Parashat Beshalach

Parashat Beshalach is an action-packed Torah portion, that I think is totally worth the read, especially because we’re only going to focus on a small part of it. The piece of Torah that’s calling out to me this year is after the chaos of the Israelites finally leaving slavery in Egypt, having Pharaoh change his mind and send an army after them, Moses and God parting the Red Sea so the Israelites can cross, the Israelites singing a joyful song after the sea crushes the Egyptian soldiers that came after them (which is a whole conversation on its own) – but it feels just as chaotic.  

After 6 weeks of freedom, the Israelites started to grumble and mumble, and they basically told Moses and Aaron that they were better off dead or being enslaved in Egypt than they were in the desert (Exodus 16). Which may sound kind of nutty, right? They were finally able to be a free people, they had leaders from their own community, and they had this all-knowing/all-powerful being who should have been able to help them out and make their lives better, but they felt like this experience was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and they wanted out. 

Sometimes, we have everything we need but not everything we want, and it’s hard to be satisfied with what we’ve got. When you look back on your life, what was a time that you had what you needed but not what you wanted, and you were upset/frustrated/mad/etc. about the situation you were in? What did you learn about yourself from that situation? How do you navigate your needs and wants now, and how do you know when you’re doing alright? 

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