One
of my most favorite moments as a parent occurs when art imitates life. Every
once in a while when we are watching a movie with our children, they will
notice a characteristic displayed by one of the movie characters and tell us
who that is in our family. So when we watch Willie Wonka and the Chocolate
Factory, starring Gene Wilder and Jack Albertson, our children invariably
sheepishly blush when Veruca Salt makes her appearance. We all know Veruca; she is the epitome of the
spoiled brat. Whenever she wants something, she hellishly whines, “But daddy, I
want it now!” Of course her
father cannot stomach the incessant whining and inevitably gives in. Our kids
all sheepishly laugh and ask if that is what they sound like when they whine. Rabbi Levi, in the Midrash Tanchuma also talks
about a spoiled brat: “A child is riding on his father’s shoulders. When the
child sees something he wants, he asks for it. His father gets it for him. This
happens again and again. They encounter a person approaching from the opposite
direction, and the child asks the stranger, ‘Have you seen my father?’ The
father responds incredulously, “You ride on my shoulders and everything you
want I get you, yet you ask, ‘Have you seen my father?’ The father then takes
the child down from his shoulders and a dog comes and bites the child.”
This
week’s Parshah, Beshalach, is also known as Shabbat Shira (Shabbat of Song).
Bnai Yisroel leaves Egypt. Pharaoh, realizing what he has done, gives chase
with the Egyptian army in hot pursuit. Trapped by the Sea, Bnai Yisroel looks
to Moshe for an answer. Moshe prays and God tells Moshe to take Israel and
start walking through the Yam Suf. So as
they begin walking into the Yam Suf; it splits and Bnai Yisroel arrives safely
on the other side. Meanwhile, the Egyptian army is trapped in the water as the
sea closes upon them. B’nai Yisroel
sings throughout this Parshah. Upon successfully completing their crossing of
the Yam Suf, the headline song begins (Ex. 15:1): Oz Yashir Moshe u’Vnai Yisroel et Ha Shira Ha’zot L’adonai va’Yomru Leimor Then Moses and the Children of Israel chose to sing this song to God
and they said the following. In this song, B’nai Yisroel praises God as
protector of his people. After the song, Miriam, Moshe’s sister, tells the
women “Shiru L’adonai Ki Ga’oh Ga’Ah Sus
v’Rochvo Ramah Va’Yam Sing to God for
he is exalted above the arrogant, having hurled horse with its rider into the
sea. Ex.15:21 When tradition referred to this Shabbat as Shabbat Shirah,
clearly this is what was meant.
However
immediately following these songs of praise, B’nai Yisroel begins another kind
of singing. Instead of songs of joy and praise, known as singing,
there are songs of discontent and complaint,
known as whining. No sooner does B’nai Yisroel cross the Yam Suf and
sing Oz Yashir Moshe, then they complain about the lack of good water. Moshe
puts a tree into the water and it becomes sweet (15:25-26). They whine about
the lack of food. God provides the manna from Heaven (16:6-8,16-36). They
complain about the lack of meat. God provides them with quail (16:13). They
complained about the lack of water upon their arrival in Rephidim. Moshe
strikes a rock as God instructs, and provides water for the people. They wanted
it now. So God gave it “now”.
B’nai
Yisroel lacks faith. They are still slaves. They live passively. They ceased
struggling for freedom They performed their tasks and returned to their slaves’
quarters and ate their slave food that the master provided. There is no sense
of responsibility for the future. There is no sense that improvement is
possible. The slave looked to the master to take care of everything. Upon leaving
Egypt and crossing the Yam Suf, B’nai Yisroel looks to God to take care of
everything. They have no sense of taking take care of themselves. So they sang
or whined, “But Daddy we want the water and meat and we want it now!”
God gave them another miracle.
Like
the impudent boy who asked the stranger if he had seen his father, while all
the while sitting upon his father’s shoulders; B’nai Yisroel demonstrates the
same impudence. Hayeish Adonai
B’kirbeinu Im Ayin? “Is God among us
or not?” The father put the boy upon the ground. God put B’nai Yisroel upon
the ground. Just like the dog bit the boy, Amalek attacks. B’nai Yisroel. B’nai Yisroel stopped whining. They finally
do for themselves. “Moshe said to Joshua, ‘Choose people for us and go do battle with
Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my
hand’. Joshua did as Moshe said to him, to do battle with Amalek”
(Ex.17:9-10). B’nai Yisroel fought, God gave them strength. This is the first
time in the Parshah where we read that B’nai Yisroel acted first. God helped
them when they helped themselves.
So
what do we learn from B’nai Yisroel’s behavior at the beginning of the Parshah
and the end of the Parshah. We learn that in order to have faith in God, we
must have faith in ourselves. Before we seek God’s help, we must help
ourselves. The spoiled brat is the child who won’t do for his/herself. The
spoiled brat expects others to do for him. Instead of trusting in and doing for
itself first, B’nai Yisroel relied upon God to do for them. Thank God, we are
no longer slaves in Egypt, yet we remain slaves. We are slaves to our fears, we
are slaves to our anxieties, and we are slaves to our own passivity. It is
always easier to be passive, do nothing, be uninvolved, and not improve the
world around us. The first step in freedom is conquering our own passivity, and
doing for ourselves. Only when we take that first step will we feel the support
and strength that God offers us. Then we can conquer Amalek. Then we conquer
our own fears. Then improvement is possible for both the individual and the
community. Most importantly, we
eventually stop whining.
Peace,
Rav Yitz
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