From Snake to Staff: How the Torah Teaches You to Overcome Fear

“I can’t fall asleep at night,” a frightened patient confessed. “I’m afraid something will come out from under the bed and choke me in my sleep.”

“Within a year I’ll help you overcome these nightmares,” the psychologist said confidently. “Come twice a week. Each session costs 250 shekels. After a year, it will all be behind you.”

The patient left and never returned.

Six months later, they happened to meet again. The psychologist asked how he was doing.

“I sleep perfectly,” the patient smiled. “No nightmares at all. And it’s all thanks to a free piece of advice from my elderly neighbor.”

Seeing the psychologist’s puzzled expression, he explained: “He told me to cut the legs off the bed. Since then, nothing can hide underneath it.”

Moshe and the Staff That Became a Snake

At the first revelation of God to Moshe at the burning bush, Moshe wonders what will happen if the people of Israel do not believe in the message of redemption he brings.

God gives him the first sign to perform: “What is that in your hand?” Moshe answers, “A staff.”

He is told to throw it to the ground, and it becomes a snake. Moshe runs away.

God then says: “Stretch out your hand and grasp its tail.” Moshe does so, and it becomes a staff again in his hand.

For generations, children have heard this story with wonder. But beyond the miracle, what can we take from it?

The Power We Give to Fear

About two hundred years ago in Warsaw, there lived a learned Jew whose reputation inspired fear. People were not careful out of reverence, but because he was known to react harshly and curse those who showed him insufficient respect.

One day, Rabbi Menashe, himself a scholar, unintentionally said something that the man perceived as an insult. The man erupted in curses. Rabbi Menashe fled in panic, as though his life depended on it. It was as if by not hearing the curses, they would not take effect.

After running for a long time, he stopped and thought. What had he gained by fleeing? Now he feared that suffering would pursue him for the rest of his life.

Distressed and shaken, he traveled to Kozmir to seek guidance from his teacher, Rabbi Yechezkel Taub. Even along the journey, his fear did not subside. His mind was filled with terrifying thoughts about the curses he had heard.

When he arrived, he broke down in uncontrollable tears. Through fragments of speech and sobbing, the Rebbe understood what had happened.

The Rebbe smiled and said calmly: “What is the problem? ‘Stretch out your hand and grasp its tail.’”

Turning the Snake Back Into a Staff

The Rebbe explained that Rabbi Menashe’s fear came from attributing great power to the man and his words. But if he examined the situation honestly, he would see that a true leader, especially a righteous person, does not behave in such a way.

By removing the imagined power and importance, the threatening “snake” would return to being nothing more than an ordinary “staff.”

A teaching attributed to the Rebbe of Kotzk expresses the same idea. The evil inclination is like a tiger: fierce, intimidating, and powerful. But in truth, it is made of paper. If a person gathers the courage to confront it, they will discover it can be torn apart.

Removing the Source of Fear

Many of our fears are not rooted in reality, but in the importance we assign to them. The more power we give something, the more it controls us.

The Torah teaches that sometimes the solution is simple. Reach out, confront the fear, and reduce its power.

Like cutting the legs off the bed, we are to remove the space where fear hides.

And suddenly, what once seemed threatening disappears.