Thursday

When Pharaoh's at Your Back

And a Sea's Ahead, What to Do? Lessons for Life.

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg

Apr 17, 2025 • 8 min read

Jews cross Red Sea pursued by Pharaoh, Fresco from Dura Europos synagogue, in what's now Syria, ca. 244–255 CE. (Image in yellows and browns and oranges, two bearded, Brown-skinned, somber-looking men in Roman-style scholarly togas standing in the center of the image, with a row of soldiers holding spears and shields to the left, with fish at their feet, and what appears to be a chaotic scene of people at their right. One of the bearded men in the center is holding up a staff. Two Brown hands are gesturing down, open-handed, from the top of the image.)

🔈 Reminder: the website version of this post, found at LifeIsaSacredText.com, offers an audio (text-to-speech) reader.

As tradition goes, the first night of Pesach / Passover is when we got out of Egypt.

The Seventh Day of Pesach (Shabbat, this year) marks the day on which the splitting of the Red Sea– better translated as the Sea of Reeds, probably, cf Exodus 2:3– occurred.

I'll also note that right after Passover, traditionally Moroccan Jews celebrate the festival of Mimouna–possibly in honor of the yahrtzeit, death anniversary of Maimonides, possibly connected to the Arabic word for divine protection (ma’amoun), possibly connected to the Hebrew word for faith (emunah).

And I'll also share that some Ashkenazi Jews call the night that Passover ends Rumpelnacht– the Night of Chaos, or the Night of Noise. It's about quickly returning the Pesach utensils back to storage and getting the regular stuff back out as quickly as possible, about having chametz but not at home, and about– especially in Germany– drinking beer.

So if you're a Jew returning back from Pesach time this weekend, squeeze in some extra celebration to your time, no matter your background (of course, "Hag HaPizza Delivery" is one many Jews celebrate when sun sets on Passover, so).

Anyway, in honor of the Seventh Day, here's a little guide for so many moments in life, courtesy of the Book of Exodus.

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