Beshalach

 

 

 

Our Parshah tells us of the miraculous splitting of the Red Sea. After leaving Egypt, The Israelites all crossed safely, while the pursuing Egyptians all drowned. The event that brought the waters crashing down is described thus: "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and in the early morning the sea returned l'eitano to its [original] strength."

 

Our Sages comment that the word l'eitano, when rearranged can spell lit'na'o, which means "to its stipulation." This is a reference to the Midrashic teaching that when G‑d created the sea, He stipulated with it that it would split when the Jewish nation would have to cross it. At this point-when the sea completed the fulfillment of its promise to split-the Torah informs us that the sea did indeed keep its promise.
 
This raises an obvious question. Why did G‑d have to stipulate with the sea at the time of its creation that it would eventually have to split? How could the sea possibly go against G‑d's will? If G‑d wants it to split, then it would split!
 
We find an incredible story in the Talmud that is reminiscent of the story of the splitting of the sea: Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair was on his way to redeem some captives. He approached the Gina'i River. He said to the river: "split your waters for me so that I can cross."  The river replied: "You are going to do the will of your Maker (meaning, you are going to redeem captives), and I am presently doing the will of my Maker (by flowing downstream, as is natural for a river). In your case it is not certain that you will succeed [in redeeming the captives], but in my case, I am already doing G‑d's will (by flowing). Why should I stop my waters, temporarily ceasing to fulfill G‑d's will, when you might not succeed in your mission? I will not split for you."

 

Rabbi Pinchas then said to the river: "If you do not split, I shall decree upon you that water will have never flown through you." At that point the river split.
 
Here too, several questions arise: First, wasn't the river's argument a good one? Why should the river that does the will of its Creator defer to the will of a person who cannot guarantee that he will fulfill the will of the Creator?
 
Second, what did Rabbi Pinchas mean when he said: "I shall decree upon you that water will never have passed through you?" How could he decree that water has never passed? He could only decree that the river should dry up and cease to have water flowing from that time onward, but how can he decree that water should never have flowed?
 
Rabbi Dovber-known as the Maggid of Mezeritch and the successor of the Ba'al Shem Tov as the leader of the Chassidic movement-and successive Chassidic masters, answer these questions by referring to the aforementioned Midrashic statement of the splitting of the sea. G‑d stipulated with the sea at the time of its creation that it would split for the Jewish nation at the appointed time. Similarly, at the time of their creation, all of existence was charged with the responsibility to conform to the will of those righteous people who are on their way to fulfill G‑d's will.
 
By not splitting at the appointed time, the river demonstrated that it did not abide by the original stipulation made at the time of its creation. Hence, it had no basis to have ever existed. Its existence and indeed, very creation, were not in conformance with G‑d's will and therefore it would cease to exist.
 
Now, anything that exists temporarily, and whose existence is tentative, is in reality not a true existence even before its existence ceases. Evidence of this fact can be found in the Mishnah, which refers to rivers that dry up every seven years as "false rivers," because their existence even when they flow is not genuine.
 
From all of the above a different picture about the sea splitting emerges that sheds light on the nature of many other miracles and provides us with encouragement in the performance of the Mitzvot.
 
There are two ways of looking at a miracle:
 
The first approach is that G‑d intervenes with nature and alters its course. The second approach is that when a person devoted to G‑d wants to realize his divine mission, the general rule is that nature itself will accommodate that effort. This is so not because nature will change, but rather because nature itself was so programmed at the very time of creation to best accommodate our service to G‑d. And while there are exceptions to every rule, as well as certain variables such as the degree of righteousness of the individual, the importance of the mission, etc., the general rule is that nature is our ally and not our adversary.
 
From all of the above a powerful lesson about the nature of nature itself comes to light. As stated, the general rule is that nature is not an impediment to G‑d's will, on the contrary. And if it seems that there are natural barriers that do not allow us to realize our G‑dly purpose, it is most likely just a test to see whether we are truly intent on carrying out the Divine will, as in the abovementioned story of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair.
 
When Rabbi Pinchas stated unequivocally that he decrees that the river split, it was his way of saying that I am so committed to doing G‑d's will that I will not take no for an answer.

 

In the world we live today, there are many obstructions that confuse us about the true character of nature. As a result, we often view the world around us as being hostile to our spiritual advancement.
 
In the Messianic Age-that we are poised to enter-the world will see clearly how all of nature was created for G‑d's glory, as Ethics of the Fathers states: "All that the Holy one, Blessed by He, created in His world, He created solely for His glory, as it is stated: 'All that is called by My name, indeed, it is for My glory that I have created it, formed it, and made it.'"