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The
splitting of the sea was more than a utilitarian measure to save the
Israelites. Why did G-d choose this method?
.
By
Yanki Tauber
"We should be
grateful to G‑d for the doubled and redoubled goodness that
He has bestowed upon us! For He has ... split the sea for us, and took us
through it on dry land." (Passover Haggadah)
Is there any significance to the splitting of
the sea independent of G‑d taking us through it?
Is it not essentially one act of kindness?
Why are they listed as two separate acts of
kindness?
G‑d could have saved us in another way.
Chasidus [and
Kabbalah] explains that the splitting of the sea was more than a utilitarian
measure to save the Israelites.
Indeed, G‑d could have saved us in another way. Why did G‑d choose this method?
The answer is that
the splitting of the sea was the manifestation of a profound revelation of G‑d at that time.
As our Sages taught,
even the most spiritually illiterate amongst us experienced prophetic visions
at the sea of the sort that our later prophets never experienced.
This revelation of
the concealed was mirrored by the splitting of the waters, where what is
normally concealed (the seabed) was revealed.
Generally, Divine
revelation of this kind would cause a person to be so overwhelmed that he would
cease to exist with an independent consciousness at all. How was this possible?
More Than Prophecy
At the sea, G‑d revealed more than what is revealed in prophecy — He
revealed His essence, which transcends all rules.
The Israelites were therefore
able to remain conscious — to walk through the sea during this immense
revelation.
Hence the two acts of
kindness:
1) He split the sea for us — i.e., revealed to us the
Divine reality that is normally concealed;
2) He led us through the sea on dry land — i.e., He
revealed His essence, which transcends the conflicting properties of
"sea" and "dry land," thereby enabling us to remain
conscious during this revelation.
On dry land:
In contrast to the
above interpretation, another perspective is that we are thanking G‑d for:
1. Splitting the sea and
providing us an escape from Egypt, and
2. for drying the seabed
for us so we would not have to walk in mud.
![Exodus: Israelites Explain How To Take an 11-Day Journey in 40 Years! Disclaimer: I don't necessarily agree with all the moral judgments here, but I must ask you, "What journey in your life is taking you so long because of your [ ] attitude?"](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/b6/3d/70/b63d70a503deb92c63989028a2748cc8.jpg)
But sparing us a
muddy walk seems a relatively insignificant miracle in comparison to the other miracles
enumerated here.
Why then is it
included?
... this inspiration
slowly escapes once we close the prayer book and enter the "real"
world...
As mentioned, the
splitting of the sea represented a revelation of the G‑dly reality that is usually hidden.
In a personal sense,
we also have times when G‑d's presence is revealed and times when G‑d seems concealed from us.
There are times when
we are spiritually inspired and feel close to G‑d, and times when we are uninspired and feel distant from
G‑d.
Generally, we
experience Divine "revelation"--awareness and inspiration — during the times of prayer, especially through meditative
prayer.
But this inspiration
slowly escapes once we close the prayer book and enter the "real"
world, where G‑d is concealed.
A Personal Revelation
A "splitting of
the sea" in our lives would mean that the inspiration of prayer stays with
us throughout the day — that we experience Divine awareness and revelation even
in a time and place where G‑dliness is typically concealed.
But this can occur in
two ways:
In the first, the
perspective gained during prayer is enough to affect our behavior during the
day but does not transform our feelings and inclinations.
This can be compared
to a splitting of the sea in which the waters of concealment have not been
completely removed from the seabed — it remains wet and muddy.
This means that the
hidden has been revealed, but not entirely — a residue of the waters of
concealment remains.
Yet, as we say in the
Haggadah, even if G‑d only granted us this "small" spiritual
achievement — Dayenu!
He gave us the
ability to experience an absolute "splitting of the sea"...
But G‑d accorded us an even greater kindness: He gave us the
ability to experience an absolute "splitting of the sea," a
revelation of the concealed, where no "water" remains at all
and we can walk on "dry land."
Our meditative
prayers can "part the sea," enabling us to see through the "concealing
waters" of the world even outside the times of prayer.
We are then able to
see the world as the handiwork of its Creator and to perceive the purpose He
intended for it in its creation.
From The Kehot
Passover Haggadah: Translator--Rabbi J. Immanuel Schochet; Commentaries—Yanki
Tauber; Editor—Rabbi Yosef Marcus. By Yanki Tauber
Based on the talks and
writings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson; rendered by
Yanki Tauber.
Yanki Tauber served as editor of Chabad.org
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