B’shelach (Exodus 13:17-17:16) Bitterness and Hope: Our Choice?

The drama and sweep of events again catch us this Shabbat. This portion takes us from the very edge liberation through to the first steps of redemption. The Midrash and commentaries explode with interpretations on everything from Pharaoh’s hardened heart, to Nachshon’s leap of faith, to the celebratory dancing following the crossing of the sea that included Miriam’s timbrels. There is so much here. The portion ends with a harsh warning about Amalek, a warning that continues today.
But this week I want to call your attention to the period after the Israelites set out on their journey. They go round and round and, not surprisingly, discontent sets in almost immediately. Moses is tested. Eventually they come to the waters of Marah (Exodus 15) and we read of the fact that they could not drink from the waters “because they were bitter” (15:23)
How can we look at this word “marah”? (yes the same in the Seder)
In a wonderful comment on this, Abraham Twerski (z’l) notes that you can read the “they” (in Hebrew “haim”) as referring not to the waters but to the Israelites. They were bitter! Play with that word a little. Twerski: “In psychiatric practice this is frequently encountered. A person who is depressed may complain that everything he eats has a bitter taste. In these instances the bitterness is not in the food, but in one’s taste perception.” (“Living Each Week” p.141)
There is an adage that says that “attitude is everything”. I think that this Twerski comment means much to us as we grow older. All of us have tasted some bitterness in life. Some carry that bitterness into our times now. Certainly, there is enough bitterness in the world in which we live to account for feelings of unease and depression. I think, however, that this passage can send us a message that despite the bitterness that we may have experience, are experiencing either personally or in the outside world, we can still reach into our souls and reject that bitterness. A challenge from our tradition is to find the good, the hope, the sacred in each day and choice. It may be difficult, but how we choose to react and adapt to that bitterness can shape how we choose to live our life. To give in to life’s bitterness is to reject hope.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Richard Address

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