Near the end of Slihot every night, the evocative piyut “Mi She’Ana” (“He Who Answered”) is recited. It recounts Biblical personalities whom God answered and helped in their times of crisis or distress, and turns to God to answer us as well.
After God’s wondrous miracle at the Sea of Reeds, Moshe and Bnei Yisrael sang a song of thanks for the Splitting of the Sea. But it was not smooth sailing from there. Upon arriving at Refidim, the people complained of thirst and questioned whether God’s presence was in their midst. With no apparent solution to the crisis, Moshe cried out to God. He told Moshe to hit the rock at Horev with his staff and the people were given water to drink.
But once again, when Moshe ascended the mountain at Sinai for forty days and nights, the people doubted God’s presence. As a result, they worshipped a golden calf, and God threatened that He would destroy the nation. Moshe entreated with God, endeavoring to atone for their sin, and insisted that God’s presence continue to accompany them. Moshe went further, asking God to show him His ways. God taught him the Divine Attributes of Mercy as a way of awakening God’s mercy at times of great distress.
A crisis can be an external one or one that we create by sinning towards God. Moshe teaches us that in both cases we can turn to God for salvation.