27 Jan PARSHA IN PRACTICE: SKILLS FOR BETTER LIVING BESHALACH – STICK ‘EM UP!

How can surrender
lead to victory?
During the war against
Amalek, Bnei Yisrael
prevailed only as long as Moshe’s hands
remained raised; when his hands fell, the Jews
began to falter (Shemos 17:11). How strange
that winning and success were associated with
“hands up,” the universal signal of surrender
and defeat!
Rabbi Ephraim Wachsman shlita explained
that, in order to be successful in battle, the
Jewish army must put its faith in Hashem.
Moshe established this standard in the very
first war in Jewish history. He demonstrated
that, in addition to the hishtadlus of engaging
in physical combat, Jewish soldiers must also
invoke their most powerful weapon, tefillah.
Chazal emphasize that Moshe’s raised hands
were not miracle workers; they simply directed
the people’s attention upwards, to daven to
the true Source of their military might (Rosh
HaShanah 29a). As long as the Jewish people
“surrendered their arms” to Hashem, they
triumphed. As soon as they lowered their
sights and put too much stock in their own
hands, they lost their edge.

This message is not limited to times of war, but
a key element of tefillah in general. As long
as we believe that we have the capability and
resources to solve life’s problems, our prayers
are stunted – half-hearted, at best. We may be
mouthing the correct words, and pointing
our feet in the right direction, but in the back
of our minds, we have our own ideas about
how to achieve parnassah, shidduchim, and
refuah. However, to harness the true power of
prayer, we need to “throw up our hands” and
recognize that we cannot accomplish anything
without the support of Hashem. This is the
strength of davening with hands raised in
surrender.
Another demonstration of such a tefillah
occurs earlier in the parshah. The Jewish
people stood paralyzed in fear, trapped
between the charging Egyptians and the
raging Sea. With no other option, and out
of complete desperation, they cried out to
Hashem (Shemos 14:10). Rashi comments
that, at this moment, Bnei Yisrael seized
hold of the special craft of their Forefathers,
the founders of Jewish prayer. What was so
extraordinary about these Yam Suf prayers to
earn the distinction of being “just as the Avos
intended”?

Rav Yerucham Levovitz zt”l (d.
1936) explained that the feelings
of helplessness experienced by the
Jews at the Sea were precisely what
the Avos had in mind when they
established our tefillos. Even when
we are not physically surrounded
by imminent danger, we are always
in need of Hashem’s assistance. We
rarely beseech Hashem with this
mindset, so our prayers often fall
short of this lofty ideal. But when
trapped at the Yam Suf, the Jewish
people finally realized – that which is
true at all times and in all places – we
have no options other than Hashem.
Whether it is at war, in crisis, or during
everyday life, we can lift up our hands in
defeat to ask Hashem to grant us victory in
life’s many battles!
And perhaps this idea finds a subtle echo in
the language of modern psychology as well.
In Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) there
is a simple but powerful skill called “Willing
Hands.” When a person is tense, resistant, or
fighting reality, the body naturally clenches
into fists. The practice is to deliberately turn
the palms upward, loosen the fingers, and

rest the hands open on one’s lap – a physical
posture of acceptance. The body leads the
mind: when the hands let go, the heart begins
to let go as well. (Try it – it really works!)
Moshe’s raised hands were teaching the same
lesson thousands of years earlier. There are
moments when the greatest strength is not
gripping more tightly, but releasing. Not
insisting, but yielding. Not declaring, “I’ve got
this,” but whispering, “I need You.”
Sometimes the path to victory begins with the
courage to put our hands up.