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Parashat Beshalach 5785 / פָּרָשַׁת בְּשַׁלַּח
✷ To be read on February 8⎮10 Shvat ✷

In Beshalach (“When He Let Go”), God instructs the Israelites to camp at the Sea of Reeds. The Israelites must flee when Pharaoh changes course and sets after his former slaves. God splits the Red Sea and the Israelites sing upon crossing. God closes the waters over the Egyptians. With Miriam leading, the Israelite women sing and dance in celebration. The Israelites complain of the hardship of life in the desert and God provides quail and manna, sweetening the bitter water as well. The portion ends with the Israelites triumph over the Amalekites in battle.

Following last week's Parashat Bo and its prompting to think about children at the mercy of political violence, I was particular struck by the way in which Rabbi Deena Cowans renders this parsha a tribute to caregivers caring for children under difficult, seemingly impossible circumstances.

The Rabbis of the Midrash, surprisingly, ask an eminently practical question about the Exodus: how were the Israelites able to schlep so many children from one place to another without any meltdowns? Anyone who has raised or spent time with small children knows that a day without tantrums is not the rule, but the exception - or, for those perhaps blessed with more temperate children, that one cannot depend on a child's good humor simply because the circumstances are less than ideal.

According to the Rabbis of the MIdrash, the sea itself facilitated this smooth crossing by offering up sweet fruits. If a child started to whine or complain, the mother carrying the child would simply reach her hand into the wall of sea and pluck out a snack. Of course, the sea is not typically filled with fruits, but, as R'Deena says, the "Rabbis of the Midrash recognized that the greatest miracle in Jewish history could not happen without adequate childcare." 

While the Rabbis of the Midrash only mentioned mothers, special thanks to the father in my household, who makes so much possible. Echoing R'Deena, thank you to all the caregivers who make miracles happen. And with love, solidarity, and hope for all the caregivers, who face the task of loving their children under a sky from which missiles rain down.