Parshat Re’eh: Still Leaving
August 22, 2025
Deuteronomy: 13:6
וְהַנָּבִ֣יא הַה֡וּא א֣וֹ חֹלֵם֩ הַחֲל֨וֹם הַה֜וּא יוּמָ֗ת כִּ֣י דִבֶּר־סָ֠רָ֠ה עַל־יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֜ם הַמּוֹצִ֥יא אֶתְכֶ֣ם ׀ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֗יִם…ח
As for that prophet or dream-diviner, such a one shall be punished for having urged disloyalty to the Lord your God who takes you out of Egypt…
One of the great challenges Moses faced in the wilderness was the Israelites who longed to return to Egypt. Some had the gall to describe Egypt as a “land of milk and honey,” a place of abundance compared to the barren wilderness. They weren’t entirely wrong. In Egypt they had a variety of foods; in the wilderness, only manna. In Egypt they had certainty – slaves though they were, bondage was in some ways easier than the burden of freedom, which demanded responsibility for one’s own future.
To God and to Moses, the difficulties of the life of free people were worth rejecting the easy way. Sure the Israelites lacked the delicacies they enjoyed from time to time. And yes, greater was the uncertainty as to their status and security. This new life was not as easy as being a slave in Egypt, but it was worth the struggle. The possibilities that were open to them as free people outweighed the predictability of life in bondage.
We can sympathize with the complainers, because all of us have habits of ease that we fall back into. It is far easier to remain where we are than to take the difficult steps toward spiritual, emotional, or intellectual growth. This is why the Torah employs such unusual language in this verse: “The Lord your God who takes you out of Egypt.” The verb is is in the present tense, when it ought to be in past tense. Why? Because leaving Egypt is not a one-time event. We are still leaving Egypt, every day, and one step at a time. Every day we must choose to walk forward, not backward – resisting the urge to let comfort and ease guide our path, and instead advance toward a future where our potential can be realized, however difficult it may be.