Soon after the Israelites crossed the Reed Sea, they were attacked by Amalek. Moses orders Joshua to lead the fight, and goes up on a hill. He raises his hands, and the Israelites prevail. He gets tired and lowers them, and Amalek gains the advantage. He arranges with Aaron and his nephew, Hur, to support his hands until the sun goes down and Israel is finally victorious.
Lots of hands here. What does this all mean?
Prior to the Amalek war, there was the incident of the water at Refidim. The Israelites had gone three days without finding water, and arrived at a place called Marah. There, the water was bitter. The people complained. Moses cried out to Hashem, who instructed him to throw a branch into the bitter waters to sweeten them.
And so it was, the water became potable. The Torah adds a comment, "There He gave them a law and a statute, and there He tested them." What was this test? Later, they arrive at another waterless place called Refidim. They complain, asking rhetorically why were they brought from Egypt to die by thirst? Moses cries out again, and is instructed to smite the stone, thus bring water out of the rock.
The sages interpret the name of this place, Refidim, to mean "their hands were softened - rafu yadayim - from the Torah." in other words, they became lax in keeping God's commandments.
How so? It seems to me they have a legitimate beef. Without water, they are goners. Why is complaining such a sin?
In the first episode, at Marah, Rashi comments that their misdeed was not in being concerned about the lack of water, but their complaining about it. Instead, says Rashi, they should have simply asked Moses to pray for them. What is the difference, besides respect (which is certainly big)?
In a word, Faith. If you believe things will work out, but you don't see it, you ask. If you don't believe things will work out, you complain. Complaints are a form of accusation, and reflect a suspicion of the one to whom they complain. A request evinces both respect and the belief that the person being asked has the power to grant the request.
Earlier still in the chapter, as the Israelites stood before the Reed Sea with an angry Egypt at their back, they were nervous. Moses calms them by saying "You stand here silently and God will fight for you." God immediately criticizes Moses, saying "Why do you scream to Me? Tell the Israelites to go forward." Going forward means into the sea.
Where had Moses screamed to God here? He had just promised Israel that God would fight for them!
The answer is in perceived reality. There was no need for God to fight, as there was a clear path ahead, through the Sea. Only those with Faith could see this deeper reality, that God did not bring the Israelites out of Egypt to die by the Sea. If that is your reality, then the Sea is no obstacle. If it is not your reality, indeed you panic. Moses had it half right, that God would certainly not allow the Israelites to perish, but he needed to inhabit a reality where such a speech was not even necessary. It was only needed if you saw the Sea as an insurmountable obstacle.
Now we can understand the other episodes. If they complained, it was because they did not believe that they would survive, that water could come from a stone or a bitter well. This is the ultimate goal of the Torah, to believe that the world can be the Torah world. That God can triumph. That God protects us. We don't complain. Reality interferes? We ask, and we believe it will change. Jewish history has proven this over and over again.
Moses' hands in the air symbolize faith. "His hands were Faith until the sun set." When his hands were in the air, the Israelites saw their victory in that gesture. That faith changed reality, gave them the balance of power over a superior army. When his hands were tired, they began to doubt, and then reality changed for them. Moses found the way to keep his hands up, and in the end that Faith changed Reality and Israel prevailed.
So about the Secret and all that, there is some basis for this. Believing in success is indeed the prerequisite, however we need one thing more. We need hands. We need to do, to ask, and do some more. Thus it is in our personal lives, thus it is in our world. Those who define reality in evil terms are evil people. Those who see reality regarding the Good, will be good.
May our best hopes become the world's reality.
