I hate having to make decisions, don't you? I am often faced with a choice whether to go back to an old project, job, or idea or to go forward into a new endeavor. If I go back, I know it will be hard going because I've "been there," but at least it has been "tried and true" - a known commodity. This is what is going through my mind: "I know what I have to face; maybe I should return and persevere? Or maybe I should go forward and try a new option. How do I know if I am doing the right thing?

I may have no experience in the proposed new area of endeavor, but it does sound like an exciting opportunity. But what if I fail? Am I ready for it? Maybe my father's motto would apply: "the doing makes you ready." Only by jumping in and rolling up my sleeves will I become ready - by "making myself succeed."

This dilemma, which can apply to a myriad of life's challenges and decisions, is not a new formulation. The model originates with the Jewish people on the seventh day following the Exodus from Mitzrayim, as the Torah states:

Mitzrayim pursued them and overtook them encamped by the sea - all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen and army, by Pi-Hachiros before Ba'al Tzefon. Pharaoh approached; the children of Yisrael raised their eyes and behold, Mitzrayim was coming after them, and Yisrael cried out to Hashem. They said to Moshe: "Were there no graves in Mitzrayim that you took us to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to take us out of Mitzrayim?"

The Torah records the Israelites' reaction to this crisis:

Is not this the word that we did tell you already in Mitzrayim, saying: Let us alone, we would sooner serve the Mitzrim, for it is better for us to serve the Mitzrim than to die in the wilderness.

When faced with the turbulent sea looming ahead, we, like the Israelites, might be inclined "to go back to Egypt," even if it means enslavement to "old masters." The root of "Mitzrayim" is "meitzar yom" - which means "narrow straights." Egypt, as well as other old "taskmasters" or ideas, can put us in the mode of "narrow straits." The "sea" in spiritual terms means a place without apparent direction - formless and overwhelming. We sometimes have to decide whether to go back to old patterns or whether we should go forward into exciting but unchartered waters.

For example, should you take that bold step by starting to keep Shabbos or telling your associate that you have decided to keep kosher outside your home as well? (You could ask him to join you for your business lunch at a kosher restaurant.) Should you open up to your spouse and share your deepest secrets and aspirations? The way forward seems like you may be getting in "over your head." You may not be in control of the outcome, you my be risking a lot, you may fail. How do you decide whether to go forward or to "play it safe?"

Have you ever seen someone climb onto the swimming pool's three-meter diving board for the first time and stand tentatively at the edge of the board with hands above head, deciding whether or not to dive in? What is the catalyst, what is the "decisive" thought which immediately precedes someone's decision to leave the security of the board and to "dive" into something he or she has never done before?

The answer can be found in the words of Yedid Nefesh, which we sing on erev Shabbos and at shalosh seudos: "Nafshi cholas ahavasecha - My soul yearns for your love."

You come to a point where your soul, your very being, craves growth, advancement, and development. You say to yourself: "I cannot develop my character or personality if I stand still. I will risk the surety of dry land for the simcha that personality growth brings." And so, our diver on the three-meter board jumps into the water. So you try that new project...Come on in, the water's warm!

This Dvar Torah is based on Rabbi Roll's book, "Inner Peace -Achieving Self Esteem Through Prayer." You can find the book at www.feldheim.com.