- Clergy
- Shabbat
Sometimes I get frustrated with having food allergies. Sure, not being able to eat mangoes or almonds is definitely a little disappointing (they look so good!), but the trouble mostly lies in the amount of self-advocacy I have to do in order to keep myself safe and healthy when I go out to eat. There is both a layer of stress involved with the possibility of some cross-contamination and a botched evening and one of embarrassment at being the only person in a group who has to ask additional questions and make adjustments to dishes. I dread the idea that my food will come out with something I can’t eat accidentally included or that something was omitted from the description on the menu. However, irrational as it may be, what I dread more than the accidental ingestion of an allergen is the moment at which I have to speak up about it and complain. Nobody wants to feel like a complainer.
And yet, in our Torah this week, we learn that complaining is a Jewish tradition dating all the way back to the time of the Exodus from Egypt. Parshat BeShalach tells the story of the final moments of the Exodus; the Israelites leave Goshen and journey towards the Red Sea, which they cross miraculously on dry land. In their great joy and relief, the people burst into song, singing the Song of the Sea, the origin of the Mi Chamocha we sing today! Because of this, the shabbat during which we read parshat BeShalach is called Shabbat Shirah, a shabbat of song. However, in all of our singing and rejoicing, we sometimes miss a crucial episode that takes place just after the song.
Once they are safely away from Pharaoh, Moses leads the Israelites three days into the wilderness… but they find no water. When they finally do find a source at Marah, they discover that it was too bitter to drink.
וַיִּלֹּ֧נוּ הָעָ֛ם עַל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹ֖ר מַה־נִּשְׁתֶּֽה׃
“And the people complained against Moses to say ‘what shall we drink?’”
The people complained against Moses. Just three days after they were literally jumping for joy and singing chart-topping songs of freedom (for 5000 years and counting), the people already have complaints? How could this be? Surely they are now aware of God’s power and the special connection that God has with Moses! What more could they need?
For starters, they needed some water. We know now that human beings can survive for weeks or even months without food, but water is a different story. Our bodies are around 60% water, and we cannot survive for more than about three days without it. At this point, after a long journey from Egypt, we can assume that the Israelite people were nearing critical levels of dehydration. They did not complain to be difficult, rather they complained to alert the high and holy God and Moses to the earthly needs of the people they had just rescued.
In response to their complaint, Moses cries out to God, and God shows him a piece of wood. Moses (naturally, I guess) throws the wood into the water and it becomes sweet and potable, thus saving the Israelites a second time.
Just like me and my food allergies, nobody wants to be a complainer. However, just like me and the Israelites, sometimes a person needs to complain to preserve life and health! There are many moments when speaking up for ourselves or for others feels isolating and scary, but our tradition teaches us that we have to do it. When life is on the line, we must complain to the highest power we can to change the conditions. Our ancestors never forgot the joy they felt when they were freed from Egypt, and neither do we. They also always remembered to advocate for their survival, and so will we.
Shabbat Shalom,
Jeff Silverstein