Doubt is not a Deal-Breaker
Don't Wait For Perfect Faith to Take Action
Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.” So God led the people round about (vayasev), by way of the wilderness at the Sea of Reeds. Now the Israelites went up armed out of the land of Egypt. (Exodus 13:17-18)
[God] found them in a desert region,
In an empty howling waste.
[God] engirded them (y’sovvennu), watched over them,
Guarded them as the pupil of God’s eye. (Deuteronomy 32:10)
In Beshalach we read that the straightforward path is not always the best path. God deliberately takes the Israelites on a twisted journey to prevent them from having a change of heart. God doesn’t harden their hearts outright (resolving them to leave), but, just as with Pharaoh, God doesn’t leave their decision up to free will, either. With high stakes, and high emotional volatility, God won’t take a chance. It is often said that there are two ways to deal with an addiction: 1) change your desire 2) remove the temptation. While changing the desire to return to Egypt would be preferable, God opts for a practical approach: remove the temptation of Egypt by making it too difficult to return.
The Israelites who left Egypt were the most heartfelt and committed and yet even they were not fully sure of themselves. Most Israelites chose not to undertake the challenging journey at all. But even the ones who left, we are told, were full of doubt. Throughout their journey in the desert, the people complain. Thus, God’s observation about the people’s “regret” proves foreboding.
The Torah is not written in a straightforward manner. Biblical critics apply Occam’s razor to this observation and insist on a complex editorial process involving cutting and pasting different sources. Yet we can also imagine that a disjointed, “out of order” Biblical narrative expresses a divine intent, namely, to lead us out of slave-consciousness to a more enlightened state. The path of the reader and the path of the religious seeker mirrors the path of the ex-slave. It would be so easy to turn back if the path were linear, so God creates a kind of maze, one in which the only way out is through.
While some faith is needed to undertake the journey, what matters more is action. Having left Egypt in haste, the people have demonstrated their unconscious desire for change. Even if they are half-hearted they are underway. God accepts this non-perfectionism. Start with some modicum of Exodus energy, then worry about the details as you go. A later retelling of the same events in Deuteronomy reuses the word sovev with a new inflection. In Exodus, God “turns” the people away from war, lest they be afraid. In Deuteronomy God engirds the people, protecting them. In the one, the point is that the people are directionally moved, in the other, that they are spiritually enclosed. God protects the people, in other words, not just from the threat of Pharaoh, but from the threat of their own psychological demons. This is their reward for taking action.
According to Mei Hashiloach, Moses sees the doubt of the people and is perplexed. Why would God take the people out of Egypt if they are still spiritually incomplete? He takes up Joseph’s bones to draw upon the energy of Joseph as he realizes that his job as a leader is not to answer this question but simply to step up and make the best of the situation. The difference between Moses and the people is highlighted by this commentary. While the people need God to “baby” them, Moses accepts upon himself the responsibility of leadership. His job in the moment of leaving is not to ask theological questions (are the people ready for this?) but to accept the mystery of God. Mei Hashiloach explains why the appearance of Joseph’s bones follows directly from a discussion of the twisted route.
Considering that Genesis ends with Joseph committing his heirs to take his bones out of Egypt, the bones symbolize hope. Moses grips them when he finds himself at risk of accepting the contagious doubt of the people. So too, we can think of Joseph’s bones in a more allegorical sense as expressing the bi-directional promise between ancestors and descendants. Our ancestors didn’t sacrifice themselves so that we could remain slaves in Egypt. Even if we ourselves might, at times, prefer comfortable oppression to uncertain adventure, we have to make the journey for their sake. Ironically, by connecting to his ancestors, Moses finds his own unique strength and responsibility. He shifts from being a consumer to becoming a producer. As a leader, it is not enough to evaluate the people and condemn them, you have to accept responsibility for their delta. Thus, the crooked path of the people also proves to be the needed path for Moses’s leadership journey.
Shabbat Shalom,
Zohar Atkins
P.S.—I’m not the first nor the only to say it but for those curious about Tikkun Olam, I tell the story on Christian podcast “Plough.”
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