Devar/5769/Beshalach
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And Israel saw the great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the LORD; and they believed in the LORD, and in His servant Moses (Ex 14:31)
Previously, it says, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were sore afraid; and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD (ibid 10). When they saw "the Egyptians" -- Pharaoh's army -- chasing them, they were afraid. And until that moment it was not written that they "feared God". After they saw the Egyptian army coming after them, they lost all hope and then "they were sore afraid", and they "cried out unto the LORD".
At that very moment, God saved them with his "great hand", which destroyed the entire army of Pharaoh in an instant. Then they saw, and they understood. Before then, they feared a flesh-and-blood king, who one moment ruled over them and the next moment was destroyed and gone. But now, they feared God, the King of all Kings, whose kingdom is eternal. Whose power has neither end nor bounds (Fundamentals of the Torah 1:3) and whom alone it is proper to fear, and whom alone it is proper to worship.
Likewise in our time we are afraid of kings and rulers, of terrorists and thugs. We keep from taking the steps necessary to "repair the world" (in its original meaning: to establish a stable, honest and secure society) because of anxiety and fear. If we were only to learn from our ancestors, we would know that only God, may He be blessed, can benefit or cause evil, and it is incumbent upon us to return to Him with a whole heart and a desirous soul. Then we will merit seeing once again His "great hand", the Man of War, destroy our enemies from in front of us.
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