My Track Record

17: Perhaps you will say to yourself, these nations are more numerous than me; how will I be able to drive them out?’ 18: You must not fear them. You must remember well what God, your God, did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt. 

The Torah says outright that we’ll look across the battlefield, see an enemy that is larger and stronger than us, and think, How will I ever stand against that? That’s not weakness. That’s human.

Any soldier standing at a border, looking at enemies who outnumber them, has heard that voice inside: They’re too many. I’m too small. This is impossible. But the Torah’s response isn’t military strategy or motivational slogans. Instead, it says: Remember Egypt.

At first, this sounds like no answer at all, as what does Egypt have to do with the modern battles of the future? But victory isn’t about weapons or numbers; it is about perspective. It’s about remembering that our story has always been improbable. By every human calculation, Am Yisrael should not have survived Egypt, Babylon, Rome, Crusades, Inquisition, or pogroms. And yet, here we are.

Our history is not theoretical; it’s proven again and again that the Jewish people don’t survive because we are the biggest or strongest. We survive because God carries us. That’s why the pasuk insists: “Hashem Elokecha” (God, your God). Not a distant God of stories, but your God. The one who is on your team, who has already walked with your ancestors through impossible battles and who walks with you today.

And then comes the punchline: “You must not fear them.” The Torah doesn’t just promise that the enemy will fall, it tells us we don’t need to waste our energy on fear. Imagine that. Soldiers live with adrenaline, commanders plan for worst-case scenarios, families next to their the phone for the call, but the Torah is whispering: you don’t need to fear, because you’re not fighting alone.

Think about how radical that is. In the world out there, you can do everything right and still live with constant fear, because things beyond your control can sink you at any time. The best CEO can pour everything into their company, but lose everything with one market shift. Fear never leaves. But God is saying here: when you live aligned with my will, you’re not the CEO of chaos anymore. You’re part of my company. And in my company, the outcome is guaranteed. Not only does the job get done, but you don’t have to burn energy worrying whether it will.

God isn’t just saying, “Trust Me.” He’s saying, “Look at My record. I’ve done it before, I’ll do it again. And if you live as my people, you don’t even have to fear.”

So the next time that little voice comes in; “They’re too many. It’s too much. I can’t handle this,” remember Egypt. Remember the track record. And remember: you don’t need to carry fear when God is carrying you.

Shabbat Shalom!