Go forth and split the sea! - Beshalach 5786

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 What do you do when you are between a rock and a wet place?  The Jews had excitedly left Egypt after 210 years of exile and over 80 years of vicious slavery.  They were counting the days to the great anticipated event of receiving the Torah and formally becoming Hashem’s people.  Then disaster struck.  The Egyptians, who had been so happy to see them go, were back with a vengeance.  Pharaoh was talking about dividing the spoils among his people, and was there right behind them with a mighty army.  The Jews had nowhere to go.  In front of them was the Sea of Reeds.  What now? 


The Torah tells us that they complained bitterly to Moshe.  Aren’t there enough graves in  Egypt...?  Moshe responded to them (Shemot 14:13,15):  “Have no fear. Stand firm and witness the deliverance that G-d will perform for you today, for the Egyptians whom you have seen today you will never see again. G-d will do battle for you; you are to remain silent.”  G-d [then] said to Moshe, “...Speak to the Israelites and let them journey forth!”


There is a fascinating Midrash that unpacks Moshe’s answer. There were four responses among the Jews to the danger and panic.  One group wanted to throw themselves into the sea!  Another group was ready to surrender and return to Egypt.  A third group wanted to go to war and fight the Egyptians, and a fourth said let’s cry out to Hashem in Prayer.


Moshe’s statement negated all four ideas.  Don’t jump into the sea!  “Have no fear. Stand firm and witness the deliverance that G-d will perform for you today.”  To those who wanted to return to Egyptian slavery, he said: "The Egyptians whom you have seen today you will never see again.”  To those who wanted to fight Moshe said: “G-d will do battle for you.”  And to the ones who wanted to pray he said:  “You are to remain silent.”  So what should they do? “let them journey forth!”  One man, Nachshon ben Aminadav, the prince of the tribe of Yehudah, did just that, and as he got into the water up to his neck, the water parted.


I always found this Midrash very interesting.  It is an example of how some seemingly redundant verses actually are teaching us deeper layers of meaning.  But wait a second.  What’s wrong with praying?  Committing suicide is not a plan, neither is going back to slavery.  To fight the trained Egyptian army would not be a good idea.  But why not pray?  Isn’t that what the best thing to do when we are in trouble?


The Rebbe gives a profound explanation that is relevant for all times.  The slavery and Exodus from Egypt is not just history but also a state of being.  This is why we mention it every day in our prayers, in addition to observing the annual Seder.  We also read the story of the splitting of the sea every day, because it is the conclusion of the Exodus.


Spiritually speaking, the world hides Hashem’s Presence.  Though Hashem is the Creator of everything and is constantly animating the entire universe, all we see is physical nature, just as when we look at the sea we do not see anything that is under the water.  Our mission is to “split the sea,” - to take off the cover and reveal the true existence of everything, its Divine “spark.”  This is a daunting task.  Someone might look at the world and see how dark it is, and decide that it’s impossible to contend with.  “I give up!  I’ll just “throw myself into the sea,” immersing myself in the world of Torah and spirituality and staying away from any involvement with the world.”  


Another person might recognize the need to affect the world, but will “stay in “Egypt” reluctantly doing the necessary work, but feeling like it is slave labor.  Then comes the one who wants to fight.  The world is a bad place, there are bad people and bad things happening, so he or she is constantly feeling the need to fight and battle.  Then there are those who throw up their hands and say: There is nothing I can do.  Give it up to G-d.  I’ll pray and let G-d take care of changing the world.


Hashem’s instructions are to “journey forth.”  Don’t be afraid of the sea and don;t give up.  Hashem has told us to approach Sinai and receive the Torah.  Go forth with faith and joy to fulfill your mission.  When we do our part, moving forward and committing to make the world a better and lighter place, Hashem will split the sea and we will be successful!

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