Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

Today’s tomorrow

This Devar Torah was delivered as part of Year 11 Parent Information Night and Year 10 (2016) Prize Presentation

Erev tov

On Speech Night I shared the findings of The New Basics Report of the Foundation for Young Australians.

The Report reads:

“The changes we have been predicting are now on our doorstep … providing beyond doubt the growing demand for young workers to be enterprising individuals.”

For enterprising individuals, tomorrow is here today.

This week’s Parsahah is called BeShallach, meaning ‘sent, referring to the opening words of our Torah reading: “And when Pharaoh sent Israel forth from Egypt”.

Soon after being sent forth, the Israelites face their first challenge in seeing the future in the present.

Pharaoh’s armies are bearing down upon them from behind and the Promised Land is lying before them. Their present, however, reverts to their past and they are unable to see the future.

The Torah text relates:

“As Pharaoh drew near, the Israelites caught sight of the Egyptians advancing upon them. They became very frightened and cried out to God. They turned to Moses saying: ‘Was their a lack of graves in Egypt that you brought us out here to die? Why did you take us out of Egypt…it is better for us to be enslaved in Egypt than to die in the wilderness’.”

For these Israelites their future becomes lost as they remain enslaved to their past. The Torah tells us that these Israelites never entered the Promised Land.

What did Moses do at this critical moment?

We read: “But, Moses said to the people, ‘Have no fear…stand and watch God deliver you’.”

Here at Emanuel we always ask our students about being a good dugmah, an examplar, a role model.

Was Moses being a good dugmah?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides the following definition of an enterprising individual:

“One marked by an independent energetic spirit and by readiness to act.”

Moses is here displaying neither attribute, in fact he appears to be the opposite of an enterprising individual.

And, God is more in agreement with Merriam-Webster than He is with Moses.

God says to Moses: “Why do you cry out to me. Speak to the Israelites, tell them they must move forward”.

God is piqued. Moses does not see that the people are at a crossroads and that they must act, that only their enterprising selves can bring them a future different from their past.

Moses too, as we know, remained with these Israelites and did not cross over to the Promised Land.

We can give you awards but we cannot hand you your future. In giving you awards, we encourage you to work towards your future in the present. 

As you begin Year 11 we say to you: “Be enterprising, as this week’s parashah asks us to be”.

Carpe Diem, Seize the Day, understanding that tomorrow is here today.