תשפ״ה
Dvar Torah Beshallach The last parsha ended with the Israelites' hasty departure from Egypt; Now we find ourselves in the wilderness, with Egypt in hot pursuit. The hot Sinai desert ahead of us and only a few more weeks' journeys to the promised land. All this time Moshe has been promising freedom and leads the Israelites, not in a straight line from Egypt to Canaan, but southward to the edge of a swamp, a sea of Reeds; there we encamp, awaiting Hashem's word. The people become panicky and fear sets in. They complain we could have been on the way out of reach of Pharaoh, who is now in hot pursuit with 600 chariots and thousands of men. They scream at Moshe why have we not proceeded farther north? Why sit here on the swamp's edge? Why did you take us out of Egypt where we at least had food to eat and a place to sleep? Moshe takes their complaints to Hashem. Hashem answers, "Wherefore criest thou unto me? Tell the people ``Go forward." This demonstrates that Hashem's work on earth must be done by man. Miracles are made of personal commitment and personal action. Once the Sea has split the Israelites cross over into the Sinai desert with the Egyptians in hot pursuit. The waters close on the Egyptians and they drown before the eyes of the world. Moshe then sings a song of praise with the people to Hashem. A song so vivid in its imagery, that when we sing it on Shabbat Shira we can actually taste the flavor of victory and the joy of redemption.
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Rabbi Gabe Elias