PARSHAT SHEMOT – TRUST AND FAITH IN G-D · Sukkat Shalom B'nei Noach

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In this week’s Torah reading we learn about about the last years of YaThis week’s Torah reading contains a story about the fear of Moshe and an eternal lesson in trust and faith in G-d. Based on Likutei Sichot, vol. 36, p. 1

Faith, Trust, and Fear in Parashat Shemot

The Beginning of Exile and the Central Question

This week’s Torah portion is called Shemot, which means “Names.” It actually begins with the names of the Children of Israel going down from the land of Canaan into the land of Egypt. This is the beginning of the exile, and the portion later explains how everything eventually moves toward going out of exile.

There is one story in this week’s reading about Moshe Rabbeinu that sheds light on the difference between faith and trust. These two are not the same thing. Furthermore, in this story Moshe Rabbeinu was afraid, and that raises an important question. Is it good to be afraid or not? Maybe G-d is not going to do something good for you. So is fear justified?

We find other cases in the Torah where great people were afraid. Moshe Rabbeinu himself was afraid later when he had to fight Sichon and Og, the kings outside the land of Israel. Yaakov Avinu was afraid to meet his brother Esav, who wanted to kill him. So clearly, fear appears even among the greatest people.

But how does that make sense? If G-d promised Yaakov that everything would be fine, why was he afraid? Do you trust G-d or not? Do you believe in G-d or not? What is going on here?

The Story of Moshe and the Egyptian

To understand all this, we need to look closely at the story.

Moshe Rabbeinu grew up in the palace of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. One day he went out to see what was happening with his brothers, the Jewish people. He saw an Egyptian beating a Jew. He looked here and there and saw that no one was watching, so he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

The next day Moshe went out again and saw one Jew trying to hit another Jew. He said to him, “Why are you going to hit him?” The man answered, “Are you going to kill me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday?”

At that moment, the Torah says that Moshe was afraid, because the matter was known. Soon after, Pharaoh heard that Moshe had killed the Egyptian and wanted to kill him. Moshe then ran away to Midian.

Again, the question is, is it okay to be afraid or not? If G-d promises protection, like in the case of Yaakov, why be afraid at all? Is fear a lack of trust?

What Does Trust Really Mean?

In order to understand this, we need to understand what trust actually means.

There is a famous book called Duties of the Heart, Chovot HaLevavot. It explains that trust in G-d, bitachon, means complete inner tranquility. A person is calm, settled, and at peace, because G-d is going to do what is good for him.

But where does this kind of trust come from? How can a person really be calm when life has challenges, problems, and suffering?

One possible explanation is faith. Faith means believing that G-d is the essence of good and that He always does good. Even when something does not feel good, a person can say that maybe it is because of his sins, or maybe it is good for him in a way he does not understand.

But that is not really trust.

Trust means having complete certainty that G-d will do what is good for me the way I understand good, not only the way G-d understands good. Not saying, “This pain is actually good for me,” but saying, “G-d will help me in a way that I can clearly experience as good.”

Trust as Inner Work

Now the question becomes even stronger. How can a person be so sure of that? Even if he does not deserve it, how can he be sure that G-d will still help him?

The answer is that trust is not passive. Trust is an avodah. It is work.

Trust does not mean sitting back in a chair and saying, “I am relaxed, G-d will do everything,” and then doing nothing. It means actively working on yourself to place your burden on G-d.

There is a well known story about the third Lubavitcher Rebbe, the Tzemach Tzedek. Someone came to him with many problems and difficulties. The Rebbe told him, “Think good, and it will be good.”

People often hear this and think it just means having a positive attitude. But that is not what he meant. The idea is to truly put your problems into G-d’s hands. As King David says in Psalms, “Cast your burden upon G-d, and He will sustain you.”

This inner work, this strong trust, actually causes G-d to help you in a way that you understand as good. It is as if G-d says, so to speak, “This person is relying completely on Me. I have to help him.”

Moshe’s Fear and Its Consequences

Now let us return to the story of Moshe Rabbeinu.

The Torah first says that Moshe was afraid, and only afterward does it say that Pharaoh heard about what happened. According to the simple reading, Moshe’s fear itself caused the problem. If Moshe had not been afraid, Pharaoh would never have heard, and everything would have been fine.

In other words, it was not that Pharaoh caused Moshe’s fear. It was Moshe’s fear that caused Pharaoh to hear.

Rashi’s Explanation

Rashi, the main Torah commentator, does not want to say that Moshe Rabbeinu lacked trust in G-d. Therefore, he explains, based on the Sages, that Moshe was afraid not for himself, but because he saw that there were evil elements among the Jewish people and that they might not yet be ready for redemption.

Rashi prefers this explanation because he does not want to imply a lack of trust in Moshe.

However, according to the simple and straightforward reading of the verses, Moshe was afraid in the literal sense, and that fear had consequences.

The Eternal Lesson

This becomes an eternal lesson for each one of us.

Trust means having complete tranquility and certainty that G-d will do good for you, even if you do not deserve it. But this trust does not come automatically. It requires inner work. It requires training yourself to truly rely one hundred percent on G-d.

When we do this sincerely, we open the door for G-d to help us in ways that we can clearly recognize as good.

Discours du rabbin Tuvia Serber

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