Why didn’t the Jews take the straight path from Egypt to Israel?

In this week’s Torah portion (Beshalach) God takes the Jews out of Egypt in a roundabout way. This was to avoid an immediate war which may have led the Jews to regret leaving Egypt.

Sometimes, the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line

This is a valuable lesson for all of us. We often encounter situations that seem too daunting for us to handle. This leads us to procrastinate or give up altogether. Other times, we jump into a situation too fast without contemplating the possible obstacles we may face and end up causing more trouble than good.

The solution

Break your responsibilities into smaller, more manageable tasks. This will allow you to build up confidence with each step and more easily handle the harder portions while completing the entire project stress-free. Before beginning, it is worthwhile to imagine what could go wrong. This way you could brainstorm and troubleshoot with less pressure than if the obstacle occurred in the heat of the moment.

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Ariel Mintz, MD

Dr. Ariel Mintz grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After spending two years learning in Israel, at Derech Eitz Chaim and Shaalivm, he earned his BA in Psychology at Yeshiva Univesity in New York. He went on to obtain his MD at Oakland University William Beaumont School of medicine and trained in adult psychiatry at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and is a practicing psychiatrist in Cleveland, Ohio. He has received awards for his research, academic performance, and service to the Jewish community. He has a supportive and talented wife and three wonderful children. He is very passionate about destigmatizing mental illness and bringing comfort to those who are suffering.

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