The name of our portion is Beshalach, “when Pharoah sent them away,” yet the main section is about his chase after them. Something is calling out from the text to look a little closer. There seems to be a push and pull of opposites, the letting go and the wanting. Like Charlie Brown who pined after the Little Red- Haired Girl, we want what we can’t have. Pharoah finally makes a decision to let go and yet he can’t live with it. The text reads:
Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Phillistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war, and return to Egypt.”
The word root “nacham” is related to “comfort,” yet it’s used here to indicate rerouting, and a “change of heart.” There is a play going on here with comfort and change with neglecting and wanting. Change is the antithesis of comfort. This “leaving” for the Israelites is uncomfortable. Even God thinks that they will want to return. Both the Israelites and Pharoah want to go back to what they had before. Moving forward with a new set-up, even though it is better for everyone, causes agitation and the desire to return.
We must ask ourselves two questions: What we are taking for granted while it is in our lives? What do we need to release even though it causes us great discomfort and pain?
Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Bernstein
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