January 30, 2026 – Dr. Susanna Kokkonen
Beshalach 5786 (2026)
Exodus 13:17-17:16; Judges 4:4:5:31
Beshalach, the name of this Torah portion refers to the Hebrew word for send, as in Pharaoh sending the Hebrews, his former slaves, out. The portion starts with that as a background to the long journey the Hebrews start.
From the beginning, God protected His people. That was the reason He did not send them on the shortest route. There they would have encountered dangers and turned back.
“…God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 13:17 NIV)
He had their best interests at heart. His presence was with them in a tangible form.
“By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” (Exodus 13:21 NIV)
Meanwhile, Pharaoh, seeing that the Hebrews had left, regretted the fact and changed his mind again.
“When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” (Exodus 14:5 NIV)
Waters Divided
It is Pharaoh’s change of mind that provides the background for one of the greatest miracles in the Bible or in human history. Pharaoh collected his forces and he and his army started going after the Hebrews. It is only natural that the people were afraid, seeing the army behind them. But God spoke to Moses.
What makes this all so interesting is that there had to be a step the Hebrews took before God would provide the miracle.
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” (Exodus 14: 15 NIV)
The other thing that is amazing to think about is that there are times when even God must work. One such time is identified here because the Word tells us that God was working the whole night before the miracle was ready to be performed.
“…all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided…” (Exodus 14:21 NIV)
Finally, water was divided, the Israelites passed through the sea and the water was a wall to them on both sides. But when Pharaoh’s army entered the water, it closed on them, they were stuck in the mud and they all perished.
Women’s Bravery
The book of Exodus started with women’s bravery. There we identified several women who acted courageously and had a leading role in preserving the life of Moses, Israel’s future leader. This specific prophetic portion (associated with the Torah portion of Beshalach) is from the Book of Judges.
The prophetic portion includes a similar story about women. There are two Israelite women here who are identified by name: these are the prophetess Deborah and a woman called Yael.
Deborah judged Israel at the time, and she gave advice even to Israel’s warriors. “Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time.” (Judges 4: NIV)
Deborah told them that Israel needed to go to war. The military leader, Barak, was afraid to attack the enemy alone. He suggested that Deborah must go with him.
“Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.” (Exodus 4:8 NIV)
Deborah then told him that because of this, the victory would belong to a woman.
“…the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” (Exodus 4:9 NIV)
In the end, this is what happened because indeed it was a woman who killed Sisera and so the enemy was defeated.
A Persistent Woman
Jesus taught about persistence in prayer using an example of a persistent woman. Persistent prayer can defeat our enemies present in our circumstances or thoughts.
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” (Luke 18:1-5 NIV)
Ten Boom Family
At the Holocaust Garden of Hope, we tell the story of Corrie Ten Boom, her father Casper and sister Betsie in Harlem, Holland at the time of German occupation. What is important to know is that in their house there had been prayer for Jewish people for a century. And now when the time of testing came they instinctively started helping.
Not only did they have a hiding place in their own home, but Corrie was very instrumental in the resistance movement of Nazi occupied Holland. She, an inexperienced woman, oversaw entire operations. We do not know how many people were saved because of this one family. What we do know is that many of the rescuers lost their lives, including Corrie’s father Casper and sister Betsie.
After the Holocaust, Corrie devoted the rest of her life to preaching and teaching. Her message was that God could be present even in the most horrendous circumstances.
May the story of the Hebrews and the Ten Boom Family story inspire us to believe in God’s miracles.
*For an explanation of the terms see the first The Torah Portion Blog.
And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:3 NIV
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.
Psalm 119:105 NIV
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
Isaiah 60:1 NIV
…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:16 NIV
Torah Scrolls were attacked and desecrated during the Holocaust. The enduring images of the Kristallnacht (November 9-10,1938) are those of synagogues on fire and Torah Scrolls burning. Some of these desecrated Torah Scrolls disappeared, others were buried. Some were lovingly rescued and are on display in museums in various locations.
