Uncomfortable questions for comfortable Jews

Although the title (as some of you know), is taken from the famous book by R. Kahane, our topic is quite different- it's just a little insight on this week Torah portion.


Jews are taken out of Egypt (E.), and slavery's left behind- or so it seems- until they are to face their masters in hot pursuit, driven all the way to the sea, helpless, and miserable- WHY?
Why G-d is doing this to me/us- we all ask in such dreadful situation.

And here's the point- this question ASSUMES something- namely- that life is supposed to be COMFORTABLE - but the bitter truth is- IT IS NOT!!! Some of us are going to learn this lesson a hard way, as these days we are enjoying great level of comfort (possibly, unmatched in any given generation!)- and yet, when the world hits you back, you HAVE to face this UNCOMFORTABLE realisation- which eventually may become your stepping stone to greatness!
As R. Noach Weinberg puts it, this is the CHOICE Torah gives us- Life or ..Death.!
Really? I never understood that literally, but R. Noach is making a simple point- We choose between Comfort (staying where we are) and Action (ALWAYS uncomfortable, even painful- but certainly with a reward- no pain, no gain, as they say!). Now, what is the ESSENCE of this choice- what is the ULTIMATE COMFORT? Death! And Life is about Action! (This world is called Olam ha Asiya- the World of action- precisely for that reason!)

And yes, life is UNCOMFORTABLE- as our sages put it, both Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel came to that realisation. But from spiritual perspective, we can grow ONLY by making right choices- stepping out of our comfort zone- getting out of Egypt!

"Никто не обещал, что будет легко"- life is not meant to be easy- it's meant for GROWTH!

Greatness of Nahshon ben Aminadav, who stepped into the sea, became possible under the huge pressure of the dreadful situation Jews found themselves in- in other words, HUGE problem became a HUGE opportunity for greatness!

Our sages tell us, we should be doing what we are good at, and at the same time, should life present us with a challenge- let's remember- WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO DO WHAT IS UNCOMFORTABLE!

2 questions we can ask ourselves (to wake up!)

1. When was the last time I did something that was UNCOMFORTABLE- because it was the RIGHT thing to do ?

2. Is there something I'm AVOIDING that is the right thing to do- simply because it's uncomfortable ?



Let's cross the sea of our fears- to see it split!