Beshalach 5774 - English

Rabbi Daniela Szuster
B´nei Israel Congregation, Costa Rica

"Then, whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed…” (Shemot 17:11)

At the end of this week’s parashah, we are told about the first obstacle faced by the people of Israel, when they encountered another nation.  The children of Israel had just been freed, they went out of Egypt and, on the way, they were attacked by Amalek’s people.  Immediately after, Moses asked Joshua to pick out some men to fight against the Amalekites.

The Torah’s description of this battle is extremely interesting, as it says: “Then, whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; but whenever he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed" (Shemot 17: 11).

What does this mean?  Why did they succeed when Moses raised his hands, and failed when he lowered them?  Does this mean that Moses had some kind of divine power?  Or that God Himself was guiding the battle, through Moses’ hands?  Weren’t the men the ones actually fighting, then?

In the Talmud, Tractate Rosh Hashanah 29a, the sages wonder about this situation, and end up with a very deep answer:  “Did Moses’ hands control the war?”  The text explains that as long as the children of Israel raised their eyes to the heavens and surrendered their hearts to God, they felt courageous and strong, but when they didn’t, they went off course and were defeated.

According to this answer, victory did not strictly depend on the hands of Moses or on divine power, but rather on something much more simple and human.  Triumph depended on the trust held by the people concerning their own ability to face and overcome this new challenge.  Moses’ hands did nothing, but when the people raised their eyes to heaven, they were reminded of the existence of a superior being, giving them strength and support so as to face the challenges of life.  Only then did they recover their courage and bravery.

How often does it happen, at different times of our life, when we have to overcome a new obstacle and without knowing exactly why, we convince ourselves that we are not able to do it and, therefore, we “successfully” fail.

Perhaps it is an exam, a new project, a business deal, or even when we fall in love.  We deem ourselves not suited, not the ideal person expected by the person standing before us.  But at the same time, we fervently wish to reach that place, to pass the test, to succeed in the project, in the business, in our love.

As this week’s parashah teaches, trust in ourselves is what is needed.  Not to expect miracles or redeeming leaders, but rather faith in our Creator, Who sustains us and strengthens us and, furthermore, to convince ourselves that we are sufficiently capable of reaching the goals we so yearn for.

 Whenever we’re lost, in the midst of some battle, frightened, full of uncertainty and misgivings, let us raise our eyes to the heavens to recover the trust in ourselves, without expecting some miraculous hands to act in our behalf.

As it is written in Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from?  My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”