Beshalach: One Lesson the World Needs to Hear
We knew the war against Hamas was going to be painful and long. And indeed, it has proved as such. Over three months on from Hamas’ heinous terrorist attacks on 7th October, every new dawn brings with it horrific news of yet more dead IDF soldiers, of sirens alerts as another batch of rockets are fired over the border, or of more desperate pleas from the families of the hostages who still remain captive of Hamas in Gaza. So how, amidst all the tragedy and darkness, can we maintain our faith, our strength, our hope? The short answer is, I don’t know. But perhaps one answer can be found in this week’s Torah portion of Beshalach.?
For the past two weeks, we have read of the Ten Plagues, each one hardened Pharaoh’s heart, but ultimately collectively broke his resolve. This week, we read how, once freed, the Israelites left Egypt in a hurry only for Pharaoh to change his mind and send his army in pursuit. God famously splits the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land, before bringing the waves crashing back down on the Egyptians and drowning them as a result.
Then, towards the end of Beshalach, as the Israelites continue their journey through the desert towards the Promised Land, we read the following:??
Then, at Refidim, Amalek came and attacked Israel. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose men for us, and go out and do battle against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had directed him, while Moses, Aharon, and Hur climbed to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held his hand high, the Israelites prevailed, but whenever he let his hand drop, the Amalekites prevailed. But Moses' hands grew heavy. So they took a stone and placed it under him and he sat, while Aharon and Hur held up his hands, one on each side, so that his hands held true until sunset. And Joshua overcame Amalek and his people by the sword. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial on a scroll, and commit it to Joshua’s ears: I will erase the memory of Amalek, utterly, from under the heavens.” (Exodus 17: 8-14)
Reading this passage in the context of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas, I found myself captivated by the words and the imagery those words paint. Within them, I found a number of similarities between then and now, together with some meaningful messages that - though, perhaps, obvious in parts - are worth emphasising, particularly as we find ways to get through the dark days that inevitably lie ahead.
An understanding of who Amalek was: Tragically, in every generation there have been those individuals, organisations or nations who have sought the death of the Jewish people. Amalek did not just represent a group who attacked the Jewish people at a particular time in history. Instead, as our Sages teach, Amalek represents our enemies throughout the ages, for all time. Their attack on the Jewish people at Refidim was simply the first of its kind: a well-planned, surprise, and unprovoked irrational act of terror on a weary, tired, and free people on their way to fulfil their destiny in the land of Israel. Amalek targeted the most vulnerable - the young and old - and, as Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808 - 1888) noted, “sought praise and glory through garlands soaked in blood.”?
How true this was of Hamas’ terrorist attack on 7th October. They deliberately chose to attack Israel when our backs were turned (so to speak), on our festival of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. On that dark day, celebrations were shattered by the sound of sirens, the barrage of thousands of rockets, and the infiltration of thousands of terrorists who “sought praise and glory through garlands soaked in blood.” By the end of the day, 1200 people had been massacred and 240 innocent civilians had been taken captive to Gaza. Another dark chapter in Jewish history had been written in blood.
Those who fight: In the verses, we read how Moses summons Joshua and tells him to “choose men for us” who will “go out and do battle against Amalek.” Commenting on these phrases, Rashi (1040 - 1105) suggests that Joshua was encouraged to select men who were both strong and “sin-fearing” in the hope that “the merits they have accrued might assist us in victory.” Today, the men and women soldiers of the IDF share a common fate. But, as we have seen from the inspirational videos online, from the very religious to the very secular, they also share a common faith. When they collectively sing Shema Yisrael Hashem elokheinu Hashem echad, “Listen, Israel: the LORD is our God and the LORD is one”, one cannot help but see that they are all strong and sin-fearing individuals and that it is in their merit that victory will come. They are the modern-day equivalent of those who went into battle against Amalek in the days of Moses and Joshua.
The power of unity: As Joshua heads off to fight, we read in the verses that Moses heads to the top of the mountain so he can observe the battle from above. Rabbi Hizkiya ben Manoah (known as the Hizkuni who lived in the 13th century) and other commentators suggest that Moses did this because the sight of him up high would encourage the men as they fought in the valleys below. Accompanying Moses was his brother Aharon and Hur, who was the son of Moses' sister Miriam. What was as important as seeing Moses, the leader, was for the Israelites to see that he was being accompanied by Aharon and Hur. In the heat of the battle, it was a sign of unity; the siblings (or, in Hur’s case, as a representative of his mother) were together for the good of the people.?
The same is true today. In Israel, the disagreements that happened in the immediate months preceding 7th October, especially around judicial reform, have been put on hold. We pray there will come a time to disagree once more, but for now there is a renewed and inspiring sense of society and solidarity. Israeli citizens of all backgrounds and ages have laid down their opinions and picked up their guns to fight for their freedom and our land.
The power of prayer: We read in the verses that whenever Moses held his hand high, the Israelites would gain an advantage in the battle. Yet whenever his hands were lowered, Amalek would gain the advantage. The Malbim (1809 - 1879) suggested that this was directly related to prayer:?
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Israel found success on the battlefield when they followed Moses' lead and joined him in prayer. In those moments, they demonstrated their faith in God and in His servant. For when Moses raised his arm, it was Israel’s merits that allowed them to prevail. But when he lowered his hand, that signified that the nation’s sins were too overwhelming and that the people lacked faith in God. It was at those times that the Amalekites prevailed.
The lesson for us today is clear. There is the physical and intense battle that is being fought by the soldiers of the IDF in Gaza. In reality there is little that those of us not present on the frontlines can do to support those efforts from the military perspective. But throughout Jewish history, from the days of Amalek to the days of Hamas, the many battles we have had to fight have never simply been about having the boots on the ground. They have had a spiritual dimension to them as well. Today, our prayers need to storm heaven once more. This is a battle we can all contribute to through our tefillot (prayers), tzedakah (charity), acts of chesed, and the way in which we interact with each other and our neighbours.
Collective responsibility: We are told that when Moses' hand grew heavy, Aharon and Hur took a stone and placed it under Moses so he could rest. Then each of them took one of Moses' hands and held them up for him, so as to ensure the battle against Amalek would be won. I found this image to be incredibly powerful. Imagine, for a moment, that Moses represents the IDF soldiers today, and Aharon and Hur represent the people of Israel and the Jews in the Diaspora. When times have been tough, and our heroes and leaders have got weary, needing to rest. At these moments of high tension, it has been the Israeli population on one hand, and the Jews of the Diaspora on the other that have continued to hold the IDF soldiers’ held hands high, however challenging the situation may be. We have spoken up, spoken out, volunteered, rallied, marched, lobbied, donated, prayed, and done whatever we could to offer our support and strength to those in Israel who need it most, to those brave IDF soldiers who are fighting on behalf of us all. Never before has there been a greater sense of collective responsibility and togetherness. It has been one of the most remarkable outcomes of such tragic circumstances.
Memory as memorial: In the passage, we read how God says to Moses that he should record this battle in the history books - “Write this as a memorial on a scroll, and commit it to Joshua’s ears.” Why was this a specific instruction from God? Because, argues Rabbi Sacks (1948 - 2020):?
There is a profound difference between history and memory. History is his story – an event that happened sometime else to someone else. Memory is my story – something that happened to me and is part of who I am. History is information. Memory, by contrast, is part of identity. I can study the history of other peoples, cultures, and civilisations. They deepen my knowledge and broaden my horizons. But they do not make a claim on me. They are the past as past. Memory is the past as present, as it lives on in me.
The message about Amalek then, and Hamas now, is clear. These two enemies (together with others like the Nazis) did not just rise up against us in history. Their actions are permanently seared into our collective memory. Every Jews, religious or secular, anywhere in the world has been impacted by Hamas' traumatic attacks in the most profound ways. It is one of those moments that will stay with you for life. We will forever remember where we were on 7th October. The date will be marked down in the Jewish calendar as a day of national mourning. Yet in Judaism, we remember not just to remember, but to use those memories as the foundations on which to build a better world for our children and future generations. That is why God told us to write a memorial about Amalek on a scroll. Today’s memorial might be the internet and social media, but the premise is the same. We should never forget, then or now.
This Saturday, on the 27th January, the world will mark International Holocaust Memorial Day. It is a day in the calendar which not only commemorates the liberation of Auschwitz in 1945, but also when the world is called upon to remember the Holocaust, the greatest tragedy to have ever befallen our people, and the greatest crime of human against human in history. Six million innocent Jewish souls perished. The world said "Never Again". Yet on 7th October, the Jewish people, once again, witnessed a tremendous loss of life when more Jewish souls were brutally massacred on a single day than on any other previous day since the Holocaust. We remember them all, together with all those IDF soldiers that have fallen in the war since.
It is those souls who, like Aharon and Hur, are also holding up Moses’ hands today. Each one of them, a precious member of our people, sacrificed themselves so that the State of Israel could exist, and we could stand proudly as Jews, anywhere in the world, and sing Am Yisrael Chai, the Jewish people live. The battle against Hamas is far from over. Tragedy will still await us each morning, but victory will be achieved. Out of the ashes of 7th October will emerge a stronger State of Israel, a stronger Israeli society, and a stronger Jewish people worldwide.
So if there is one lesson the world needs to know from this week’s Torah portion of Beshalach it is this: the State of Israel and the Jewish people know exactly who we are fighting against, and, equally importantly, we know exactly what we are fighting for. In the passage of Beshalach quoted at the start of this article, we are told that Moses' “hands held true until sunset”. The Hebrew word used in the verse for “true” is emunah which also means “faith”. The message is clear: When you fight a battle where you have truth and God on your side, you will win.?
In today’s battle against Hamas, the Amalek of our time, the State of Israel and the Jewish people have truth and God on its side. At the close of Beshalach, God says: “I will erase the memory of Amalek, utterly, from the heavens.” May He also erase, utterly, from our world not just the physical manifestation of Hamas, but the memory of Hamas as well. This has to happen for the sake of the State of Israel and its citizens, for the sake of the Palestinian people who have, for too long, been used as Hamas’ pawns, and for the sake of the world and all those who value life over death and good over evil. War is messy, fighting Amalek is hard. But there is no other way.
Shabbat shalom.