Parashat Beshalach, Cognitive Warfare, and the Forgotten Meaning of “Never Again”
- Jae Byrd Wells
- 15 hours ago
- 5 min read
Parashat Beshalach – Shevat 13, 5786 (January 31, 2026)
Soon after Pharaoh permits the children of Israel to leave Egypt, he reverses course and pursues them with military force. The Israelites find themselves trapped—Pharaoh’s army behind them, the sea in front of them. At that moment of existential crisis, God instructs Moses to lift his staff. The sea splits. Israel crosses. The waters then close over the Egyptian forces. What follows is Shirat HaYam, the Song at the Sea—a collective expression of gratitude, awe, and humility before God.
“And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground.”— Exodus 14:22 (KJV)
The twelve tribes entered not as identical entities, but as a diverse yet unified people. The waters split for no individual tribe, no single ideology, but for collective obedience and unity. This is a profound lesson for a world fractured by ideology, politics, and technology.
Unity Without Uniformity: A Modern Challenge
I was listening to a rabbi teaching Parashat Beshalach this morning on my app. He spoke about unity—not agreement, not sameness, but unity. The twelve tribes were profoundly different, yet they crossed the sea together. That insight hit me hard. This world is so deeply divided today. In order for the Mashiach to come, tradition teaches, we must achieve unity. Yet there seems to be none among the Jewish people.
He interprets the Torah this way. He interprets the Torah that way. I am right, he is wrong. That seems to be the prevailing attitude today. I have had to struggle with this personally over the years. Everyone is quick to cast stones at his brother yet slow to embody the commandment:
“Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”— Leviticus 19:18
What does that really mean? It is far easier to judge than to act with compassion.
Judgment, Belief, and Coexistence
The biggest thing Jews love to brag about is that we are not proselytes. We do not tell others they must believe this way or that. You simply have to be yourself and let God judge. There are all flavors of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Yet today, across all faiths, the same arrogance has taken hold: everyone believes they are right and everyone else is wrong.
I am understanding Israel today in a deeper sense. There is an instinct there—ancient, stubborn, and compassionate—that says: let people live. Let the gay be gay if they want, and let them turn to Hashem in the way Hashem speaks to them. I met a gal a few months back who believes polygamy is against the Torah. Perhaps that is how she and her husband want to live their lives—and that is fine. Each path may differ, but coercion or judgment is not the Torah’s command.
Technology, Psychological Warfare, and the Limits of Human Judgment
Here is what struck me today. There is all the technology in the world—sonar weapons, psychological weapons, subliminal systems—being used against mankind. Technology is shaping perception, destabilizing minds, and pressuring souls. One can respond by saying: woe is me, the world is ending. Another can say: no one can judge me but God Himself.
But when governments, and intelligence agencies, deprive people of basic needs—like earning money, buying food, or maintaining shelter—we are crossing the greatest moral boundary. We are assuming God’s role, claiming the right to judge who deserves to live with dignity and who does not. That is the greatest sin on the planet. Scripture and tradition teach that this is the greatest sin a human can commit.
As the Book of Jasher reminds us about Sodom:
“They would not permit a poor man to eat or drink… and if a stranger passed through, they would take away his food so that he would perish.”
Economic cruelty, targeted deprivation, and moral arrogance are modern echoes of that ancient evil.
Scripture is clear:
“If thy brother be waxen poor… thou shalt relieve him.”— Leviticus 25:35
King Saul: Ego, Obedience, and Spiritual Collapse
Technology, propaganda, and psychological warfare may stress the human mind, but collapse occurs only when humans surrender humility, obedience, and moral responsibility. King Saul is a case study. Saul did not lose his mind due to external enemies—he chose ego over obedience, control over humility.
“But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.”— 1 Samuel 16:14
Saul’s paranoia, rage, and instability followed his moral disobedience. His downfall demonstrates a fundamental principle: the human mind can only be destroyed if we allow it to be, through disobedience and pride.
“Allah wrongs not the people at all, but it is the people who wrong themselves.”— Qur’an 10:44
“Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”— Romans 12:19, KJV/Catholic Bible
Retired intelligence leaders like Ray McGovern (CIA) have warned that psychological manipulation is now more powerful than bombs, and Meir Dagan (Mossad) emphasized that no state has the right to override moral law in pursuit of security:
“A state must never believe it is above moral law.”
“Never Again” Is Not a Slogan
“Never Again” is not a memorial phrase—it is a behavioral mandate.
If Jews refuse to support Jewish businesses because the owner is:
gay
polygamist
Republican
Democrat
liberal
conservative
married or single
then we are not preventing destruction—we are participating in it.
“Whoever destroys a single life, it is as if he destroyed an entire world.”— Sanhedrin 37a
Never Again is not a slogan. It is action. Torah, Talmud, Qur’an, KJV Bible, Catholic Bible, and Book of Jasher all insist that moral abandonment and economic cruelty are sins of the highest order.
Parashat Beshalach: The Sea Still Waits for Unity
This morning’s Parashat Beshalach reflection reminded me: the twelve tribes were different, yet unified. That unity carried them across the sea. Today, the world is fractured, filled with division, judgment, and ideological arrogance. The Mashiach will not come while we fracture each other over who is right and who is wrong.
Everyone is quick to cast stones at his brother but slow to love his neighbor as himself. The world is full of technology, psychological operations, sonar weapons, and digital manipulation attempting to fracture the mind and spirit. Yet, as King Saul demonstrates, the mind can only be destroyed if we surrender obedience, humility, and moral responsibility.
No one can judge another but God. Governments and intelligence agencies may attempt to control people’s livelihoods, but that is the gravest moral sin, echoing the cruelty of Sodom, and violating the commandment to relieve the poor. The sea will not split for those who abandon their brothers or sisters.
Never Again is meaningless unless it is lived. If we refuse to support each other, if we ignore our collective duty to uphold life, dignity, and sustenance, we are failing the moral covenant of our ancestors, and we are betraying the promise of the future. Never Again demands economic solidarity, moral courage, and action in the world.
The sea is still waiting. The question is whether we will step forward together.
