The Game Plan
The Game Plan
When an individual, business, organization or community is faced with a challenge, there are often a variety of ways to respond to the issue. One group may easily give up when the problem seems insurmountable. A second group may choose to compromise their values and quality in order to avoid a greater potential loss. A third group may try to aggressively oppose and resist the challenge. And yet a fourth group may passively sit back and hope things will work out on its own.
For millennia, the Jewish people were barred from certain professions and trades and were forced to live in specific geographic areas, Shtetls or ghettos. Over the last few centuries, with the modernization and democratization of much of the civilized world, the Jewish people have been given unprecedented opportunities to integrate into the larger society. While these new liberties introduced great opportunities for economic growth, it also brought along great challenges to Jewish traditions, practice, and continuity.
Many ideological differences of opinions emerged from within the Jewish community as to how to best approach these great threats of assimilation and as a result various groups were formed. Some were of the opinion that we should isolate ourselves and recreate the “Shtetl” in modern times while limiting interaction with the outside world to the bare minimum to avoid external negative influences. Others felt that in order to integrate into the broader society there was a need to compromise on Jewish practice, customs and beliefs that seemed incompatible with western culture so that we retain at least the most essential components of Judaism. Some felt that we should make it our life’s mission to battle anti-Semitism, inequality or other types of bigotry as a way ensuring the continuity of our people. While yet another group felt we should just be passive and leave it up to G-d to fix the world’s problems.
There is also an altogether different approach. What all of these four groups have in common is that they each view the development of the modern world as a threat to Judaism, they differ only in how to deal with it. However, the Torah teaches us that the world is an actual manifestation of G-d's energy and therefore can never become a true obstacle to fulfilling our purpose in life. Our job is to reveal the beauty of the world around us thereby making a home for G-d in this world. The modernization of the world is only meant to heighten our awareness of this truth and give us the tools to positively impact the world around us.
In this week’s Torah portion, Beshalach, we learn about a great challenge and eventual miracle that occurred at the start of the Jewish people’s journey in the desert following their exodus from Egypt. On the seventh day since their exodus, the Jews found themselves trapped. They faced a sea in front of them and the Egyptians chasing them from behind. They formed four groups with different opinions as to how to overcome this great challenge. As the Midrash states: “As they stood at the shore of the sea, the people of Israel split into four factions. One said: ‘Let us cast ourselves into the sea.’ A second said, ‘Let us return to Egypt.’ A third said, ‘Let us wage war against the Egyptians.’ A fourth said, ‘Let us cry out to G‑d’.”
When Moses turned to G-d to ask which of these four plans of action would be the correct response, G-d replied that neither one of them was the correct approach at that time. Rather, they should continue to proceed and carry out the mission they were given and continue traveling towards Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. As the verse states: “The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them travel (Exodus 14:15)”.
According to the Midrash, the sea had not yet split when G-d told the Jews to enter it. The people hesitated, until the prince of the tribe of Judah, Nachshon ben Aminadav, jumped in. Only then did G-d tell Moses to raise his hand and split the sea. Nachshon knew that G-d had instructed the people to travel to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. He was therefore singularly unimpressed with the obstacles that stood in the way. The fact that a sea stood between the people and their final goal did not faze him. If he had to jump into the sea and keep going until he would reach Mount Sinai, so be it.
When we are faced with a challenge, be it in our personal or professional lives, our overall plan of action should be to continue going forward and not let the obstacles dictate our approach or hold us back from our goals. Although there may be times that it is necessary to deal with a challenge head-on, our general focus should be to keep moving ahead in doing the right thing. By doing so we’ll receive the divine assistance in successfully attaining our goals.
When the Jewish people are faced with a crisis or great challenge, instead of just giving up, compromising, protesting and resisting, or remaining passive, we should focus instead on moving forward with our divine mission and increase our study and teaching of the Torah and observance of the Mitzvot while utilizing the new opportunities and liberties available to us to transform the world into a home for G-d and serve as “a light unto the nations (Isaiah 42:6)”.
We must learn from Nachshon ben Aminadav not to be fazed by the obstacles that surround us, and not to rely on others to bring change to the world, but rather each of us should lead by example and bring the ultimate redemption to the world.
As Maimonides famously states: “A person should always look at himself as equally balanced between merit and sin and the world as equally balanced between merit and sin….if he performs one mitzvah, he tips his balance and that of the entire world to the side of merit and brings deliverance and salvation to himself and others”.
