Dear Friends,
During Passover we read about the song at the sea which is part of our prayer service when we sing Mi Chamocha. We give thanks to G-d for allowing us to escape the Egyptians and to cross through the Red Sea on dry land.
It is interesting to note several things about this passage from Exodus and from our prayer book. First of all, we know that Nachshon is the one who took the first step into the Sea and that the miracle only occurred once Nachshon showed that he had faith that G-d would help him and then the miracle occurred. How many times do we wait for a miracle to occur in our lives and expect someone to make it happen for us? We need to be active partners with G-d in the work of tikkun olam….repairing our world. Although Nachshon showed faith in G-d, I often wonder whether G-d has faith in us that we will do our share to make the world a better place.
Second, we note that G-d helped us to go through the water on dry land….not only did G-d help us through the Red Sea, but G-d didn’t even let us get our feet wet…Once Nachshon went into the water, G-d performed the miracle that allowed us to get through with dry feet. How often do we think that we have done enough by performing a mitzvah, but could have even been more conscientious and yet are satisfied that we have done enough….which leads to the third point…
How do we ever know if we have done enough to repair our world? Each of us is so busy and there are so many causes in which to get involved….
I hope that during the final days of Pesach this year, we will liberate ourselves from apathy and will do as much as we can( maybe it will never be enough, but we are also taught that we are not required to finish the task, only to participate in it..).
May we be inspired to do ALL we can to help others.
B’shalom,
Rabbi Bruce
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by MasonHillel. MasonHillel said: Passover Dvar: Dear Friends, During Passover we read about the song at the sea which is part of our prayer service… http://bit.ly/d066Vo […]