BUT there's a little midrash that makes this story a little interesting. Moses didn't really know what to do when he got to the Red Sea but this guy Nachshon jumped right in. I think that's a commentary on how we should treat life: jump right in to the stormy waves (nachshol) of life and trust that it can all work out. In the words of Nike, just do it!
Another story we get is from the desert itself. I've spent some time in the Negev specifically and I gotta be honest, it's pretty magical. Yes, it's hot, dangerous and sandy but going there causes you to bond with the people around you. Sending the Israelites to the desert was God's way of trying to make a scattered people into a community. The only problem was that the former slaves would rather go back to slavery than find their homeland in the desert. Oy, what a conundrum! To quiet the complaints, God gives the Israelites manna (magical bread stuff from the magical desert). That doesn't last for long since the Israelites start to get thirsty. And this is where good ol' Moses starts to show his true colors. Moses is really fed up with all this complaining and the fact that Nachshon led his people to freedom. When God tells him that if he talks to a rock it will give him water, Moses finally loses it. He smashes the rock with his staff instead but he still gets the water. God is pretty mad though and says that Moses can't come into Israel when they finally get there :(
Here are the main lessons for this week:
Like I said above^ just do it!
Don't complain so much, the road to hell is paved with good intentions (and magic bread)
Control your anger or God just might condemn you
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