Parashat HaShavua - BeShalach
Under what circumstances do we send others away, or are we sent away by others, and what determines whether that parting of ways is productive? Three Torah portions employ the root word shalach - “send” - in their names, and things do not go so well all three times. In Sefer Bereishit, the Book of Genesis, “Yaakov sent messengers ahead to Esav his brother / וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח יַֽעֲקֹ֤ב מַלְאָכִים֙ לְפָנָ֔יו אֶל־עֵשָׂ֖ו אָחִ֑יו,” (Gen. 32:4) because he was nervous that Esav would avenge the theft of the firstborn’s blessing. These messengers see Esav heading towards them with four hundred men, which Yaakov perceives - inaccurately it turns out - as a threat. He panics and goes into crisis mode, ultimately for no reason.
In Sefer BeMidbar, the Book of Numbers, God instructs Moshe to “Send out for yourself men who will scout the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to Bnei Yisrael / שְׁלַח לְךָ֣ אֲנָשִׁ֗ים וְיָתֻ֨רוּ֙ אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן אֲשֶׁר־אֲנִ֥י נֹתֵ֖ן לִבְנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל.” (Nu. 13:2) Here the scouts don’t just convey information that is misinterpreted, they convincingly share their misperception of what they see to such a degree that they doom their generation to dying in the desert instead of entering the land. Another sending gone wrong!
This week we read BeShalach, when Pharaoh sends Bnei Yisrael out from Egypt. Immediately, however, there is a catch: God is going to take them a roundabout way to avoid war. (Ex. 13:17) And not long after that, Pharaoh pursues them because he regrets letting them go. (Ex. 14:5)
What is it about the act of “sending” that seems to repeatedly go wrong? An answer to this question occurred to me from the coincidence that Israeli poet, lyricist and author Yoram Taharlev passed away this week. One of his iconic songs, “Noach,” has therefore been on the radio almost constantly, and this brought to mind Noach’s successful “sending” at the end of the flood story: “he sent forth the dove, and it no longer continued to return to him / וַיְשַׁלַּח֙ אֶת־הַיּוֹנָ֔ה וְלֹא־יָֽסְפָ֥ה שֽׁוּב־אֵלָ֖יו עֽוֹד.” (Gen. 8:12)
What is the difference between this sending and the others? One possible answer is that in fact this isn’t the first “sending” attempt by Noach, but the fourth. The repeated need and opportunity to send the dove - a combination of practice and further planning - caused Noach to succeed where others did not.
I think there is a deeper difference as well. When Noach sends away the dove, he and the dove are in the same boat – literally and figuratively. Perhaps, because they are totally sympatico, there is a better chance of success and less of a chance of misunderstanding or miscommunication as a result. In other words, whereas the previous examples of sending represent more a parting of ways, for Noach it is more about partnership. Further evidence of the value of true partnership in Noach’s life can also be found in his relationship with God, when we are told, “Noach walked with God / אֶת־הָֽאֱלֹהִ֖ים הִתְהַלֶּךְ־נֹֽחַ” (Gen. 6:9).
Additionally, as we mark Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, it is also noteworthy that this idea was prominent in his life, as he implored us - quoting the prophet Michah (6:8) - to “not fear to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.” (March 25, 1965, “Our God is Marching On”)
May we also experience any sending or parting - whether for the sake of journeys we undertake or those undertaken by others - as the product of partnership with God and one another.
Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head
Rabbinic Advisor