(ט) הֲל֤וֹא צִוִּיתִ֙יךָ֙ חֲזַ֣ק וֶאֱמָ֔ץ אַֽל־תַּעֲרֹ֖ץ וְאַל־תֵּחָ֑ת כִּ֤י עִמְּךָ֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֥ר תֵּלֵֽךְ׃ (פ)
(9) “I charge you: Be strong and resolute; do not be terrified or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
When do you need courage the most?
How can God be with you in those moments?
If God could talk to you in those moments, what do you think God would say?
אמר לו רבי יהודה לא כך היה מעשה אלא זה אומר אין אני יורד תחילה לים וזה אומר אין אני יורד תחילה לים קפץ נחשון בן עמינדב וירד לים תחילה
Rabbi Judah said to [Rabbi Meir] This is not what happened, rather, this [tribe] said, "I will not be the first to go down to the sea," and this one said, "I will not be the first to go down to the sea." Then Nachshon ben Aminadav sprang forward and went down first to the sea
This is one version of what happened at the Red Sea.
Why do you think Nachshon dove into the sea? What gave him the courage?
When have you been like Nachshon?
Adonai watches over the stranger; He gives courage to the orphan and widow, but twists the path of the wicked.
ו וכמו שהיה מחכמת האלוה להסב אותם במדבר עד שילמדו גבורה
It was the result of God's wisdom that the Israelites were led about in the wilderness until they acquired courage.
This comes from a book of philosophy by the Medieval thinker Maimonides.
How can hardship give you courage?
What are some difficult things you have been through, and how did they change your outlook?
May Adonai grant strength to God's people; may Adonai bless God's people with peace.
How are strength and courage related to peace?
Rabbi Mimi Feigelson
(Mashpiah Ruchanit (spiritual mentor) of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles)
We are often in a rush to get out of uncomfortable situations. We want to solve problems as quickly as we can so that we need not dwell on them. But it appears that bracketing our stay in Mitzrayim with the word 'Mitzrayim' functions as an invitation to actually sit in this space. It seems that the only way out of this constricted state of being is by going through it, not by circumventing it! We can't overcome limitations that we've encountered unless we are willing to own our part in the situation: to be able to name and face our pain, to be able to claim our suffering, to be able to hold our loss. It is only then, when we see ourselves in the light of our darkness that we can truly leave it behind as we walk towards new horizons. We are being asked to dwell in our pain and discomfort so that we will be able to indeed move forward. Without this process, it would appear that we will never be free from that which enslaved us - we would carry it with us, creating new Mitzrayims wherever we journeyed next. We won't be able to truly leave it behind us. We need to be able to name the emotion so that we can find a remedy to heal it.
https://www.ted.com/talks/karen_thompson_walker_what_fear_can_teach_us#t-670036