Torah and Jewish Idea > Torah and Jewish Idea
The Splitting of the Sea of Reeds : Beshelach
muman613:
One more concerning the story that the sea actually split into twelve channels:
http://www.divreinavon.com/pdf/pi_hahirot.pdf
MIDRASHIC ARGUMENTS ON SPLITTING THE SEA
Then the Lord said to Moses: Why do you cry out to Me? Tell the Israelites to travel on (Ex. 14:15). Given that the Egyptians were behind them and the sea in
front of them, the text begs the obvious question: exactly where were they to travel? 15
Rashi, based on the Mechilta, explains God's response to Moses as bidding them to march into the sea to effect its splitting.
The Midrash provides a number of versions as to how exactly the sea was split.
R. Meir stated: At the time that Israel was standing at the edge of the sea, the tribes strove with one another. One said, "I will enter the sea first." And the other said, "I will enter the sea first." The tribe of Benjamin then jumped and descended into the sea first [and the waters divided] . . . .
R. Judah said to him: Not so did the event occur, but rather: one said, "I will not enter the sea first" and the other said, "I will not enter the sea first." Then Nachshon ben-Aminadav jumped and descended into the sea [and the waters divided] (Sotah 36b).
Though there is a disagreement in the Midrash as to who went in to the sea first, there is a clear consensus that the sea split in the merit of man's initiative. 16
Another Midrash posits that the sea split into 12 channels, one for each tribe, thus allowing everyone to participate in the free act of faith. Since the splitting
of the sea was initiated by man's demonstrating his ultimate faith in God, thereby actuating his ultimate true freedom, then every individual would not only want, but actually need to have this transformation performed by himself. Having a split per tribe allows each one to demonstrate that it uniquely fulfilled the act of
loyalty to God to effect freedom.
See also : http://torah.org/learning/hamaayan/5762/vayeishev.html
muman613:
And heres the last one for this evening...
There were four types of Jews at the seashore before the sea split... Here is Chabads explanation.
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/826007/jewish/Chassidic-Insights.htm
13] But Moses said to the people: The Jews were in a dilemma. They were standing without rafts in front of the Sea of Reeds and the Egyptians were fast approaching. Four factions developed among them, each with another plan of action:
* "Let us drown ourselves in the sea!"
* "Let us surrender and return to Egypt!"
* "Let us wage war against them!"
* "Let us pray!"
Moses replied to each faction in turn:
* Stand firm and witness the deliverance that G-d will perform for you today. —do not jump into the sea.
* For the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see again. —do not return to Egypt.
* G-d will do battle for you. —do not wage war against them.
* Your shall remain silent. —do not pray.
What, then, were they to do? Let them journey forth! —continue along on the path to Mount Sinai and all will be well.23
These four factions reflect four erroneous attitudes that we, too, are liable to adopt in our confrontation with spiritual darkness:
* At times we wish to "jump into the sea," to immerse ourselves in the pure waters of Torah and prayer and shut our eyes in oblivion to the darkness around us.
* At times we do better saying, "let us return to Egypt"—we will deal with the darkness, but as slaves. We resign ourselves to our fate of living in a dark world; we do our job but without hope.
* Even better is when we say, "let us wage war"—we feel the power of light and aspire to conquer the Pharaohs of dark our world. But when G-d instructs us to go on to Mount Sinai, it is not time to do battle. Furthermore, our motives for battle are questionable: do they stem from a commitment to goodness or from a desire to fight?
* The fourth path is the highest—"let us pray." During prayer we become one with G-d, losing our sense of self, and desiring only to fulfill His wishes. We would not think of secluding ourselves from the world or losing hope that light will ultimately prevail. We would not think of waging self-strategized wars not commanded by G-d. But alas, prayer is passive, and this, too, is not the path.
Rather, G-d commands us to journey forth, to continue on our path to Sinai, to bring ourselves and the world around us closer to the Torah, one good deed at a time.
The common denominator among the four factions was that their plans of action originated in their own psyche. They lacked the absolute surrender to Divine consciousness that would have allowed them to hear the voice of G-d. When we reach the level of total surrender and "travels forth," the sea is split: the hidden becomes revealed. The deepest dimension of the soul—the aspect that is absolutely one with G-d—is manifest.24
There is indeed a time for prayer. On a personal level, it is the highest form of connection to G-d. However, when action is called for, prayer is the wrong response. When the sea is waiting to be split, when G-d demands forward movement, it is not time to stop and worry about personal levels of connectedness.
This lesson is eternal, continuing to resound nowadays.
The sea is home to as much or more life as is dry land. The major difference is that its life forms are concealed by the water. There comes a point in our lives when we must "split the sea"—we must be able to see beyond the physical trappings and recognize the all-pervading Godly vitality that is the source of all life. Every person is capable of this; all that is needed is the will. Assisting someone else in this process often enables us to accomplish it for ourselves as well.
This is G-d's message: now is a time for action. Sequestering oneself in a synagogue or study hall, as personally fulfilling as it may be, is not the proper approach. There are people who need our help; they are waiting for their personal Splitting of the Sea. It is necessary to go out, to "journey forth" and help ensure that the entire world joins in the victorious march through the challenges of the Sea of Reeds toward the final and complete redemption.25
See also : http://www.shemayisrael.co.il/parsha/aram/archives/pesach62.htm
--- Quote ---Pharaoh saw them retreating and concluded that "they are lost in the land; the wilderness has closed in on them." He enlisted his soldiers and chased after Benei Yisrael to bring them back. "Benei Yisrael lifted their eyes, and behold, Egypt was traveling after them. They were very frightened, and Benei Yisrael cried out to Hashem. They said to Moshe: 'Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What is this that you did to us, by taking us from Egypt? Is this not what we told you in Egypt: let us be, and we will serve Egypt - for it is better to serve Egypt than die in the wilderness!" What defeatism - though we cannot blame them: a person is not held accountable for his response to distress. Hazal drew an analogy to a dove who fled from the vulture and tried hiding in the crevice of a rock, when suddenly a snake jumped out of the crevice. The dove fluttered between the two - just as Benei Yisrael faced Egypt from behind and the sea blocking the way in front, with the desert on either side (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 2:30). We can only imagine the terror. The Mechilta relates that four factions formed among Benei Yisrael as they stood at the sea. One suggested jumping into the sea and committing suicide. The second thought they should surrender to Egypt and return to slavery. The third group decided that they should take up arms and fight the Egyptians. A final faction suggested shouting out against the Egyptians in an attempt to drive them away. This so closely resembles a period with which we are all so familiar...
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