God and the angel: leaders and protectors

Torah Study

RABBI DEBORAH PIPE-MAZO
B'shalach/Exodus 13:17-17:16

Portion overview:

The Children of Israel escape across the Sea of Reeds from Pharaoh and his army, who drown when God drives back the sea.
Moses and the Israelites sing a song praising God.
In the wilderness, God provides the grumbling Israelites with quails and manna. God instructs the Israelites to gather and prepare on the sixth day food needed for Shabbat.
The people complain about the lack of water. Moses hits a rock with his rod and brings forth water.
Israel defeats Amalek, Israel's eternal enemy. God vows to blot out the memory of Amalek from the world. (Exodus 17:8-16)

Focal point:

The angel of God, who had been going ahead of the Israelite army, now moved and followed behind them; and the pillar of cloud shifted from in front of them and took up a place behind them, and it came between the army of the Egyptians and the army of Israel. Thus there was the cloud and the darkness, and it cast a spell upon the night, so that the one could not come near the other all through the night. (Exodus 14:19-20)

By the way:

Rabbi Judah said (the following about the Israelites as they stood, afraid, at the shores of the Sea of Reeds): One said, "I will not be the first to go down into the sea." The other said, "I will not be the first to go down into the sea." Whilst they were debating with each other, Nachshon ben Aminadav (of the tribe of Judah) plunged with his tribe after him into the waves of the sea. For this reason, Judah was granted dominion in Israel. (Talmud, Sotah 36b)

Shabbat discussion:

Why were the Israelites led by both the angel of God and the pillar of cloud (God)? How do the roles of God and the angel differ?
In order to be effective, must a leader position himself/herself in the front?
What kind of spell do you think God and the angel cast?
Can you think of a time when we, the Jewish people, had aggressors coming at us from the front and the back? Did we, collectively, feel God carry us?
Do we demand too much from our leaders, expecting them, like God, to be present for us 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

D'var Torah:

This week's Torah portion teaches that leading and protecting a population are not easy tasks. At times, God and the angel need to be in the front. At other times, they need to be in the back.

We know that throughout the Israelites' desert wanderings, the Mishkan (Tabernacle), a symbol of God's leadership, was borne in the midst of the people. We surmise, therefore, that leadership does not depend on the position from which one governs. True leadership is defined by the possession of a strong character, a clear vision, flexibility, and an ability to react to a crisis at a moment's notice.

In our day, it is also important for a leader to show the characteristic of humanity. However, we should remember that human leaders are not God: They are not omnipotent, infallible, and omniscient, as God is, nor can we expect them to be.

Rabbi Deborah Pipe-Mazo is the director of rabbinic services for the Central Conference of American Rabbis. Torat Hayim, produced by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, is on the Internet at www.uahc.org/growth.

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