How to Make Inspiration Last

In this week’s Torah portion the Jewish People soar to unmatched heights of faith after witnessing the sea split, erupting into spontaneous song to praise God’s miracles. Yet mere verses later, they complain about water and food shortages, accuse God of leading them to die in the desert, and long for their lives as slaves in Egypt.

How could the Jewish people reach such a high level of realization, where “a maidservant beheld at the Red Sea what even the prophets never saw” (Rashi 15:2), yet immediately plummet to doubting God at every step?

We encounter this same predicament in the upcoming Torah portions when the revelation at Mount Sinai directly precedes the nation’s descent into worshiping the Golden Calf. How can we fall so far, so fast? Why don’t undeniable miracles lead to perfect faith?

Beyond Faith, Logic or Reason

To understand this spiritual volatility, we need to explore a deeper puzzle: how does one build lasting faith in the first place? The Ramban, the great 13th century Spanish sage, draws our attention to several fascinating details about the life of Moses that shed light on this question.

First: Before sending Moses to perform the miracle of turning his staff into a snake to gain the trust of the Jewish People, God commands him to do a practice run. Why would Moses, speaking directly with God, need a practice run? Surely God’s word alone should suffice?

Second: The Midrash tells us that Moses’ speech impediment stemmed from his childhood, when, during Pharaoh’s test, an angel guided his hand to grasp a burning coal and put it in his mouth instead of taking the precious jewels. Yet God, who could part the sea, never healed this condition. Why leave His chosen prophet with a speaking disability?

Third (my own addition – not the Ramban): The Midrash teaches that Moses received ten different Divinely inspired names throughout his life. Yet he kept only the one given by Pharaoh’s daughter – “Moshe,” meaning “drawn from the water.” Why would our greatest prophet choose to be known by an Egyptian name?

The Ramban’s answer? To strengthen Moses’ Emunah, faith: The staff demonstration gave Moses the confidence to present the miracle in front of the nation. His speech impediment served as a perpetual reminder of divine protection. Even his name recalled his miraculous salvation from the Nile.

The Craft of Faith

This raises a profound question: If Moses, who spoke directly with God, needed to strengthen his faith, what hope exists for the rest of us? To answer this, we must first understand that Emunah transcends the Western concept of “faith.” Unlike religions that demand blind faith, Judaism views Emunah as an active pursuit that demands wisdom and questioning. By actively clarifying our beliefs, we forge an Emunah tempered in the fires of truth. As King Solomon teaches, “The fool believes everything, the wise man understands.”

This deeper understanding of Emunah reveals itself in language: the Hebrew word Emunah (אמונה) shares its root with “Umanos” (אוּמָנוּת) – meaning craft or mastery. Like any worthwhile pursuit, mastery begins with inspiration – a flash of insight or early success. This initial spark reveals our potential greatness, but achieving it demands persistent effort. We also see this pattern in relationships – couples experience the honeymoon phase but before they know it, familiar patterns emerge and the magic they once felt disappears. Some couples interpret this emotional drop off as a sign that they weren’t meant to be, but in reality, they’ve simply reached the end of inspiration and the beginning of real work.¹

The takeaway is as follows: “Splitting of the sea” and “Mount Sinai” moments remain fleeting unless we build habitual behaviors around them – unless we transform inspiration into craft. This explains how the Jewish people could witness unprecedented miracles yet slip back into doubt. Emunah, like any craft, demands consistent practice. We must work daily to recognize God’s constant involvement in our lives, guiding us toward the greatest possible good. If we fail to practice, we let doubt creep in, and we become blinded to life’s daily miracles.

Building the Habit

And, in fact, God gives us this message in this week’s Torah portion:

As we mentioned earlier, just moments after the splitting of the sea, the people begin demanding food. In response, God provides Manna – a heavenly honey-cake offering perfect nutrition and exquisite taste. Yet God sets one crucial limitation: each person could gather only enough for that day (except for Shabbos). Any leftovers would rot by the next morning.

Why impose this restriction? In Deuteronomy (8:3), Moses reveals its deeper purpose: “And He afflicted you and let you go hungry, and then fed you with Manna… so that He would make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but rather by whatever comes forth from the mouth of God does man live.” The manna wasn’t just sustenance – it was daily practice in trust. For forty years, three million Jews woke up with empty pantries, stepped outside, and found their perfect meal waiting. Through this daily repetition, theoretical knowledge of God’s providence transformed into unshakeable trust. This practiced Emunah would sustain the Jewish nation through millennia, in the best of times as well as the worst.

Practical Emunah

How can we make Emunah a practice within our own lives? A close mentor once shared with me a profound exercise for strengthening this awareness:

Write down the 5-10 biggest crises of your life
Analyze them and see what miraculous good emerged from each
When a new challenge arises, review your list and ask yourself, “Is there any reason to believe that this crisis is different from all the rest? Can I trust that this challenge too will reveal its hidden blessings?”

Through this practice, you actively work towards achieving mastery of seeing God’s hand in our lives. Like Moshe’s name and speech, like the manna in the desert, these documented moments of salvation become our personal reminders, allowing us to maintain deep peace and joy regardless of life’s circumstances.

May we all merit to transform our moments of inspiration into lasting Emunah!

Shabbat Shalom!
Avraham