Beyond Four

Our tradition tells us that in each generation and every day we are obligated to see ourselves as if we left Egypt.  So, just because Pesach is over, the tradition goes on!

Here is an insight from Pesach that I believe is relevant each and every day.

One of the highlights of the Exodus was the splitting of the sea.  In fact the entire 7th day of Pesach celebrates this miraculous event.

The Midrash tells us that when the Egyptians had the Jews from behind and the sea in front, four groups emerged.  These four groups represent four approaches to dealing with challenges.

One said let’s jump into the Sea – Fahget about it. Give up. You’ll never get through it. Defeat.
One said let’s return to Egypt – Stay engaged in the struggle. The struggle is real so you might as well.
One said let’s fight – Oh man this is a stressful one. Constant battle.
One said let’s pray – I can’t do anything about it. This is not my problem. Here G-d it’s your problem.

G-d instructed Moses to tell the Jews not to listen to any of these solutions but rather to move forward.

This wasn’t a 5th option.  This was something all together different that they hadn’t been thinking about or considering.  And it containted a very powerful message.

In life, we oftentimes try to find good, legitimate reasons to not deal with “THE” problem.  We have a good emotional foundation for the decisions we make.  We support the decisions with past experiences, history or traumas.

The issue with these approaches is that they are all escapes from the real issue.  

We can’t overcome the problem until we deal with IT.  What is the issue we are facing? The issue we are facing is that we need to get to Mt. Sinai and there is a sea in front of it.

So what’s the problem? 

The problem isn’t that we can’t swim, or that we don’t have a boat to get across.  The Egyptians aren’t the problem either.  

The real problem is that G-d told us to do something and we don’t have full trust in HIM!

So we are trying to do something else, to find another way out.

The problem is the solution.  Trust G-d. Take the next step forward. Keep on going to Mt. Sinai. That’s what Nachshon did and the waters split.

The takeaway is powerful.  When faced with a challenge, look AT the challenge. What is really going here? What is the core of the challenge? Identify it and you will have your answer on how to overcome it!

Happy Sailing! Good Shabbos!

Enjoying what
you've read?

Here's more.

July 8, 2020

Messianic Times or Strange Times?

Rabbi Schusterman

An oft repeated refrain these days is “it’s strange times”, or some variation...

July 21, 2021

Messy Emotions

Rabbi Schusterman

I loved this line from Rabbi Shais Taub; Feelings are not facts, but it is a fact that I have feelings....

September 19, 2019

A Soul Journey

Rabbi Schusterman

This Wednesday I joined a group of 80+ Atlantan’s on a Soul Trip to NY.  As is a tradition...