Beshalach
The shortest route out of Egypt to the Land of Israel would have been along the Mediterranean coast, through the land of the Philistines, known today as the Gaza strip. But that would have involved engaging in battle with the seven nations and the Jews were not ready for that. They had heard the horror stories the spies had brought back from scouting the land, about the fortified cities and their giant inhabitants. Perhaps G-d was powerful enough to bring Egypt to its knees, but that was just one nation. Could he conquer seven nations?
Clearly the Jews were not yet ready to place their trust in G-d. Yes, they had witnessed the ten plagues and that should have instilled in them enough faith in G-d’s promise to Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, that the land would be theirs, but it didn’t. Just because G-d can do one thing is no guarantee He could do another. As the Psalmist puts it, (Tehillim 78:20) “Hayn hikah tzur vayazuvu mayim… hagam lechem yuchal tes? – He struck a rock and water flowed,… can he give bread also?”
The Jews needed to see more miracles for them to believe. Yesterday’s miracles had worn off. They were taken for granted. The miracles to which they had become accustomed had turned into the ordinary course of nature. They had not reached the degree of faith of Rabbi Chaninah ben Dosah who saw miracles in nature. Who told his daughter, who had mistakenly poured vinegar, instead of oil into the Shabbat lamp, to go ahead and light, because the same G-d who ordered oil to burn could order vinegar to burn.
“Ki Karov hu” (Shemos 13:17), it was too soon to take them to the Land of Israel. They needed to witness more dazzling miracles, like the splitting of the Red Sea and the drowning of the pursuing Egyptians. Only then would they gain enough faith in G-d to enter the land of Israel and enough appreciation to recognize the hand of G-d in their day-to-day, mundane lives. Only then would they understand that there is no nature without G-d. That we are not self-made men. That we are helpless on our own. That each month we have to pray, like beggars at the gate, for the miracle of life itself – for chayim aruchin, chayim shel shalom, chayim shel tovah, chayim shel berachah, chayim shel parnassah, chaim shel chilutz atzamot (for a long life, for a life of peace, for a life of goodness, for a life of blessing, for a life of sustenance and for a life of physical health). None of these things happen by themselves. They are all miracles. It would take the Jews 40 years of exposure to obvious miracles for that to sink in. So instead of proceeding north through the Gaza strip into Israel, G-d led them into the desert, where it would become clear to them that life is made up of a daily quota of miracles.
“Vechamushim olu benei Yisrael m’Eretz Mitzraim – And the people of Israel went out armed from the land of Egypt” (13:18). They were armed with the bones of Yosef which Moshe carried with him out of Egypt. These bones were the miraculous weapons that split the Red Sea. “Hayam ra’ah vayanos” (Tehillim 144:3), the Red Sea split miraculously, like Yosef who split from the wife of Potiphar when she tried to entice him, as it says, “Vayanas vayetze hachutzah” (Bereishis 39:13).
G-d baited Pharaoh into chasing after the people of Israel by having them set up camp between a place called Migdol and the Red Sea, so that “Ve’amar Pharoah livnei Yisrael, nevuchim heim ba’aretz sagar aleihem hamidbar.” Pharoah would be duped into believing that the Israelites were lost in the area and trapped in the desert (Shemos 14:3). This gave him the courage to chase after them right up to their encampment on the shores of the Red Sea.
Seeing the Egyptians close in on them, the Jews did what they had originally done to escape oppression; they cried out to G-d to save them. But this time, G-d threw the ball into their court and said, “Ma titzak elei, daber el benei Yisrael veyisau – Why are you crying out to me, speak to the Israelites and let them start moving” (14:15). Move where, into the sea? This was the big test. Would the Jews take the leap of faith into the sea, confident in G-d’s assurance that they would survive?
We know what happened. Only Nachson Ben Aminadav took the plunge. He waded through the sea until the water reached to his nostrils. Only then did the sea part and become dry land. Even though it was only Nachson who took the leap of faith, the Torah tells us, “Vayavou Bnei Yisrael betoch hayam bayabashah – The Israelites went into the sea on to dry land” (14:22). But in fact, they didn’t do that. They waited for Nachshon to pave the way for them, so that they could take their first steps not into the water, but onto dry land.
Nachshon belonged to the tribe of Yehudah of whom the Torah testifies, “Lo yasur shevet miYehudah umechokek mibein Raglav – The scepter of royalty will not depart from Judah nor legislation from his descendants” (Bereishis 49:10). Since their leader, Nachshon, showed them the way, the Jews got some credit for it, so that “Vehamayim lahem chomah miminam umismolam – The waters became a wall for them on their right and left (Shemos 14:22).
But the Torah does not overlook the fact that the Jews waited until they saw dry land before jumping in. It tells us a few sentences later, “U’Bnei Yisrael halchu bayabasha betoch hayam,” that the Jews stepped onto dry land in the sea (14:29), “vehamayim lahem chomah miminam umismolam – and the water became a wall for them on their right and left.” This time, however, the word “choma” is spelled without the letter “vav.” Chomah without a vav means anger. The waters were angry at the Jews for their lack of faith in G-d.
And their lack of faith did not end there. Because the clouds and darkness did not enable them to see the Egyptians drowning in the seas behind them, they worried that rather than following them into the sea, the Egyptians might have circled the shores only to meet the Jews and attack them as they emerged from the split sea. They needed to be shown clearly that the Egyptians had perished. “Vayar Yisrael es mitzrayim mes al sefas hayam – And the Israelites saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore” (14:30). It was only then, when they saw it with their own eyes, that they believed in G-d: “Vayiru ha’am es hashem vayaminu bashem uveMoshe avdo – And the people, revered hashem and they had faith in Hashem and in Moshe His servant” (14:31-31). For them, seeing was believing.
Despite this display of skepticism, the Jews were forgiven. After all, they were just embarking on their journey of faith. Soon they would be reaching Har Sinai, where they would be given all of the mitzvot. The whole point of the mitzvot is to strengthen one’s faith in G-d, in the spirit of “Shivisi hashem lenegdi tamid – I have set G-d always before me” )Tehillim 16:8). By surrounding oneself with tzitzit, which represent all of G-ds commandments, “miminam” and “mismolam” (on their right side and on their left side), the Jews would constantly remind themselves of His existence and of the complete trust they can have in Him.
And faith leads to happiness, and happiness leads to song. So, they began to sing a song of praise to G-d. “Az yashir Moshe – Then Moshe will sing.” The Shira is not a one-time song relegated to history. It is a song that will be sung each day, to this very day, as if we ourselves were present at the splitting of the Red Sea.
