Beshalach: slaves to emotion and science

Beshalach: slaves to emotion and science

Beshalach tells the story from an emotional perspective. Everybody has feelings: the Israelites are scared and resentful; Gd is disappointed; Moses feels vilified. The parsha starts by informing us that Gd's guidance is deeply influenced by how the the consequences will impact the mood of the Israelites.

Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.”

  They are not ready to face battle, so they will sidestep a potential ( and eventual?) foe. 

Sometimes the recognition of mood is implicit.  When the text adds the seemingly superfluous verse: 

The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. 

The people needed constant reassurance  of Gd's presence and leadership although they  may not have trusted it yet (...or ever.) 

The Israelites are told to travel and camp in a way that makes them appear lost, trapped. The text is clear that this is a psychological trap for Pharaoh: 

וְאָמַ֤ר פַּרְעֹה֙ לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל נְבֻכִ֥ים הֵ֖ם בָּאָ֑רֶץ סָגַ֥ר עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם הַמִּדְבָּֽר׃ Pharaoh will say of the Israelites, “They are astray in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them.”

Did Pharaoh take this as an opportunity to annihilate the Hebrews? If he thought the wilderness  had closed in in them, he did not need to mobilize his army; thirst and starvation would finish them off. . Perhaps  the Pharaoh wanted to rescue them ... and bring them back as slaves. 

When the Israelites call out  to Moses: 

וַיֹּאמְרוּ֮ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה֒ הֲֽמִבְּלִ֤י אֵין־קְבָרִים֙ בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם לְקַחְתָּ֖נוּ לָמ֣וּת בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר מַה־זֹּאת֙ עָשִׂ֣יתָ לָּ֔נוּ לְהוֹצִיאָ֖נוּ מִמִּצְרָֽיִם׃ And they said to Moses, “Was it for want of graves in Egypt that you brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt?

they are reacting to the military force. Presumably surrender was a logical option, but we are told how they felt: doomed. 

The Israelites have been told, by Gd,  to camp on the shore, to allow themselves to be trapped between the geography and the Egyptian forces.  They have been instructed to appear trapped.  A miracle ( an improbable event that can be attributed to Divine intervention) is the only solution. Yet:

מַה־תִּצְעַ֖ק אֵלָ֑י דַּבֵּ֥ר אֶל־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וְיִסָּֽעוּ׃ Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward.

Why does  Gd seem annoyed with Moses? The only alternatives are crying out to the Lrd or surrender; and surrender is not a safe or desirable option. Moses and Israel are told to just go ahead and do the impossible: march into the sea; Gd is not limited by the rules that we imagine govern nature. Those scientific principles are about to be violated. 

Does the record of this interaction tell us how Gd would prefer to interact with the desperate: go ahead and expect the rescuing miracle?  No need to beg, just go ahead and expect salvation.  It is hard to know how far this unique episode can be extrapolated. 

The much celebrated song, אָ֣ז יָשִֽׁיר, expresses how the liberated, rescued nation felt about recent events; and how they imagined the news of  these events impacted the expected battles of the future. They celebrate a miracle of rescue, attributing qualities of justice and irony to the Gd that saved them.  They sing of the fear the news of this marvel will strike in the hearts of their future enemies.  It is a song, closer to undulating rhythm than concrete reality. 

Immediately, they are confronted with thirst.  They find water, but the lake is known to be bitter, it is called Marah, bitter. The people complain and a method to make the water potable is applied. Gd's final comment on the incident: 

כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י  ה רֹפְאֶֽךָ

for I the LORD am your healer.”

Gd will solve the difficult problems.

The Israelites are being weaned from the dependency of slavery.  In Egypt, if a person did the job, food, water, clothing and shelter were provided. Gd will not necessarily provide for the necessities of life. The people will need to do things for themselves.  That will lead to extraordinary, unanticipated problems.. If the Israelites accept Gd's commands, Gd will provide solutions. Like the doctor's potions: sometimes they will work

The parsha began with a detour to avoid a  war.  It ends with the first clash with an eternal enemy, an indecisive battle with a foe that can be overpowered only  when Moses raises the staff, conferring confidence upon the troops. This is the assuredness  that the slaves who had gone into the wilderness for a three day festival needed to acquire before they met their match. Now they could accept that the battle against the cruel enemy that attacks  the downtrodden from behind; a struggle that  will continue until the end of time; but Israel would prevail, even if the methods  violate the belief system of the time. 

Don't be a slave to your beliefs about nature. Don't complain, go forward  and the impossible will yield. (maybe)