The Sea has parted

Hashem is metaphorically parting the sea before us. The left has moved to one extreme, the right to the other.

By David Mildenberg Posner

I’m not sure if I’m writing this with a heavy heart or with shy optimism. I would like to think there is space for both, since many great things come with pain, sacrifice and effort, but nothing great comes without courage. It’s hard not to see the image clearly.

Hashem is metaphorically parting the sea before us. The left has moved to one extreme, the right to the other. What’s left is a narrow but open path forward—out of Mitzrayim, out of constraint, and toward the promise of something better.

But the sea doesn’t part so we can admire it. It parts so we can move.

The Exodus was never about comfort. Egypt was familiar, even when it was painful. Freedom required uncertainty, responsibility, and courage. According to the midrash, the sea didn’t split until someone stepped in. Action came before clarity.

That question hasn’t changed. Will we have the courage to pack up and leave what binds us—even when it’s all we’ve known? Will we trust that moving forward, though uncertain, is more truthful than staying stuck in what is broken? The path is open.

What remains is the decision to cross. I’m not sure I’m ready to go. But I can’t shake the feeling that it may be time for a leap of faith.

I wonder whether there will be a Moses to step forward—to reassure us, to lead us, to tell us the way is safe. Or whether this moment is different, and each of us is being asked to become a little like Moses ourselves.

Moses didn’t begin with certainty or ease. He began with unwavering faith, moral clarity, and a deep commitment to Hashem and to his people. Leadership came after responsibility, not before it.

Maybe that’s the test of this moment.

Not whether someone else will lead us—but whether we are willing to stand upright, trust Hashem, and act with courage even while afraid.

Faith has never meant knowing how things will turn out. It has always meant stepping forward anyway.

Fellow Jews: What are your thoughts?