Walking Down Another Street: Portia Nelson, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, and the Long Detour to Freedom
What ‘Autobiography in Five Short Chapters’ and Parshat Beshalach teach us about breaking old habits on the road out of Egypt
This poem is by Portia Nelson. It's called 'Autobiography in Five Short Chapters':
Chapter 1:
I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost... I am helpless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.
Chapter 2:
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I am in this same place. But it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.
Chapter 3:
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in... It's a habit... But, my eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.
Chapter 4:
I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.
Chapter 5:
I walk down another street.
Rabbi Dr. Jonathen Sacks of Blessed Memory, cites this poem in his commentary on this weeks portion. In it the Jewish people embark/Are led—on the most circuitous way possible (no waze) leading toward the promised land.
This thought might be the best bet for a good take home point on this weeks portion.
Life is hard, and as a result we can easily get caught up and enslaved in patterns of behaviour that offer us the promise of short term relief. Sometimes we catch a break and a mentor, friend, or family member shleps us out of the darkest deepest holes we might have fallen into with determination, patience and enormous doses of unconditional love.
But typically our “Moses Moments” are one offs and we end up crossing over into the next steps of whatever fate holds in store for us—on our own.
These are the times when we must remember how long it took for the Jewish people to transition from being freed, by Moshe and G-d, and the windy turbulent path they needed to navigate to even get to the outskirts of the promised land.
“life is a marathon not a sprint, train for endurance not speed.” (unknown)
Much Love,
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Yossi