This week’s Torah portion is about the crossing of the Red Sea. We read about how Israel’s enemies pursued them, how the Israelites were stuck between the Egyptians and the sea, and how God parted the waters to save us.

And finally, we read about how the Israelites rejoiced when they got to the other side of the sea – how they sang and danced, and how they called out to God, “Who is is like you, Adonai among the mighty?”

The crossing of the sea was the greatest miracle of all time. But it was also a moment of triumphalism. In fact, the Song of the Sea contains a verse that, for me, is one of the most troubling verses in the Torah, “Adonai is a man of war.”

Perhaps, this year, we should really listen to the Song of the Sea, and we should really consider it’a words. And perhaps, we should take those words as a caution against triumphalism.

Once again, we are fighting for our survival. One again, our Israeli brothers and sisters are surrounded by enemies. And we all struggle to make our assessments. Are the civilian deaths necessary? Are there other ways that Israelis can find security? None of us knows for sure.

But we do know one thing. When God saw the Israelites dancing, the Midrash tells us, He berated them. “How can you dance,” asked God, “when my children are drowning?” And according to another Midrash God weeps even when a thief dies.

To be a Jew is to value the holiness of every person. And to be a Jew is to struggle to find a balance between the need to survive and the commandment to emulate God. As God is compassionate, so we must be compassionate. As God cries for the fallen, so we must cry for the fallen.

Ultimately, perhaps, we find God in the ability to hold multiple truths at once – in knowing that we must protect ourselves and in crying over every death.

David Hartman, one of the greatest Israeli rabbis of the 21st century, began one of his books with a quote from the ancient rabbis:

A person might think, “Since the House of Shammai declares a thing unclean and the House of Hillel declares it clean, this one says that something is prohibited and the other says it is permitted, How, then can I learn Torah?

Scripture says “Words… the words… These are the words…”  All the words have been given by a single Shepherd, one God created them, one Provider gave them, the Lord of all deeds, blessed be He, has spoken them. 

So make yourself a heart of many rooms and bring into it the words of the House of Shammai and the words of the House of Hillel, the words of those who declare unclean and the words of those who declare unclean. (Tosefta, Sotah 7:12)

In the end, peace won’t come from guns. Peace won’t come from rockets or tunnels or explosives. Peace will come when all of us – Jews, Arabs, conservatives, liberals – learn to make ourselves a heart of many rooms.

May God give us the strength to open up our hearts, to defend ourselves when we need to, and to have compassion for all humanity.

Shabbat Shalom,
Art