nothing is immutable

One of the most precious parts of every week is joining the KT Torah School during their prayer time with Rabbi Michelle.These kids have learned to pray, from their hearts, for what they care about most. Apparently, last week, when asked who they wanted to pray for, my younger child responded, “For every country who will be part of World War III.” 

When Rabbi Michelle told me this, my heart sank. 

Granted my kids have been playing a lot of Risk (a board game about imperialism). And we have been listening to a lot of Les Miserables and Hamilton, which leads to lots of talk about the French Revolution and the American revolution, respectively. So that is part of where this is coming from. 

Amidst all this talk of war, when they ask about WWIII I always assure them that hopefully there will never be another world war again. But they have also been asking me questions like “What if Trump allies with Putin and North Korea?” which is their way of expressing concerns we all share. Their questions are reasonable and I don’t have a rational answer. 

But I also don’t need one because Torah teaches me that miracles happen. 
That nothing is unchangeable, including the course of history. 

If at the end of this week, you, like me, are feeling we are collectively in need of a miracle (or several), you are not alone. (Take a lion’s breath with me. Roar if you can.)

This week’s Torah portion is replete with miracles. 
The story picks up after Pharoah has agreed to let the Israelites go. 

Rabbi Elliot Kukla writes, 
“As they fled slavery with their taskmasters in hot pursuit, they came up against the Sea of Reeds —a churning, impassable ocean. But suddenly, their horizon literally expanded: “Moses held his arm out over the sea and the Eternal One drove back the sea with a strong east wind all that night, and turned the sea into dry ground (Exodus 14:21).”

This was arguably the pivotal moment in Jewish history. We tell and retell the story of the parting of the sea in every weekday, Shabbat, and holy day prayer service, morning and evening. It is recounted in prayer more frequently than the details of the creation of humanity or the giving of the Torah.”

We learn in Pirkei Avot (5:4) that there were 10 miracles at the sea. Here are the miracles I noticed. Certainly it was a miracle that the sea parted. That it revealed dry ground in the midst of the sea (this is mentioned three times!). That children and elders could reach into the sea walls and grab pomegranates to satisfy their hungry cries. That Miriam had the spiritual resolve to lead the Israelites in song and dance. That the sea returned which prevented the Egyptians from continuing their chase on the other side. Moses turned the bitter water they found into sweet water. Then the oasis in Elim provided shade and water to rest and restore. And truly it was a miracle that the people were brave and scared at the same time, and found the faith to cross the sea.

Rabbi Kukla continues, “Why do we need to hear this story so often?
Because it is in this moment that we realized that nothing is immutable.”

This shabbat, may the merit of our ancestors open us wide like the sea, fill us with courage, song, faith and determination. And the knowing that the miracles we need are close at hand. 

In a week that has felt like quicksand, I am grateful for the reminder that dry ground appeared in the midst of the sea. May it be so!