“Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. So, Moses said to Joshua, Pick men for us, and go out and fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand. Joshua did as Moses had told him, to fight against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur ascended to the top of the hill. It came to pass that when Moses would raise his hand, Israel would prevail, and when he would lay down his hand, Amalek would prevail. Now Moses’ hands were heavy; so, they took a stone and placed it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one from this [side], and one from that [side]; so, he was with his hands in faith until sunset. Joshua weakened Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword (Shemos 17:8-13).” 

Amalek attacked us without cause or reason. Moshe tasked Yehoshua with organizing and leading the army into battle. As Yehoshua mobilized the fighting force, Moshe ascended the mountain and raised his hands in supplicatory prayer. The Torah then says, “Now Moshe’s hands were heavy.” But what does this mean? Of course, the literal meaning is obvious, yet it is strange that something so “mundane” would appear in the midst of this miraculous story. The fledging Jewish nation was not comprised of warriors; it was Divine intervention which saved the day. Couldn’t God have given Moshe a bit more strength? What is the Torah trying to teach us? Rashi comments, “Since he had been lax in [the performance of] the commandment [of warring against Amalek] and had appointed someone else in his stead, his hands became heavy.” Instead of answering our question, Rashi compounds it; why didn’t Moshe lead the army himself? Why did Moshe delegate this responsibility to Yehoshua?

The Lubavitcher Rebbe zt’l provided an incredible insight. Moshe’s initial inclination was, in fact, to lead the army himself, but he then questioned this approach. As we will learn a bit later in the Torah, God created age restrictions for army service. No man younger than 20 or older than 60 could serve in the standing army of the Jewish nation. Moshe Rabbeinu was 80 years old, and therefore, decided to hand over this military responsibility to Yehoshua. The problem, explains the Rebbe, is that when one sees a Jew in need, when one sees our nation in crisis, he must put his personal cheshbonos (calculations and ideas) on the side, roll up his sleeves, and spring into action. Although Moshe’s logic was sound, God didn’t want logic. He wanted quick and decisive action on behalf of the nation. He didn’t want Moshe to delegate; He wanted Moshe to act. God conveyed this message to Moshe through the heaviness of his hands. You were heavy or slow to spring into action while your nation was in crisis. You should not have delegated this to Yehoshua; you should have led the charge yourself.

The Rebbe’s profound insight yields two very important lessons. Lesson #1: When you see a Jew in need, don’t think – act. When there is a crisis, we can get caught in the planning of the response when, in fact, we need to mobilize and help. When you see someone suffering, don’t think about the best person to help, roll up your sleeves and do something. When you see something that is broken, don’t wait for the most capable person to fix it, try to make a difference right here and now. Lesson #2: Don’t spend your entire life planning. There is a time to plan and a time to act. Too often in life, we put all our energy into planning and thinking. We have the 6-month plan, the 2-year plan, and the 3-decade plan. Our plans are polished, well-thought-out, and fully detailed. There is only one problem; we keep the plans neatly filed on our desk – but we never execute, and we fail to engage in dynamic activity. There are times in life when one must stop planning and thinking and start doing and acting. This does not mean that we should not plan and think ahead. We must be forward-thinking people who are able to see beyond our current circumstances. We must be careful to avoid overthinking things to the point of inactivity.  Thinking and planning are important – but so is doing.

Yehoshua led the army to victory (with God’s help), but the Torah tells us, it should have been Moshe. We too at times get a bit “heavy,” laden with planning and personal calculations. There is a time to delegate and a time to plan, but we must always be ready to seize the opportunities, to act, perform, and make a difference.

Dedicated in memory of Fraida bas Moshe Yosef z’l by her loving family.

“Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea, and they went out into the desert of Shur; they walked for three days in the desert but did not find water.” (Exodus 15:22)

The Jewish people had seen miracle after miracle. The plagues, the splitting of the sea had culminated in the singing of the jubilant shira (song), Az Yashir. But now it was time to travel forward and embrace destiny. It was time to journey to Mount Sinai, receive the Torah and solidify our identity as the nation of God. Moshe told the people to ready themselves for the journey ahead, but they didn’t want to leave the banks of the Red Sea. The verse states, “VaYasa Moshe es ha’am mi’yam suf (Moshe led Israel away from the Red Sea)” and Rashi comments: “Moses led Israel away: lit., made Israel journey. He led them away against their will, for the Egyptians had adorned their steeds with ornaments of gold, silver, and precious stones, and the Israelites were finding them in the sea”.

Rav Zalman Sorotzkin (1881-1966), in his work titled Oznayim LaTorah, provides an incredible insight. With the crossing of the sea, the Jewish nation was catapulted to the heights of prophecy.  They were able to see and perceive God in ways unimaginable to us. They sang with Moshe; they sang with Miriam and with each song felt closer and more connected to God. When Moshe told them, it was time to leave, they responded with one simple question, “Why?” Why would we leave this place of incredible holiness? It is here that we have experienced and connected with the Divine. Is this not the promised land? Is this not what we aspire to? Why would we want to be anywhere else but here? You have told us about Mount Sinai and the Land of Israel, but all we need spiritually and materially is right here. We feel no need to journey any further. And it was in this moment that Moshe taught the people an incredible lesson.

There are times in life when you must leave that which is comfortable and known for the opportunity to seize an even greater destiny. The banks of the Red Sea are wonderful – but there is something even better. In order to seize it, you will have travel into the desert of the unknown, give up your security and comfort and strike out into the wilderness. It appears that the people were unmoved by Moshe’s argument and so “VaYasa Moshe es ha’am (Moshe forcibly moved the people).”

There are times in life when we find ourselves by our personal Red Sea. I find a spot in life which is comfortable, predictable and secure. I settle on the banks of my life’s river and I feel good. It is a good spot spiritually and materially and I feel like I can dwell here for a long time. After all, what we crave most in life is predictability and security. But in those moments when we want to settle on the banks of our Yam Suf, the voice of Moshe whispers in our ears, “It’s time to move, it’s time to break camp, it’s time to travel to Mount Sinai.” In those moments in life when we get to ready to settle down and “coast” we must push ourselves to do more and be more. In those moment when we happily reflect on our accomplishments, we must ask ourselves, “what’s next?” Real growth only occurs when you are willing to leave your comfort zone and strike out into the unknown. May we find the courage to leave the banks of the Red Sea, venture into the desert, find meaning at Mount Sinai and continue travelling to our promised land.

Dedicated by the Schreck family in memory of Fraida bas Moshe Yosef z’l

It was the first of many battles. The fledgling Jewish nation was acclimating to its newfound freedom and emancipation. After 210 years of barbaric servitude and mistreatment we witnessed the demise of our former tormentors. We had hoped for peace and tranquility; unfortunately, this was not meant to be.

“Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. So, Moses said to Joshua, ‘Pick men for us, and go out and fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ Joshua did as Moses had told him, to fight against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur ascended to the top of the hill. It came to pass that when Moses would raise his hand, Israel would prevail, and when he would lay down his hand, Amalek would prevail. Now Moses’ hands were heavy; so they took a stone and placed it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one from this [side], and one from that [side]; so he was with his hands in faith until sunset. Joshua weakened Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” (Shemos 17:8-13)

Amalek attacked us without cause or reason. We did not threaten their nation or land. They attacked the stragglers, the weak and elderly, and so we were forced to fight. Moshe tasked Yehoshua with organizing and leading the army into battle. Yehoshua mobilized the fighting force and Moshe ascended the mountain to pray on behalf of the people. Moshe raised his hands in supplicatory prayer, yet the Torah tells us, that his “hands were heavy.” Why the need for this piece of information? What is the Torah trying to teach us? Rashi comments, “Since he had been lax in [the performance of] the commandment [of warring against Amalek] and had appointed someone else in his stead, his hands became heavy.” Why did Moshe delegate this responsibility to Yehoshua instead of leading the army himself? What is the deeper message to be gleaned from this entire episode?

Rav Kalonymos Kalman haLevi Epstein (1751-1823) in his sefer Maor V’Shemesh says, “What does it mean that Moshe’s hands were heavy? It means that Moshe’s strength weighed him down.” Moshe’s hands were filled with so much potential, strength and ability. He was carrying around so much power that his hands felt heavy. He didn’t think he could lead the army out, but he was wrong. He was weighed down with potential he didn’t even realize he had. Moshe appointed Yehoshua because he felt that he (Moshe) did not possess the requisite skill set to meet this challenge. Moshe was wrong. His hands were laden with the potential.

This is the profound message the Torah is trying to convey. We each possess so much incredible potential of which we are profoundly unaware. At times we find ourselves enveloped by the Amalek of life and we look to others to solve our problems and fight our battles. Life Amalek can only be vanquished with hand to hand combat – and it must be our own hands. We must realize that like Moshe, our hands are heavy with potential. Even if at times we feel unprepared and unqualified for the challenges which arise we must remember that the strength to succeed is somewhere within. May we find the strength to lift our hands, discover this potential and find success on the battlefield of life.

“Amalek came and fought with Israel in Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, ‘Pick men for us, and go out and fight against Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ Joshua did as Moses had told him, to fight against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur ascended to the top of the hill. It came to pass that when Moses would raise his hand, Israel would prevail, and when he would lay down his hand, Amalek would prevail. Now Moses’ hands were heavy; so they took a stone and placed it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one from this [side], and one from that [side]; so he was with his hands in faith until sunset. Joshua weakened Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” (Shemos 17:8-13)

It was the first of many battles. Amalek attacked us without cause or reason. We did not threaten their nation or land. We were simply a newly emancipated people on our way to embrace our newfound destiny. But they attacked the stragglers, the weak and elderly, and so we were forced to fight. Moshe tasked Yehoshua with organizing and leading the army into battle. Yehoshua mobilized the fighting force and Moshe ascended the mountain to pray on behalf of the people. Moshe raised his hands in supplicatory prayer, yet the Torah tells us, that his “hands were heavy.” Why the need for this piece of information? What is the Torah trying to teach us? Rashi comments, “Since he had been lax in [the performance of] the commandment [of warring against Amalek] and had appointed someone else in his stead, his hands became heavy.” Why did Moshe delegate this responsibility to Yehoshua instead of leading the army himself?

The commentaries share many insights, but I would like to share with you a novel interpretation by the Lubavitcher Rebbe of blessed memory. The Rebbe explains that Moshe’s initial inclination was in fact to lead the army himself. But he then felt that this could be contrary to the will of God. As we will learn a bit later in the Torah, God created age restrictions for army service. No man younger than 20 and older than 60 could serve in the standing army of the Jewish nation. Moshe Rabbeinu was 80 years old and decided to hand over this military responsibility to Yehoshua. The problem, explains the Rebbe, is that when you see a Jew in need, when you see your nation in crisis, one must put their personal cheshbonos (calculations and ideas) aside, roll up their sleeves and spring into action. Although Moshe’s logic was sound, God didn’t want logic, He wanted quick and decisive action on behalf of the nation. He didn’t want Moshe to delegate, He wanted Moshe to act. God conveys this message to Moshe through the heaviness of his hands. “You were heavy or slow to spring into action. You should not have outsourced this to Yehoshua, you should have led the charge yourself.”

The Rebbe’s profound insight can be amplified. The Torah is teaching us that there is a time to plan and there is a time to act. Too often in life we put all our energy into planning and thinking. We have the 6-month plan, the 2-year plan and the 3-decade plan. Our plans are polished, well thought out and fully detailed. There is only one problem: we keep the plans neatly filed on our desk, but we never execute; we fail to engage in dynamic activity. There comes a time to stop planning and thinking and start doing and acting. This does not mean that we shouldn’t plan and think ahead. We must be forward thinking people who are able to see beyond our current circumstances. However, we must be careful to avoid overthinking things to the point of inactivity. Thinking and planning is important – but so is doing.

Rav Kalonymos Kalman haLevi Epstein (1751-1823) in his sefer Maor V’Shemesh says, “What does it mean that Moshe’s hands were heavy? It means that Moshe’s strength weighed him down.” Moshe’s hands were filled with so much potential, strength and ability. He was carrying around so much power that his hands felt heavy.  He didn’t think he could lead the army out, but he was wrong. He was weighed down with potential he didn’t even realize he had. This is the message for us. We must plan when possible. We must try to be “ro’eh es ha’nolad, to anticipate future results and repercussions.” We should not throw caution to the wind. But at the same time, we must understand that sometimes we must act even if we don’t have all the answers and information in hand. There are times when we must engage the battle of life, even if we think we are unprepared. We must remember that each of us possess hands which are heavy and weighed down with potential. May we find the strength to lift our hands, discover this potential and find success on the battlefield of life.