Step Into the Water Before It Splits - How Courage and Action Create Real Freedom

One of the most powerful moments in this week’s parsha, Beshalach, is not the splitting of the sea but what happens before it. The Jewish people have left Egypt, slavery is behind them. Yet they now stand trapped between Pharaoh’s advancing army and the Reed Sea. Fear sets in. Confusion reigns. Different opinions fly around. No one knows what to do.

Moshe turns to G-d and the response is surprising: “Go forward.”

Go forward… where? There is no plan. No visible miracle. No clarity.

It is only when Nachshon ben Aminadav, leader of the tribe of Yehuda, steps into the water walking forward until it reaches his neck that the sea finally splits. The path opens after he moves.

This moment teaches a timeless lesson, Clarity often comes after action, not before it.

How often do we do the opposite? We make New Year’s resolutions but don’t start because we haven’t figured out the “perfect” system. We intend to exercise but wait until motivation magically appears.  We want to grow but delay until fear disappears and then three months pass… and nothing has changed.

Nachshon shows us another way. Growth doesn’t begin when fear leaves, it begins when we move despite fear, One simple but powerful tool emerges from this moment:

Start before you’re ready, Don’t wait to feel confident. Take one small step forward and let momentum do the rest, as the Nike line goes, just do it!. Action creates movement. Movement creates clarity.

But Beshalach doesn’t stop there, soon after crossing the sea, the Jewish people are attacked by Amalek. The Torah describes Amalek not just as an enemy, but as a force that brings doubt, weakness, and coldness of spirit. Their goal is not only to fight, but to drain confidence and hope.

Here is a nation that has just witnessed miracles, left centuries of slavery, and tasted freedom, yet they are still vulnerable to doubt.

Why? Because while they had left Egypt physically, Egypt had not yet left them mentally.

In Hebrew, Mitzrayim (Egypt) shares the same root as meitzarim, constraints, boundaries. Slavery doesn’t only create external limitations; it implants internal ones: “I can’t.” “It’s safer not to try.” “Who do I think I am?”

This is why personal growth requires more than external change. A new job, a new habit, or a brave decision is only the beginning. Inner freedom takes work. Amalek Lives in the Mind, Chassidic teachings explain that Amalek represents inner doubt, the quiet voice that undermines courage and convinces us to retreat.

The Torah commands us to constantly “erase Amalek.” On a personal level, this means learning to interrupt destructive thinking patterns.

Here’s a second practical tool from this week’s parsha: Stop negative thoughts in their tracks. When doubt arises, don’t debate it endlessly. Say Stop. “I will not entertain this thought.” “I choose courage over fear.”

Just as the sea didn’t split through analysis, inner breakthroughs don’t happen through overthinking. They happen through decisive action.

Beshalach teaches us that freedom has two stages:

1. The courage to step into the water before it splits

2. The commitment to uproot the inner limiting thoughts that may linger afterward

True growth means taking responsibility for both. If you feel stuck, perhaps you’re waiting for clarity that only action can bring. If you’ve already taken steps but still feel doubt, perhaps you’re still shedding Egypt from within.

Either way, the message is the same: Jump in. Change what you’re focusing on. Take control of the direction.  You don’t need the whole path—just the courage to take the next step. The sea still splits for those who move forward.