Pesikta D'Rav Kahana for Pesach 5783

In Rabbi Yehuda's: Bnei Yisrael seem taken aback by Moshe’s promise of redemption: How can we be redeemed? Their response to him is also surprisingly technical – they are lost in the pedantic details about calculating redemption, when redemption is being offered to them immediately! God’s love entails being able to leap and bound the time-space continuum in order to ensure Bnei Yisrael’s redemption.

In R' Nachman's: Here, Bnei Yisrael vocalize the same concern: How can we be redeemed? But a new reason arises – it is that they are concerned about the bad actions they have performed. We see a shift in reasoning for Bnei Yisrael: now they are worried they will not be redeemed not because of semantics, but because of their poor actions. There is more of a tone of guilt and fear in their concerns. And yet, God will literally jump leaps and bounds in order to ensure their redemption.

The rabbis: This one, Bnei Yisrael’s concern – now echoed three times – feels like it gets to the heart of the problem. Bnei Yisrael are not concerned about the logistics in the timing being right, or about their previous negative actions. They are worried they have not done enough good to warrant being redeemed. They do not see themselves as good enough for deserving redemption. And yet, God knows to look beyond that and find the good. Not only that, but to establish courts that execute justice and determine the nature of halakhah in a way that ensures both good deeds and the dignity of each individual so they can see themselves as worthy.

Why this cycle of storytelling - what is the benefit of hearing this midrash in three different iterations? Well, it seems to mimic our own inner patterns of what we tell ourselves we are and what we deserve. At first, we come up with all kinds of excuses for why good doesn’t come to us: we are too busy, not in the right headspace, other external factors. But that’s a kind of masking of something more painful happening deeper inside. We then blame our actions: because of what we’ve done, we don’t deserve redemption. But then, we get to the real heart of the problem: we actually don’t think we deserve redemption, because of something intrinsically inside of us. That’s the most painful. Us, in our mere existence, doesn’t warrant redemption. But here, this is where God pushes back. Whether it be twisting the space-time continuum, leaping over our bad deeds, or establishing systems that lift us - God is yearning for us. To return, to feel loved.

With this charge, we realize that ultimately what holds us back from redemption – is ourselves. God is ready to make literal, metaphorical, relational leaps and bounds in order to meet us on the other side of the Red Sea. But we, we need to see ourselves as worthy of it. To not question our ability to be redeemed when it is being offered to us on a silver platter.