The Paralysis of Inquiry: Genesis, Exodus and Running for Congress

A while ago, a dear friend – a very successful businessman, a highly civically engaged citizen, a generous philanthropist and an idealist dedicated to bettering his community and country – texted me. He wanted my advice on something important.

When we connected the next day, my friend told me that his Congressional district is likely to have an open seat – and that he is seriously thinking about running for it. It is quite possible: my friend has the ideas, motivation, freedom, emotional intelligence and money-raising capacity to make him a very plausible candidate and an outstanding Congressman.

He asked me: Should I do it?

I told him that he definitely should – and offered a few reasons. Then, I saw that my great friend Max Rose was in the 3i Members office. Max represented Staten Island in Congress, and is a man of remarkable political intelligence whose insights are always interesting, often brilliant and ultimately right (okay, except for the time when he went on MSNBC to explain that Joe Biden was absolutely ready for a second term).

I asked my friend if I could call in Max to offer his perspective – and my friend said of course. As soon as my friend started to explain, Max stopped him. “If you keep asking questions, you aren’t going to run.”

I said to Max – “You mean, he isn’t going to win?”

No, Max said, he isn’t going to run. Max explained that he has met many people who are contemplating a run for Congress. Their chances of actually doing so, he said, decline to zero to the extent that they ask more questions. More questions, he explained, invariably surface more challenges, encumbrances and other reasons not to run. The potential candidate invariably adds those encumbrances to the ones he knows exist but he can’t anticipate – and will decide not to run.

I thought: This is interesting – and wondered what the Torah would say about Max’s point? The Torah has accurate guidance on everything.

It is Genesis 12. God tells Abraham, “Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you.”

God could have set it up differently. He could have told Abraham first about the land, explained its distance and its purpose and then instructed Abraham to go. But he doesn’t. He begins the sequence by telling Abraham to go, and concludes it without saying anything about the land.

Abraham might have wondered: What land? Where is the land? What do you want me to do there? What should I expect of the journey? What do I need to bring?

If he did, we’ll never know. He doesn’t ask, and just goes.

Fast forward to Exodus 14. The Jews, in the final stages of their escape from slavery, are afraid – as they see the Egyptians closing in behind them. Moses immediately seeks to quell their fear, and tells them: “God shall make war for you, and you shall remain silent.”

God does not like this answer. He says to Moses: “Why do you cry out to me?”

This is a fascinating response. God is telling the people – in our canonical religious text! – not to pray. There is a time for prayer, but this isn’t it. This is a time for action.

How should Moses and the people think about action? God continues. “Speak to the Children of Israel and let them journey forth. And you – lift up your staff and stretch out your arm over the sea and split it; and the Children of Israel shall come into the midst of the sea on dry land.”

The order here is, as is often the case in the Torah, deeply instructive. One would think that God would first tell the Jews that he will split the sea and lead us to dry land – and then tell us to “journey forth.” But he does the opposite. He first tells Moses to journey forth – just like he did with Abraham in Genesis.

The Torah is not a history book, recording what happened to Abraham and Moses. It is a highly practical guidebook for each of us – in all places, at all times. And the guidance offered by the order of instructions in Genesis 14 and Exodus 14 is clear. Every journey – from starting a business to getting married, from running for office to taking a new job – entails lots of unpredictable and unforeseeable stops, for better and worse. The uncertainty has the potential to frighten, paralyze and stunt.

In comes the Torah and says: It’s okay. God wants us to boldly make the first move. This often means “journeying forth” to a worthy destination without knowing everything (or even much) about the path ahead – just as Max advised my friend.