But instead of beelining straight for the Promised Land, they wandered in the desert for what felt like forever. Why?
Well, it turns out there's more to it than just getting lost. There were…strategic considerations.
For one, Abraham himself had made a promise. According to the legends, he'd sworn an oath to maintain peace with the Philistines for a certain period. And that period hadn't yet expired. Can you imagine being held back by a centuries-old promise?
But there was also a more psychological reason. The sight of the land of the Philistines, a place fraught with past failures, might have triggered a collective trauma in the Israelites. They might have remembered a previous, disastrous attempt to enter the land and decided to turn back to Egypt. And nobody wanted that!
You see, before the Exodus led by Moses, there was another, lesser-known attempt. Let me tell you about it.
The story goes that the Israelites had actually spent a considerable amount of time – 180 years, in fact – living relatively peacefully in Egypt. Midrashic sources suggest they were doing pretty well, not really facing much persecution until later on. But then along came Ganon, a descendant of Joseph from the tribe of Ephraim.
Now, Ephraim was a big deal. As direct descendants of Joseph, they considered themselves to be of royal lineage. And Ganon, fired up with religious zeal, declared that God had appeared to him and commanded him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. "The Lord hath appeared unto me, and He bade me lead you forth out of Egypt," he supposedly said.
And guess who listened? The Ephraimites! Proud of their lineage and confident in their martial prowess – the Midrash depicts them as great heroes – they decided to go for it. They packed up their weapons, their gold, and their silver, and headed toward Palestine.
Here's the kicker: they didn't bring any food or water. They figured they could just buy provisions along the way, or, if necessary, take them by force. Talk about optimistic!
This story, recounted in the Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, based on earlier Midrashic sources, highlights the complexities of the Exodus narrative. It wasn't just about escaping slavery. It was about timing, about psychology, and about learning from the mistakes of the past. It makes you wonder, doesn't it? How much of our journey is shaped by the stories we tell ourselves, and the memories – both good and bad – that we carry with us?