Yitro: Facing Amalek After the Sea Splits

Exile and redemption, the story of our collective and personal lives. Mirroring the stories of the Torah to our current situation, we can place ourselves in exactly the beginning of our Parsha when Yitro comes and joins the nation. The Torah describes close to 2,500 years in five short books, like the story between Adam and Noach was 1,000, and from Abraham’s vision to the redemption from Egypt was 400, but still are read in weekly portions that go by so quickly.

Honestly, when I was younger and heard about the Holocaust that happened 55 years prior, that number seemed like an eternity and whoever was above that age was old. But now as I enter my 31st year I realize that 100 years is a really short period of time. Overall, the stories of Tanakh are condensed into short readable paragraphs although in real time they took much longer than the time we read them, so when we relive those episodes in our modern times we shouldn’t be surprised at the slow pace we are moving.

As with every exile, we go through the good times first, the downward slope into the thing that will be the core of our prison, the torture, the glimmers of hope, the fight to survive, the breaking point and rock bottom, the ascent. On a personal scale this is compared to the relationship that blossoms, the love on our sleeves, the breakup, the thoughts of getting back together, the denial, depression, and from there, the way up to rehabilitation and the return to a life lived.

But this is the cycle of a twelve year old before his Bar Mitzvah, he only waits for the day to arrive but has no plan for the day after. That is where the next steps come into play, we need to be convinced that life will be different afterwards and not just be the usual programming like up until now. The shift that will change our minds and cement that new life into our beings so that from that day forward we will be heading to higher and greater heights. Just the thought of open options and not being tied down by a master leads to chaos and ultimately being chained down in the imprisonment of the soul, even if the cops never show up. It is dreaming about freedom but still remaining focused on what that freedom will do for you.

We saw the sea split and as the Pasuk (Exodus 14:31) states, “And they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant.” The pivot into a new direction took place when a path opened up through the waters. Going back to the way it was before the exile was never an option, the problem is that is the only idea of bliss we were able to think of until this day. All we ever wished for throughout the darkness was to feel light again, and the only taste of light was the one we felt so long ago. But we aren’t going back in time, seasons have changed, people have come and gone, it is now that we have to shift our yearning for light into a new light still unseen.

But that new path will always have an Amalek midway. For in every generation the war of Hashem battles the Amalek tyrant. Rashi (Exodus 19:2) points out “That just as the Yidden arrived at Sinai with Teshuvah, so too when they left Refidim, they left with Teshuvah.” On the forefront we question what Rashi tries to tell us here? First off it should be said in the reverse tone, Just as they left so did they come, why then does he quote, they came just as they left? Secondly, what difference does it make?

Taking a new path while being invigorated to attain the light we longed for blinds the person from seeing clearly. It is like the child who always dreams about a certain toy but when he returns from the store he holds a different one all together. Why’s that? Because when he arrived and saw the array of options his excitement blinded him from his true objective and he allowed himself to be carried away for something shinier, and possibly better. The skip in his step had him forget about the true light he dreamed about for months and allowed an instant impulse to take its place. The same was with the Yidden who dreamed for comfort and light but when the path was wide and open before them they had no clue where to go. And instead of following the guidance of the grounded pillar of cloud, lost focus and drifted away.

Yitro sees the splitting of the sea and the war with Amalek and realizes that in order to move forward with life one must face the battles the new path brings forward. He has already chosen a new path earlier in life as we see in Rashi (Exodus 2:16) “He was the priest of Midyan and split himself from idol worship and was excommunicated by them.” He started walking in a new direction but was still facing the Amalek that tried suppressing his progress. He couldn’t figure out where to go and what to choose now that his options were wide open.

This is where Teshuvah comes in. The only way the Yidden were able to arrive at Sinai was through Teshuvah, and that is why they had to refocus their attention as they left Refidim, the battlefield with Amalek. When Yitro heard this he knew what had to be done, he had to choose and make the decision to join what he knew was real. He saw a people who kept moving on even after freedom was granted, he witnessed a nation who was determined for the prize they dreamed of and weren’t willing to settle for anything else and couldn’t allow even the greatest hardship to block their path. It was the power of Teshuvah that gave him the nudge to continue the path to true light.

This fits well with the verses in Numbers 10:29-34: as Moshe tells his father in law that they are trekking forward to the promised land and that he should remain with them as good will find him. “And the cloud of Hashem was above them all day as they traveled from the camps.” The pillar of cloud, the direction to purpose, was the guide to truth and the thing that smoothed the path before them, (see Rashi Ibid 10:34).

In our day and age, from the collective’s point of view, we are in a similar situation. We are free from exile but still have not yet landed. We are somewhere in between, a place of desert and dryland, somewhere but nowhere at the same time. We must remember that Teshuvah and prayer does not end as we find that parking spot, it is a tool that is ever presently used and constantly needed for our focus and direction. It is the source of humility especially at times when we feel that we have it all figured out. This is where we find ourselves today as a nation and this is where many of us find ourselves in our personal chapters in life. Don’t become arrogant and lazy when you make your first buck, keep it safe and protected as you continue gathering more and more along your path.

But now comes the best part, the commitment to the new life. This is not just for personal gain and a better life, although that may be the result of redemption, this is for our reunification with the light we so desperately cried for. Those little steps along the way to Sinai were the buildup to greatness, but it is true commitment that will establish it for generations to come. The formal formation of the bond with Hashem is the promise that will keep us bountiful and plenty for years to come. Much like a marriage that brings about generations like branches to a tree, so too through our commitment to Hashem we can be assured that we will no longer face the darkness of exile ever more.

It is through Teshuvah that we will arrive at Sinai once again. We must refocus our energy and combined efforts, “K’ish Echad, B’lev Echad,” so that we can be moving forward and taking the leap into the new path in our life.

And as is with every relationship we learn to ask the other, “What more can I do for you?” “Tell me what makes you feel good,” and we actually go ahead and do them. When we dedicate ourselves to being one with the One we are essentially giving up our low level freedom to the greatest love we can ever imagine. Yes, this means that you are tied and committed, but what kind of life can you buy for a single dollar? Choose to be connected and tie the knot, stand beneath the mountain and profess your love, keep your heart and mind aligned for the truest light of all, do the Mitzvot that makes Hashem happy, keep your focus with Teshuvah, and be redeemed for real!

Shabbat Shalom

David Lemmer

LemmerHypnotherapy.com