Waffling at the Water's Edge

This week is Shabbat Shirah, which gets its name from the Torah reading assigned to this week, the crossing of the Sea of Reeds and shirat hayam, the song at the sea. The Haftarah for this Shabbat comes from the Book of Judges and includes Deborah's song. As the Israelites left Egypt, with the Egyptian army in hot pursuit, they found themselves between a rock and a hard place, well, actually, between an army and the water, with nowhere to go.

According to one midrash (BT Sotah 36b-37a), as the Israelites stood at the edge of the water they began fighting. The midrash first claims that they each fought about who would get to go first, each wanting to be the first one in the water. But Rabbi Judah corrects Rabbi Meir and tells him that that was not what happened. Instead, the tribes were fighting because none wanted to go into the water first. All of a sudden, Nachshon son of Amminadab jumped forward and was the first to go into the sea. Nachshon is honored for his quick action, for jumping in and doing something when everyone else was just arguing.

In the meantime, the midrash continues, Moses was standing by the shore of the sea praying at great length. God interrupts Moses and says, "While you're busy praying at great length, have you not noticed that My people are about to drown in the sea." God tells Moses not to pray, but to call the people to action.

This all reminds me of a poem I encountered years ago. I don't know its source.

This is a little story about four people named
Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.

There was an important job to be done
and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody's job.

Everybody thought that Anybody could do it,
but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it.

It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody
when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.

This cute little poem, which I think I first encountered in high school, reminds us to be the kind of people who jump in when things need to get done. There is a time for discussion and a time for praying, but there is also a time for action. Nachshon son of Amminadab knew this. We should too.