Stop Praying – Go Forth and Act!

By RABBI MARC ISRAEL

Parashat Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:15)

Parashat Beshalach is best known for its inclusion of Shirat HaYam, the song of the sea that Moses, Miriam, and the Israelites sang as they crossed the Sea of Reeds, extolling God for bringing them through safely and saving them from their enemies. It is a story we all know well, if not from our seder on Passover, then from the dramatic scene in The Ten Commandments in which Charlton Heston raises his arms and staff into the air or, more recently, in the Prince of Egypt.

What comes just before it, however, may not be as familiar. After the final plague, Pharaoh agrees to let the Israelites go. But when they are already on their way, Pharaoh changes his mind and chases after the fleeing Israelites. As Pharaoh's chariots get closer and closer, the Israelites are more and more frightened and cry out to God. They then say to Moses, "Was it for want of graves in Egypt that you have brought us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt?" (Exodus 14:11) Moses tries to reassure the people, telling them that they will see God's saving power that very day, for God will fight on their behalf.

In a striking scene, God then turns to Moses, and says, "Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. And lift up your rod and hold out your arm over the sea and split it, so that the Israelites may march into the sea on dry ground." (Exodus 14:15) This is remarkable on two different levels. First, according to the text, it was the Israelites, not Moses, who cried out to God; Moses' speech was to the Israelites. Second, what would be wrong with calling out to God in this situation? With Pharaoh's army closing in behind and a sea in front of him, who could blame Moses for saying a quick prayer?

Rashi, the great medieval commentator, explains that while there is no mention of Moses praying to God, God's response "comes to teach us that Moses was standing in prayer." In other words, Rashi assumes that Moses is praying because God responds to Moses as if he had prayed. Yet the more interesting question remains: what was wrong with praying at this moment?

Rashi uses a rabbinic midrash to explain what is happening: "The Holy One of Blessing said to Moses, 'Now is not the time to prolong prayer, when Israel is placed in distress.'" In other words, God is telling Moses "Don't stop and pray—do something to help the people!"

This same idea is reflected in a Hasidic story that is told about Rabbi Yaakov David from Mezritch. Rabbi Yaakov David went to Kotzk, where he asked after the well being of his mentor Rabbi Shlomo Lev. Then he added, "I love [Rabbi Shlomo Lev] very much, but why does he cry out all day to the Holy One of Blessing that God should send the Messiah? Why doesn't he cry out to his brethren, the people of Israel, that they should turn away from their ways, for then the Messiah will come!" (This story appears in the collection Itturei Torah edited by Aaron Jacob Greenberg)

Judaism is not a passive religion. We do not expect that God will do for us what we can do for ourselves. If we want God to redeem us, we have to work for that redemption; no amount of prayer will help if we do not take responsibility for our own lives and for the people around us. If we want to experience God's care, then we too must take care of the stranger, the widow and the orphan, and the needy in our midst.

We need not only look to ancient text for such inspiration. The Reform Movement's machzor (High Holiday prayer book) includes the following contemporary poem, "We Cannot Merely Pray to You" by Rabbi Jack Riemer, which captures this idea so beautifully:

We cannot pray to You, O God, to banish war, for You have filled the world with paths to peace, if only we would take them.

We cannot pray to You to end starvation, for there is food enough for all, if only we would share it.

We cannot merely pray for prejudice to cease; for we might see the good in all that lies before our eyes, if only we would use them.

We cannot merely pray, 'Root out despair;' for the spark of hope already waits within the human heart, for us to fan it into flame.

We must not ask of You, O God, to take the task that You have given us. We cannot shirk, we cannot flee away, avoiding obligation for ever.

Therefore, we pray, O God, for wisdom and will, for courage to do and to become, not only to look on with helpless yearning as though we had no strength.

While prayer is a central component of Jewish life, it is something we do regularly at set times each day. At the most urgent times, ironically, those times when we may be most likely to look to God, these passages comes along to tell us, no, stop praying, go forth and act.