Rabbi Gordon - Beshalach: 3rd Portion
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Rabbi Yehoshua Gordon directed Chabad of the Valley in Tarzana, CA until his passing in 2016.
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Questions I have about today's Chumash:
1. Rashi says for verse 15 that it's not the time for prayer, that the Jews are in distress. Wouldn't a time of distress be an optimal time for prayer? Is there such a thing as a bad time for prayer?
2. Ramban says for verses 21-22 that the Egyptians insisted that the sea was parted by the wind and not by G-d. Why couldn't it have been both? Since G-d causes the wind to blow, shouldn't it stand to reason that He created a wind powerful enough to part the sea?
Rashi says that praying at length is inappropriate now in a crisis. Of course, one must pray in times of crisis, but you can make it short and sweet and then move on to what needs to get done.
Ramban notes how the hatred of the Egyptians to hurt the Jews overtook all logic. Wind does not split the sea into 12 parts so it was evident that G-d was doing this and they ignored the signs. They also forgot that they had declared that G-d was fighting on Israel's behalf.
Are you saying that at times the best prayer is the action, even when it seems there is no hope of success?