Dear Friends,
I’ve often said that whenever one takes a shortcut and cuts a corner, all one is left with is a cut corner.
Short cuts may not lead to better or even swifter results; they too often lead to errors which require corrections, and thus more time expended, just when one was seeking to reduce expenditure of time.
Hence, in response to the opening verse in this week’s Torah portion, telling the story of our departure from Egypt: “Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war…” (Es. 13:17)
If we had taken the short route, directly north from Egypt to the border of Canaan (today’s Gaza), some imagine it would have required less than two week’s walking. Instead, we spent 40 years out in the wilderness, making our way through desert and hostile nations, until Joshua guided us across the Jordan into the land… the long way, with no shortcuts!
There are obvious messages in taking shortcuts, or in doing the hard work of following the long road. We’ve heard them from our mothers and our teachers: shortcuts are helpful in doing equations, but not in becoming mature and meaningful people. Shortcuts might help save few bucks with an app at the supermarket, but cooking a pot of home-made vegetable soup from scratch cannot be simplified, without sacrificing the quality of the result.
On the surface, God was concerned that our forebears would become frightened upon encountering armed resistance, and return to Egypt; hence, God sent us on the longer, circuitous wilderness route. But, there was more: God needed us to learn the value of undertaking our own march to freedom, of taking the long road. Yes, there was hardship, but also there was growth and becoming a people.
Today, looking back on more recent events – women’s suffrage a century ago, the civil rights era half a century ago, immigrant rights of this decade – we could wish these endeavors were swifter and saved hardship. But, in their hardship is found the roots of their success or potential success. There is no shortcut to changing our society, as there is no shortcut to growing and changing our lives.
So, God did not take us the short route, though it was nearer…
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
I’ve often said that whenever one takes a shortcut and cuts a corner, all one is left with is a cut corner.
Short cuts may not lead to better or even swifter results; they too often lead to errors which require corrections, and thus more time expended, just when one was seeking to reduce expenditure of time.
Hence, in response to the opening verse in this week’s Torah portion, telling the story of our departure from Egypt: “Now when Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer; for God said, “The people may have a change of heart when they see war…” (Es. 13:17)
If we had taken the short route, directly north from Egypt to the border of Canaan (today’s Gaza), some imagine it would have required less than two week’s walking. Instead, we spent 40 years out in the wilderness, making our way through desert and hostile nations, until Joshua guided us across the Jordan into the land… the long way, with no shortcuts!
There are obvious messages in taking shortcuts, or in doing the hard work of following the long road. We’ve heard them from our mothers and our teachers: shortcuts are helpful in doing equations, but not in becoming mature and meaningful people. Shortcuts might help save few bucks with an app at the supermarket, but cooking a pot of home-made vegetable soup from scratch cannot be simplified, without sacrificing the quality of the result.
On the surface, God was concerned that our forebears would become frightened upon encountering armed resistance, and return to Egypt; hence, God sent us on the longer, circuitous wilderness route. But, there was more: God needed us to learn the value of undertaking our own march to freedom, of taking the long road. Yes, there was hardship, but also there was growth and becoming a people.
Today, looking back on more recent events – women’s suffrage a century ago, the civil rights era half a century ago, immigrant rights of this decade – we could wish these endeavors were swifter and saved hardship. But, in their hardship is found the roots of their success or potential success. There is no shortcut to changing our society, as there is no shortcut to growing and changing our lives.
So, God did not take us the short route, though it was nearer…
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn