Here’s a Story You’ll Want to Share at Your Seder

Looking for something meaningful to share at your Seder this year? This is one of JewBelong’s favorite Passover stories, and it might just change the way you think about Passover and about yourself.

This powerful Passover story about courage, faith, and action centers on Nachshon ben Aminadav at the Red Sea, and on what it means for Jews today.

The Passover Story of Nachshon and the Red Sea

One of our favorite Passover stories is about the Israelites as they were leaving Egypt.

In Exodus, the Israelites are described as Chamushim, which literally means “armed as they left.” Maybe they were armed with arrows or stones to throw, but remember, these people were leaving before their bread even had time to rise, so it is hard to imagine they had time to prepare much in the way of weapons. A more likely translation is that they were “armed with the spiritual power of God.”

At JewBelong, we often recoil from too much Hebrew because, well, frankly, our Hebrew is not great. Yours probably is not either. But stick with us for this story.

The Hebrew word Chamushim comes from Chamesh, meaning “five,” suggesting that only one fifth of the people crossed the Red Sea. But what happened to the other four fifths?

Who Was Nachshon and Why Does His Story Matter?

To understand why Nachshon matters, you have to understand the five groups of Israelites at the moment of escape.

Group One

One group stayed back.

They were like, “Hey, look, slavery is not optimal, but at least we know what to expect. We get fish, we have a life. Yes, we are slaves, but we are not ready to risk everything for that crazy Moses.”

That group assimilated and became part of Egyptian society. There are probably people in Egypt today who descended from those Jews.

Group Two

Another group left, but they were literally scared to death.

Through their paralysis of fear, they did not survive.

Group Three

This group got to the Red Sea and turned around and shouted, “Let’s fight!”

Although this is kind of admirable, it turned out to be a bad decision because the Egyptians were a huge army, and this group was not. They fought bravely, but they lost and were slaughtered.

Group Four

This group was very big on praying.

One of them said, “Let’s cry out to God!” So they did. But the thing is, that is all they did. Just prayed and prayed.

Even God was like, “Hey, why do you only cry out to me?” So God asked Moses, “Why are they only crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward!”

In other words, this was not a time for prayer. This was a time for action. God had been very clear and now needed them to trust and go.

Group Five

Enter the star of the story, Nachshon.

Nachshon ben Aminadav from the tribe of Judah was the one who basically said, “Okay, we hear you God, we’re going!”

So he stepped into the water. He kept walking until the water reached his nose and then the miracle came and the sea started to part.

Moses saw what was happening with Nachshon, so he raised his staff and the sea split.

Nachshon started crossing, and everyone else said, “Hey! We don’t know who that guy is but he looks like a man of action. We’re going with him!”

So they followed Nachshon and went through to safety. Party time.

What Is the Passover Lesson of Nachshon?

Sure, this story is about Nachshon’s faith and courageous action.

But more importantly, it is about us.

Every single one of the 15 million Jews on this planet descends from Nachshon and the rest of the people in Group Five. That includes everyone who has chosen to convert to Judaism. For you, maybe even a little extra.

We are the ones who took action. It is in our DNA to step into the sea even in the face of unspeakable challenges.

The Hard Truth

It is worth noting that pieces of Groups One through Four are inside us too.

Sometimes we just want to assimilate.
Sometimes we are too afraid to take action.
Sometimes we want to fight when obviously we cannot win.
Sometimes we pray when we should take action.

Why This Passover Story Still Matters Now

Now, maybe more than any time in recent memory, this is a moment to act.

Be Jewish and be proud. Speak out for justice. Do not shy away in the face of rising antisemitism.

Stand with and defend our brothers and sisters in Israel in the face of hatred. If things ever get worse and we need to flee to Israel, they are the ones protecting it for all of us.

Remember Who You Come From

Is this hatred what we asked for? Of course not.

But our ancestors did not ask to be slaves. They did not ask for the Holocaust. They did not ask for October 7.

When you get scared, remember this.

You are descended from the people who walked into the sea.

Keep them in your heart and you will never feel alone.

Looking for More Passover Stories and Seder Ideas?

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