In last week’s parshah, B’Shalach, the Jewish people were trapped between the sea on one side and the advancing Egyptians on the other. Moshe turned to Hashem in prayer, and Hashem instructed him to raise his staff and stretch his hand over the waters to part the sea. The Jewish people then entered the sea.
Our sages explain that the actual entry into the sea wasn’t as simple as it seems. The Torah tells us that “the Children of Israel entered into the sea, on dry land.” When they first entered, the sea was still the sea; only once they entered did it turn into dry land. According to the Gemara, there is a difference of opinion as to what exactly happened.
According to a midrash in T’hilim, when the tribes were standing on the shore of the Red Sea, none of them wanted to take the first step into the water. Yehudah was given the monarchy because Nachshon ben Aminadav, who was from the tribe of Yehudah, decided to take that first jump into the sea. This leap into the water was necessary to move B’nei Yisrael from their paralyzing fear of change. At that time, Moshe was in the midst of prayer and God instructed him to pay attention to his people who were already in the water and instruct the others to follow. The act of Nachshon ben Aminadav was what allowed the tribe of Yehudah to merit the monarchy, and it turned Yehudah into a leader.
Looking around at all the difficulties that we face daily, it may seem very hard to do Hashem’s will. At times, we may feel that we are closed in at all sides, just like the advancing Egyptians and crashing waves. While our situations and problems may change, they always seem to lead us down a dead-end road. We must remember that Hashem is just testing us, and all we have to do is follow Nachshon’s example. If we become hesitant or afraid of leaping into the water, we will not find our way out. We must “jump into the sea” with m’siras nefesh, without being concerned about the problems that make it seem impossible. Just like Nachshon, every Jew is capable of reaching the pinnacle of devotion and complete trust in Hashem. When a Yid resolves to perform Hashem’s will with total disregard for the obstacles, Hashem provides a way to overcome the obstacles.
List of People Who Need a R’fuah Sh’leimah (a complete recovery)
Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.
Yossi Azriel ben Chayah Michal
Aviel ben Ktziyah Batyah
Eliyahu ben Sophia
Mordechai ben Rachel Anba
Nissim ben Devorah
Ezra ben Farida
Yossi ben Vardit
Yaakov ben Mazal
Nissan ben Yael
Yehoshua ben Miriam
Eliyahu ben Miriam
Aharon Mordechai ben Sharon
Moshe ben Rachel
Gavriel ben Imo Shalom
Marik ben Tamara
Yitzchak ben Chanom Chanah
Yosef ben Leah
Shlomo ben Miriam
Shalom Baruch ben Malkah Freida
Ilay Eliezer ben Rivah Rivkah
Tovah Yocheved bas Esther Bukas
Ruchamah Perel Malkah Leah bas Chanah Serel
Esther Hadasah bas Devorah
Alizah bas Miriam
Shoshanah Shurah bas Zina
Luna bas Rachel
Malkah bas Miriam
Malkah bas Reicha Shifrah
Adele bas Adi
Evon bas Sally
Karen bas Rachel
Chavah bas Sarah
Brachah Chanah bas Sarah
Tovah Chanah bas Sarah Devorah
To add names of individuals who need a r’fuah sh’leimah to next week’s T’hilim column, please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and complete the Google form.