Rafi sat by the computer, completely engrossed in an exciting game. It's sort of educational, he told himself as he brushed away the guilt feelings that were beginning to surface. The sound of a cough behind him startled him, and he turned round. His older brother Benjy was standing there, holding a thick file of schoolwork. "Sorry, Rafi", Benjy said, "but I have to finish my Religious Studies coursework and I must use the computer." Rafi groaned, but decided it wasn't worth kicking up a fuss.
The question now, was: what else he could do to avoid what he was supposed to be doing. He suddenly remembered the game in the park. Of course, it was the first Sunday of the month. There would a football game in twenty minutes. He went downstairs and slipped on his coat. He opened the front door as quietly as possible, just as his father was coming down the stairs. He smiled. "Bye Dad. There's a game in the park now."
His father raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Have you finished getting all the paint off the shed floor?" Rafi shifted from foot to foot uneasily, his eyes focusing on the hall mat. "I thought," said his father "that we had agreed you would spend your Sunday morning cleaning up that mess. I left a bucket with some scrubbing brushes and white spirit there earlier for you. You'll probably want to wear some old clothes too. Your mother will be pretty annoyed if you ruin these trousers as well."
Rafi closed the front door and walked despondently up the stairs. A week ago, he and some friends had decided to build a small boat, with some leftover wood they had found in a skip. Unfortunately, they had not taken as much care with the paint as they should have, and when they decided to see if their water guns could shoot paint as well, the results were quite disastrous. It was possible to clean the shed, but it would be a lot of hard work. Dan and Misha, his 'accomplices in crime,' as his father called them, were both down with the flu, so he could not even get them to come and help.
Benjy looked up at him as Rafi passed the computer table. "It's not that difficult", Benjy said encouragingly. "You could always ask Dad if you can use the sanding machine to get the bits off the walls. I seem to remember us using it once for that. I don't mind helping you a bit when I'm finished with this." Rafi nodded his thanks. Benjy was always very kindhearted.
"Anyway, there's no point procrastinating anymore," Benjy said as Rafi sat down on the second chair next to the computer table. "You know, Mummy was saying something really interesting about the Jews coming out of Egypt. They were finally released from their slavery, but when they came to the sea, they saw the Egyptian army chasing them. It was very frightening to see this powerful army, and the Jews were divided in four groups as to what was best to do. One group wanted to fight the Egyptians, another wanted to go back to Egypt and continue being slaves. A third group thought they should just pray to G-d and a fourth thought there was no other option but to throw themselves into the Sea and commit suicide. None of these were good ideas."
"What was wrong with praying to G-d?" asked Rafi.
"Not when action is required," said Benjy. "G-d told Moses: just go straight ahead. Don't worry, there will be a miracle and the Sea will split. So then it was a question of who would make the first move into the Sea."
"I know. Nachshon the son of Aminadav. He jumped in, and the water went higher and higher, up to his chin, and then the water split," said Rafi.
"Quite right," said his brother. "That's what it's all about: action! Because of him, the Jews were saved. Action is crucial."
"Okay, okay", said Rafi, going towards his room to change his clothes. "I shall act, now!"
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