PARSHAT BESHALACH (by Yehuda HaKohen) “Pharaoh approached; the Children of Israel raised their eyes and behold! – Egypt was journeying after them, and they were very frightened; the Children of Israel cried out to HaShem. They said to Moshe, `Were there no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the Wilderness? What is this that you have done to us to take us out of Egypt?
Is this not the statement that we made to you in Egypt, saying, Let us be and we will serve Egypt? – For it is better that we should serve Egypt than that we should die in the Wilderness!’
Moshe said to the people, `Do not fear! Stand fast and see the salvation of HaShem that He will perform for you today; for as you have seen Egypt today, you shall not see them ever again! HaShem shall make war for you, and you shall remain silent.'” (SHEMOT 14:10- 14)
Understanding that Israel greatly outnumbered the Egyptian military at the Sea of Reeds, the Ibn Ezra provides a remarkable insight into the above verses. He writes: “How could a camp of six hundred thousand men fear their pursuers? Why should they not fight for their lives and the lives of their children? The answer is that the Egyptians had been Israel’s masters. The generation leaving Egypt had learned from childhood to bear the Egyptian yoke and they possessed a low soul. Being weak and unaccustomed to warfare, how could they now fight their masters? We see that Amalek came with a small force, and if not for Moshe’s prayer they would have weakened Israel. G-D alone does great deeds and orchestrates events. He arranged for all the males who had left Egypt to die out – because they lacked the strength to fight the Canaanites – until another generation arose who had not seen exile and who possessed an exalted spirit.”
The Ibn Ezra teaches us that despite their great numbers, Israel was not commanded to stand and fight. The Hebrews had been conditioned by several generations of slavery to fear and obey their Egyptian masters. Possessing a low soul made them near incapable of warfare, thus requiring Moshe’s prayers to later overcome the Amalekite ambush (SHEMOT 17:8-13). According to the Ibn Ezra, this low soul was the reason that the generation who left Egypt would later have to die out in the desert over a forty-year period. Their children – a new generation raised in freedom – would then be able to wage a war of liberation against the Canaanite kings.
The low soul that the Ibn Ezra speaks of is similar to what modern psychologists term “learned helplessness.” At various points in history, this slave mentality has prevented the Jewish people from effectively advancing our national interests. One example of this neurosis in recent decades is the confusion among many great scholars concerning the process of Redemption and how our people must relate to – and interact with – the historical events transpiring in our day.
Israel’s Prophets and ancient Sages teach that there are two ways in which the Final Redemption can occur. There is the miraculous way (achishena) and the more mundane natural process (bi’eta). Due to the bitter realities of life in the Diaspora, Jewish communities in recent centuries were conditioned to believe that the Redemption could only unfold through great miracles. Taking the initiative to advance salvation through physically conquering the Land of Israel became seen as forbidden in many “pious” circles. Several rabbis argued that Israel must sit patiently and wait for G-D to redeem His children. In the ghettos of Europe, where day-to-day life incorporated a fear of gentile brutality, the idea of Jews valiantly recapturing Eretz Yisrael by force of arms seemed even more an aberration of the natural order than HaShem performing actual miracles. As a result of this reality existing for so long, many Jews became trapped in this unconfident mindset even once the political reality surrounding them had changed.
Other factors also contributed to the Jewish idealization of learned helplessness in the exile. Because of the internal damage inflicted upon Israel by so many unsuccessful messianic movements, the study of the Redemption process was halted in most houses of study throughout Europe, leading to any attempt at bringing salvation closer through human endeavor becoming tantamount to an act of heresy. The combination of these factors created an expectation that the Redemption would occur through supernatural events above and beyond human participation. In fact, human effort to bring Redemption closer came to be viewed as a negative act stemming from weak faith.
Learned helplessness became most prevalent in Jewish circles during the years leading up to the development of political Zionism. The handful of Torah giants who understood that Hebrew liberation could – and most probably would – unfold through a series of natural historic events were unable to effectively spread their ideas or inspire the faithful masses to actively participate in the Redemption process. But by examining the words of these great scholars, we can recognize in hindsight how correct they truly were and how much their teachings still illuminate our proper path.
Rabbi Yehuda Chai Alkalai, the famed kabalist of Sarajevo, wrote of Redemption from within in Raglei Mevaser. In it he explains: “Redemption will reach us in a natural way. Had the Almighty wished to redeem His people through miracles, the exile would not have lasted so long. Moreover, in the present Jewish situation even a naturally attained Redemption would be miraculous. Redemption will grow from within the people and not with the Messiah performing miracles, as in the days of the Exodus from Egypt. Final Redemption will be the result of national initiative aided by G-D, as it is written: `And the Children of Judah and the Children of Israel will be gathered together’ (HOSHEA 2:2), and `Shake yourself from the dust, arise and sit down, O Jerusalem, release the bonds from around your neck,’ (YISHAYAH 52:2). Yishayah uses the reflexive form to emphasize that Redemption will stem from self-help.”
In his Reply to the Skeptics, Rabbi Eliyahu Guttmacher states: “To our great misfortune there are yet many who mistakenly believe that they will sit in the comfort of their homes when suddenly a voice from heaven will proclaim Redemption. But it will not be so! The Babylonian exile, though destined to last no more than seventy years, required the practical leadership of Daniel, Ezra and Nehemia to achieve a significant return to Eretz Yisrael. Unlike many of our own contemporaries they did not say `let every man remain at his place and Redemption will come of itself.'”
Rabbi Zvi Hirsh Kalisher illuminates the way to Redemption in Drishat Tzion. He writes: “It is wrong to believe that Redemption will come as a sudden revelation of G-D from heaven, calling upon His people to leave the Diaspora. The vision of the Prophets must come true, but not as a sudden event. Final Redemption will come in stages with the return of the people to the land and ultimately by the coming of the Messiah. Dear friend, you must rid yourself of the illusion that the call of the Messiah will come as a bolt from the blue arousing the sleeping masses. Redemption will come about through an awakening of well dispersed gentile leaders and governments, viewing favorably the return of Jews to the Holy Land.”
In Awake, Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever teaches: “Even though natural events will lead to Redemption, this is not simply an historical accident. There are no coincidences in the Universe, since G-D’s Will is also manifested in the course of natural events. Accordingly, it is for us to rouse the powers that be to treat the Jewish people favorably, whereupon Divine help will surely be forthcoming in the ingathering of the exiles to the Holy Land. As the Prophet proclaims (YISHAYAH 62:10): `Go through, go through the gates; clear the way of the people; cast up, pave the road; clear it of stones; raise a banner over the peoples.’ Yishayah’s intention is clear: we must awaken and do all in our power to clear away the obstacles in the path of our Redemption.”
The above scholars stressed the fact that human initiative would be necessary in bringing Israel’s Redemption to fruition. Their ideas were highly advanced for their time, especially when compared with many of their contemporaries. These teachings represent a Torah of action that challenges the psychological state of learned helplessness. While today we have clearly not yet tasted full Redemption, the process has certainly begun to unfold. There exists a sovereign Hebrew state in much of Eretz Yisrael but in order for us to participate in bringing total salvation, a higher approach to Torah must be adopted.
The holy Ohr HaChaim speaks of Redemption and self-awakening in his commentary on VAYIKRA 25:25. There he states: “Redemption will start with a stirring in men’s hearts urging them: Do you feel secure living in a strange land, exiled from your G-D? What pleasure does life offer so far removed from the lofty values that were yours in the presence of the Almighty? Superficial, ill conceived desire will then become repulsive and a spiritual craving will awaken your soul, improving your actions until G-D will redeem. Who will be called to stand in judgment? The Jewish leaders of the Diaspora who throughout the years did not encourage their people to return to Zion. They will be made to bear the shame of a forsaken homeland.”
In Eim Habanim Smeichah, written during the Holocaust that befell the Jewish people in Europe, Rabbi Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal echoes the Ohr HaChaim’s statements on the dangers of passivity. “The Orthodox, on the other hand, those zealous for G-D’s Will, stood aside and took no part in this [Zionist] effort. They remained with their traditional view that `sitting back and doing nothing is best’… It seems to me that all the leaders who prevented their followers from going and joining the builders [of Eretz Yisrael] will never be able to cleanse their hands and say `our hands have not spilt this blood.'”
A new generation has arisen today, infused with the living Torah of Redemption. It is a generation possessing an exalted spirit as Israel’s youth is again being raised on native soil. The homeland – which had for so long refused to provide fruits to any foreigner – has blossomed under the renewed sovereignty of her true people.
The vitality infused into the Jewish nation today has inspired incredible acts of valor and self-sacrifice, even amongst those not yet observant of mitzvot. At nearly impossible odds, Israel has won miraculous victories over our enemies. We have liberated portions of our homeland and revived the Hebrew language after many long centuries of separation from both. These incredible events are part of a greater process prodding history forward as Israel returns to being a major world player that will ultimately shine blessing and light to mankind. HaShem has inspired a new generation with a lofty spirit uncorrupted by fear or passivity. Israel’s healthy youth demands a greater and fuller Torah that encompasses all aspects of life while infusing them with the necessary Divine content to steer the Hebrew Nation towards complete Redemption. Shabbat Shalom.
With Love of Israel,
-Yehuda HaKohen
Am Segula
