When Moses tries to rouse the Israelites towards freedom, the Israelites remain unmoved by his pleas. God gives Moses a tutorial on presenting the case for freedom to the Israelites, thinking that clever marketing might convince them to believe in God’s power and begin the journey towards freedom. Even with this persuasive argument, the people don’t listen to Moses, the Torah tells us, because their spirits were crushed. (Exodus 6:9)
The Hebrew phrase, מקצר רוח “mikotzer ruah” is unusual, used only in this verse. Kotzer means “short” and ruach, “spirit”. We might translate this phrase as impatience or even short tempered. One rabbi, Obadiah ben Yaakov Sforno, understands this phrase to reveal that the Israelites couldn’t imagine hope in the face of disappointment after disappointment. Their hearts simply could not assimilate such a promise. We can relate. The phrase “Kotzer Ruah” resonates as we watch our world contract yet again. It is hard not to feel deflated when continued disappointments diminish our hopes and dreams. When we are nursing an injury of the spirit, how can we still find a way to open our hearts to possibility? The story of the Exodus is a reminder that our journeys are not linear. Just because we find ourselves in a narrow place now does not mean we are stuck in a narrow place forever. These words from our Shabbat prayers inspire me each week and especially as we enter this new year: There is a better place, a promised land. The winding way to that promise passes through the wilderness. There is no way to get from here to there Except by joining hands, marching together.
