

So even though the Egyptians got it. It was too late. I’ll confess I struggle with that a bit.

But Moses stretches out his hand and the sea went back to its original strength. The Egyptians were so confused they ran towards the water!

Keeping in mind everyone was in the sea at this point; the walls of water were protecting the Jews. But the Egyptians were confused about what was happening so they ran towards the wall of water coming at them.

And basically the waters engulfed the Egyptians no one remained.

So while in the sea, God kept the Jews safe with the walls of water, and at the same time destroyed the Egyptian armies. Remember these weren’t the people of Egypt; they were the armies. They got it at the last minute, but it was too late for the enemies of Israel.

Now I’m reflecting on what it means to be “an enemy of Israel.” My brain says – “those were human beings Hashem destroyed.” But at the same time, those humans were attacking Israel. The message is “attack Israel and it won’t go well for you. God is going to deal harshly with you.” I’m chewing on that message. It’s hard to navigate from a place of privilege (being a Jew in this case).

The Jews reacted to being saved from the Egyptians by being struck by fear of God. But they believed in God and Moses. I’d argue this fear was more like awe.

Next we have the song at the sea. They sang a song to God.

Some highlights;

I will sing

God’s strength and vengeance were my salvation

I will build God a sanctuary and I will exalt him

God uses His name to do battle; He is a master of war

God’s right hand crushes the enemy

When God reveals his majesty opponents are devastated

God led the people He redeemed, with loving kindness

The enemies of Israel are scared

You are taking us to the promised land

God will reign to all eternity

Then we learn about Miriam, who took a tambourine and led the women in dancing (and they had tambourines!)

Miriam, who was leading the women in the song at the sea called out; “Sing to God for very exalted is He, horse and it’s rider He cast into the sea….which was the first line of the song at the sea. So it seems like everyone sang the song and the Miriam and the women repeated it.

Yay! Life is good for the Jews! They are saved! This is the crescendo of the story of the exodus of Egypt, right?

Wrong.

Moses moved Israel on from the sea; and the Jews didn’t want to go. They were collecting the spoils of Egypt. But Moses moved them to the desert of Shur. We can see just how long this belief in God and Moses lasted.

They didn’t find water. They came to Marah, but the water there was bitter so they couldn’t drink it.

And the people complained. The people complained.

Moses cried out to God and God told Moses about a type of wood, Moses threw it into the water and the water became sweetened.

And there is where Moses Gave them the commandment of the Sabbath and the red heifer and monetary claims.

God tested them to see how the people would treat Moses with the bitter waters. Moses said “If you will accept yourself to listen to the voice of God, and you will actually perform the mitzvahs which are just in His eyes, and you observe His mitzvahs with precision, and observe His statutes which defy logic then all the sickness that God placed in Egypt will not be placed upon the Jews. Because God is our healer.”

What are your thoughts on todays passage? I’ll confess I’m still chewing on it; and some of the harshness of Hashem here. I’d love your take!