Between Mountain and Sea

You know the feeling: we wake up to the realization that the world isn't as we would like it to be. A common experience, but there are many ways how to react.

One man embarks on a quixotic crusade to change the world. A second gives up on the world and retreats into whatever protective walls he can erect around himself. A third takes the "practical" approach, accepting the world for what it is and does his best under the circumstances. A fourth recognizes his inability to deal with the situation and looks to higher authority for guidance and aid.

The Ten Plagues forced Pharaoh to let Israel go. After two centuries of slavery, the Jews were headed toward Mount Sinai and a covenant with G-d to be a "light unto the nations." Indeed, the goal of the Exodus was, as G-d told Moses "upon leaving Egypt, you will serve G-d at this mountain."

But the sea was right ahead, as Pharaoh's army closed in behind. Egypt was alive and well. The sea was oblivious to the new nation's destiny.

How did they react?

The Midrash tells us that the Jewish people divided into four camps. Some said "Let us cast ourselves into the sea." A second group said "Let us return to Egypt." A third faction argued "Let us battle the Egyptians," and a fourth camp advocated: "Let us pray to G-d."

But Moses rejected all four options, telling Israel, "Fear not, stand by and see G-d's salvation today; As you see Egypt this day, you shall not see them again, forever. G-d will fight for you, and you be silent."

The Midrash explains that "Fear not, stand by and see the salvation of G-d" is Moses' response to the desperates who wanted to plunge into the sea. "As you have seen Egypt this day, you shall not see them again," is meant for those ready to surrender. "G-d shall fight for you," is the answer to those who wished to do battle, and "you shall be silent" is Moses' rejection of those who said, "This is beyond us. All we can do is pray."

What are we to do when caught between a hostile world and an unyielding sea? "Speak to Israel," G-d told Moses, "let them go forward."

The road to Sinai was rife with obstacles and challenges. The same is true of the road from Sinai, our 3,000 year quest to implement Torah ideals in our world. Now, as then, there are several possible responses to an adverse world.

There is the "Let's throw ourselves into the sea" approach of those who despair of resisting, much less impacting, the big bad world out there.

Let us plunge into the sea, they say, the sea of the Talmud, the sea of piety, the sea of religion. Let us sever all contact with an apostate and promiscuous world. Let us build walls to protect ourselves from the alien storms outside, so we can foster the Sinai legacy within. In the chasidic idiom such a person is 'a tzaddik in peltz--a righteous man in a fur coat.' There are two ways to warm up on a cold day: you can build a fire, or wrap yourself in fur.

When the isolationist tzaddik is asked, "Why do conserve your own warmth? Why don't you build a fire to warm others as well?" he replies, "What's the use? Can I warm up the entire world?" If you point out that one small fire can thaw several frozen individuals, who may, in turn, create enough fires to warm a corner of society, he just doesn't understand. He is a perfectionist. There's no place for partial solutions in his life. "It's hopeless," he sighs with genuine sadness, and retreats into his spiritual Atlantis.

Plunging into the sea is not an option, argues the Submissive Jew. G-d placed us here. Our mission is deal with it, not escape it. We'll just have to lower our expectations.

This Exodus was obviously a pipe dream. How could we presume to liberate ourselves from the rules and constraints that apply to everyone else? To be G-d's "chosen people" is nice, but we are a minority, dependent on Pharaoh's goodwill that holds sway in the real world.

It is our duty to influence the world. But a Jew has many duties: it is his duty to pray thrice daily, to give charity and observe Shabbat. So we'll do what we have to. Yes, it's a tough life, keeping the laws while not antagonizing the neighbors; but who said that being a Jew is easy?

A third response to a hostile world is the Fighting Jew. He knows that it is wrong to escape the world, and equally wrong to submit to it.

So he takes it on, both barrels blazing. The Fighting Jew strides through life with a holy chip on his shoulder, battling immorality, apostates, antisemites, "Hellenist" Jews and non-fighting Jews. Not for him is the escapism of the first camp or the subservience of the second, he knows that his cause is just, that G-d is on his side, and ultimately he will triumph. If the world won't listen to reason, he'll knock some sense into it.

THE SPIRITUALIST

Finally, there is the Jew who looks at the world, looks at the first three camps, shrugs his shoulders and lifts his eyes to heaven. He knows that turning his back on the world is not the answer, neither is surrendering to its dictates and conventions. But he also knows that "The Torah makes peace in the world, for its ways are pleasant, and all its paths are peace."

"You hope to peacefully change the world?" say the other three camps. "When was the last time you looked out the window? You might as well try to empty the ocean with a spoon."

"You're right," says the Praying Jew. "Realistically, it can't be done. But who's being realistic? Do you know what the common denominator between the three of you is? Your assessments and strategies are all based on natural reality. But we inhabit a higher reality. Isn't the very Jewish existence a miracle? Ours is the world of the spirit, of the word."

"So basically your approach is to do nothing," they counter. "Again you are employing materialistic standards," answers the Praying Jew, "a world that views prayer as 'doing nothing.' But prayer from the heart can achieve more than a secure fortress, a flattering diplomat or powerful army."

True, it is important to safeguard and cultivate all that is pure and holy in the Jewish soul, to create an inviolable sanctum of G-dliness in one's own heart and one's community. True, there are times when we must deal with the world on its own terms. True, we must battle evil. Certainly we must acknowledge that we cannot do it all on our own. True, each of these four approaches have their time and place. But neither is the vision to guide our lives and define our relationship with the world about us. When headed toward Sinai and confronted by a hostile or indifferent world, our response must be: go forward!

Not to escape reality, not to submit to it, not to battle it, not to deal with only on a spiritual level, but to go forward. Do another mitzvah, inspire another soul, take one more step toward your goal. Pharaoh's chariot-eers are breathing down your neck? An impregnable sea bars your path? Don't look up; look forward. Move toward Sinai.

When we do, that insurmountable barrier will yield and that ominous threat will fade away. Despite "evidence" to the contrary, we have the power to reach our goal. Even if you have to split some seas. If only we move forward.