(ו) חִזְק֣וּ וְאִמְצ֔וּ אַל־תִּֽירְא֥וּ וְאַל־תַּעַרְצ֖וּ מִפְּנֵיהֶ֑ם כִּ֣י ׀ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ ה֚וּא הַהֹלֵ֣ךְ עִמָּ֔ךְ לֹ֥א יַרְפְּךָ֖ וְלֹ֥א יַעַזְבֶֽךָּ׃ {ס}
Cultivating Jewish Courage (Ometz Lev)
This spiritual trait isn't the absence of fear, but the inner strength to move forward anyway.
At key junctures in the biblical narrative, many characters embody the quality of ometz lev. In Genesis, Abraham audaciously confronts God on behalf of the innocent residents of Sodom and Gomorrah. Shifrah and Puah, the Hebrew midwives in Exodus, personify ometz lev in defying Pharaoh’s genocidal orders and safely delivering Hebrew babies into the world. In a famous Midrash regarding the crossing of the Red Sea, Nachshon ben Amindanav demonstrates ometz lev by taking the lead among the Israelites and plunging into the sea, walking directly into the water until it reaches his nostrils. And in the Purim story, Queen Esther endangers herself by revealing to King Ahasuerus her true identity as a Jew.
The Hasidic master Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is known for his famous teaching: Kol haolam kulo gesher tzar me’od, vehaikar lo lefached klal. “The whole world is a very narrow bridge, and the main thing is not to fear at all.”
But Nachman’s actual recorded teaching is far subtler and closer to our experience. Rather than use the Hebrew word lefached (“to be afraid”), he uses the reflexive form, l’hitpached (“to cause oneself to be afraid”). For Nachman, courage is not about denying or repressing fear. Rather, the fundamental principle of courage is choosing not to frighten ourselves beyond the fear we already experience. Fear is unavoidable, perhaps even required. Courage involves moving forward despite our fear, and not exacerbating our anxieties.
In fact, simply observing the fact that we are afraid, without judging ourselves for that emotion, offers the possibility of acting in a way that is not determined by that fear. That is ometz lev — doing that which is right and just, even in the face of challenging emotions.
Few of us can claim that, facing circumstances similar to those of the heroic figures of the Bible and later Jewish history, we would have acted as they did. Yet we can still find opportunities to cultivate courage in the small and large actions of our own lives. When we are attentive, we notice innumerable opportunities to practice ometz lev by facing our fears honestly and summoning strength from the heart to do that which we recognize as true and just.
As we grow in awareness of our inner strength, we also realize this strength can be directed towards both positive and harmful ends. Jewish tradition teaches us to connect ometz lev with the quality of chesed or lovingkindness, concern for others. According to a Midrash, there is no real courage in using one’s strength to push someone into a pit or off a roof. True courage consists of seizing the hand of one about to fall or lifting someone who has already fallen.
Cultivating ometz lev means applying our energy to protect and stand up for those who are at risk, including ourselves. We practice ometz lev whenever we leave our comfort zone, take an unpopular stand, expose our vulnerabilities, speak the truth, confront others, risk embarrassment or personal loss, or intervene on behalf of those unable to do so for themselves.
Jewish tradition teaches that the source of this courage lies within each of us, in our very heart.
Rabbi Marc Margolius is a senior program director of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality.
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/cultivating-jewish-courage-ometz-lev/
There are two action-oriented elements in the phrase,אֹמֶ ץ לֵב(ometz lev):
•Ometz means strength, so we first have to strengthen ourselves – In order to use the power of ometz lev, we have to realize we have untapped reserves that can help us when our emotionsrun high – whether of anger, excitement, happiness or fright. Engaging our inner strengthallows us to pause and take control of the behavioral choices we make next.
•Lev means heart, so we then have to reach inward into our heart – We must intentionally choose to use our inner strength. This means facing the things in life that may frighten us and, using appropriate coping mechanisms, to help calm ourselves and others. Genesis Rabbah(an ancient collection of midrash) tells a powerful story of how a person engaged their ometz lev in the face of perceived danger. The text says, “A person walking on the road saw a pack of dogs and felt afraid of them, so he sat down in their midst.” It is that inner strength that is at the heart of ometz lev.
https://jec-tohealthcurric.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/6/1/10614651/read_first_ol_overview_and_grid.pdf
Other texts on Ometz Lev:
https://www.sefaria.org/topics/ometz-lev?tab=sheets