Rabbi Steven Bayar
The Torah reading for this Shabbat of Passover is taken from the parsha of Beshalach, which begins with a description of the frantic actions taken as the Israelites are expelled from Egyptian slavery.
The firstborns of Egypt have all perished. Whether children or adults, aristocrat or slave, each household has suffered great loss. Pharaoh has finally had enough. His stubbornness has brought Egypt to the brink of disaster. The Israelites must leave immediately.
Although warned by Moses to be ready to leave, it seems no one packed for the journey.
After all, ending 400 years of slavery in one night could not prepare them for a journey of epic proportions.
It must have been bedlam. Imagine people running all over the place, cleaning up the remains of last night’s Seder (can’t leave a dirty home!) and getting everyone ready. The text reports that the Israelites asked for the wealth and weaponry of their neighbors.
Yet through all this, Moses, the central figure of the Exodus, is absent. He is busy somewhere else:
“Now the Israelites went up armed out of the land of Egypt. Moses took with him the bones of Joseph, who had exacted an oath from the children of Israel saying, God will surely take notice of you, then you shall carry up my bones from here with you.” (13:18-19).
Many are the promises we make to those who are terminally ill. Many times, we make the promise without any intention of carrying it out. Moses honored a promise made 400 years before by people he did not know, to someone he had never met. This was more important to him than all the wealth of Egypt.
After crossing the Sea of Reeds, the Israelites spent a month encamped on the shore. Some commentators suggest they were living off the booty of the Egyptians, while some suggest they were reluctant to leave the last vestige of Egypt. Still others point out they may have been reluctant to leave the only source of water in the area. Eventually, Moses had to force them out into the wilderness, where they ran out of food. Thus begins the dynamic we see throughout their journey: privation, complaint, Divine anger and punishment.
This first time, though, was different. They complain of hunger and God immediately responds with the manna. What made this episode different? Perhaps God was modeling our Code of Jewish Law, where it notes in the laws of tzedakah that we may be skeptical of any request for assistance unless it involves hunger. We must immediately feed a hungry person.
While this Torah reading tells of the miracle at the Sea of Reeds, I believe the greater lesson is found in the two important lessons modeled for us: fulfilling vows to the terminally ill and feeding the hungry.
Steven Bayar is the rabbi emeritus at Congregation B’nai Israel in Millburn, New Jersey, and currently serves as rabbi at B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Maryland. He is the author of several books and curricula on tikkun olam.
