Prayers in a Time of Trouble, Beshalach

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B’nei Yisrael cried out to Hashem, and Moshe, seeing the Egyptians advancing upon them, turned to Hashem. Then Hashem asked Moshe: מַה־תִּצְעַק אֵלָי דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִסָּעוּ — “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell B’nei Yisrael to go forward.”

Rashi comments on this verse in a way that seems surprising. He writes: “There is no mention that Moshe prayed to Hashem about the situation, but this teaches us that Moshe stood in prayer. Whereupon the Holy One, blessed is He, said to him, ‘It is no time now to pray at length, when Israel is placed in trouble.’”

The Ramban explains that prayer was unnecessary here because Hashem had already assured B’nei Yisrael of His help when He said, “I shall deal severely with Pharaoh and his entire army.”

This is puzzling. Chazal teach us in many places that it is specifically in times of trouble that we should daven to Hashem. [1] Perhaps we could suggest that Hashem was instructing Moshe not to use an extended form of prayer, such as tz’aka (crying out), because a shorter form would be more appropriate for the moment. However, this explanation is not entirely satisfying.

Later, Moshe used a tz’aka-type prayer—a brief, heartfelt plea—when praying for his sister Miriam’s recovery: “אֵ-ל נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ.” [2] This suggests that tz’aka can be either short or long. So why does Hashem say to Moshe here, “מַה־תִּצְעַק אֵלָי”? Hashem desires the prayers of a tzadik, so why would He discourage Moshe’s prayer now?

It seems Moshe Rabbeinu already knew that Hashem would help B’nei Yisrael, as He had promised, as Ramban mentioned. Perhaps Moshe’s prayer was not to doubt that promise but to seek Hashem’s intervention in the miraculous way He had acted before.

Hashem’s response, “Why do you cry out to Me? Tell B’nei Yisrael to go forward,” could be understood differently. It may not be a dismissal of prayer but rather guidance for Moshe to step fully into his role as a leader of B’nei Yisrael.

When the nation cried out, and Moshe cried out, Hashem taught Moshe that his primary responsibility as a leader was to guide and tend to the emotional and mental state of the nation in distress. Hashem, in His humility (anivus), prioritized the needs of the nation over the lengthy prayers of a tzadik.

This lesson seems to resonate later in the story of Miriam’s tzara’as. Moshe shortened his prayer for her recovery, not because it was unimportant but because he prioritized supporting those in need and guiding B’nei Yisrael.

We see this reflected in the Torah’s statement: “וְהָעָם לֹא נָסַע עַד־הֵאָסֵף מִרְיָם” — “The people did not travel until Miriam was readmitted.” The nation inconvenienced itself to honor Miriam.

This teaches us that in times of trouble, the more we honor and prioritize each other, placing the greater good before our individual needs, we can achieve k’ish echad b’leiv echad—unity as one person with one heart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

^[1] Tehillim 102:3, 107:19

^[2] Shemos, 12:13