The story of the crossing the Sea of Reeds (Red Sea) is the story of the Jewish people. We have to realize that in order to succeed we have to try. If we do not try, we will never succeed.
You Have to Step Into the Water
There’s a simple truth we all know from personal experience:
If you don’t try, you can’t succeed.
You may fail, sure—but without the attempt, success is literally impossible.
That idea sits at the heart of this week’s parashah.
The Jewish people have just left Egypt. Freedom is brand new, and already everything seems to go wrong. We find ourselves trapped at the Sea of Reeds. In front of us: water. Behind us: the Egyptian army charging full speed.
Panic sets in.
The Midrash tells us the people split into four camps:
- One group says, “Let’s go back to Egypt and be slaves again.”
- Another says, “Let’s fight the Egyptians.”
- A third says, “Let’s jump into the sea and end it all.”
- And Moshe turns to God in prayer.
God’s response is shocking:
“Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the people to move forward.”
In other words: Stop yelling. Start walking.
Only then does Nachshon ben Aminadav step forward. He enters the water. It rises—to his knees, his waist, his chest, up to his nose. And only then does the sea split.
The miracle does not come before the action.
It comes after the commitment.
God had already taken us out of Egypt. He had performed plagues, shattered an empire, and humiliated its gods. Now He asks one question:
What are you going to do to show Me you’re serious?
There’s an old joke about a deeply religious man who prays every day to win the lottery. Years pass. Finally, the angels ask God, “Why not let him win?” And God answers, “First, he has to buy a ticket.”
That’s the Sea of Reeds in a nutshell.
God doesn’t need us to perform mitzvot.
God doesn’t need our prayers.
We need them.
Our prayers are fixed and repetitive not because God needs to hear them said just right—but because we need to be shaped by them. Everything God commands us to do is for our benefit, not His.
Moshe makes this clear to the people:
- Going back to Egypt? Off the table.
- Fighting a professional army? Impossible.
- Suicide? Not an option—because there’s no future in it.
Judaism rejects the idea of sanctifying despair.
That’s why one of the most dangerous ideas ever spoken—especially during World War II—was the suggestion that Jews should commit suicide to awaken the world’s conscience. There is no redemption in self-destruction. Once you’re gone, the story is over.
Jews are not a people of victimhood.
Yes, terrible things have happened to us—but we do not live as victims.
Within three years of the Holocaust, the State of Israel was born. Jews fought, built, and created. We chose life and responsibility over despair.
That’s why the world pays attention to the Jewish people far beyond our numbers. We’re a fraction of a percent of humanity, yet our impact is outsized—because we don’t wallow. We act.
Like a quarterback who gets sacked: he gets up and runs the next play.
Standing at the Sea of Reeds, we didn’t wait to be rescued.
We stepped forward.
And that’s still our task today.
Individually and as a people, we make ourselves better not by waiting for miracles—but by walking into the water first.
Something to think about.
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