“And Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Why shout at Me? Speak to the Jewish People, and let them travel’” (Shemos 14:15).
After months of witnessing the hand of Hashem, the entire Jewish nation – three million strong – marched out from slavery to freedom with flourish and fanfare.
Escorted by clouds of glory, walking through a desert made smooth by overt miracles, they traveled as one. It seemed that the troubles of the Jewish people were finally behind them, and they were being escorted to their final redemption.
But then the clouds directed them to a dead end – the sea. Stopping there, the Jewish people looked up and saw the Egyptians chasing after them. With nowhere to turn, they waited while Moshe called out to Hashem. Hashem replied, “Moshe, why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the Jewish people, and let them travel.” At that point, the entire nation crossed the sea.
Rashi is bothered by the expression that Hashem used: “let them travel.” What did Hashem mean by that? How could they travel when a huge body of water was in the way? Rashi explains that Hashem was saying that there was nothing that would stop Klal Yisrael because they were worthy of the greatest miracles ever known to man. Rashi then enumerates the reasons they were so worthy. They had 1) the merit of the Avos; 2) their own merit; and 3) the merit of the trust they had in Hashem at that moment.
Are They Equivalent?
Rashi’s comment is hard to understand because he lists all three reasons in the same breath as if they were equal when clearly they are not. The first two – the merit of the Avos and the Jews’ own merit – refer to overall perfection across the gamut of human activity. The Avos were living, breathing sifrei Torah. We learn from their every action and thought. The nature of their merit is hard to imagine.
Even the merit of the entire Jewish people was stupendous. While not every member had remained on the highest level, as a nation they had remained loyal to Hashem. After spending months witnessing Hashem’s direct involvement in their lives, they had grown to great levels across many different areas: chessed, emunah, ahavas Yisrael, emes, etc.
How, then, can we compare one single aspect – their trust in Hashem – to the merit of the Avos or the merit of all their actions put together? Yet Rashi puts these together as if they were all equal reasons for Hashem doing miracles for the Jewish people.
Hashem’s Involvement in the World
The answer to this question is based on a proper understanding of Hashem’s relationship to this world. The Chovos HaLevavos explains that because Hashem created this world, Hashem feels a responsibility, so to say, to sustain it. Much like if I invite you to my home, I feel obligated as a host to take care of your needs, Hashem feels almost obliged to support His creations.
However, there are different levels to Hashem’s direct involvement in running this world, which the sefer Derech Hashem calls “hashgacha klalis” and “hashgacha pratis.” Hashgacha klalis, or general intervention, refers to Hashem’s involvement in “big picture” issues: famines, wars, epidemics, natural catastrophes, and the multitude of systems that allow for life as we know it. Hashem is constantly involved in running this world at that level, but He leaves the specific details and the day-to-day running of the world to a host of forces that He created and maintains. He allows them to carry out the laws that He set. These forces determine much of the outcomes that befall humanity.
Hashgacha Pratis, or personal intervention, is very different. It refers to Hashem’s personal involvement in a nation’s or a person’s life. It refers to Hashem actually supervising directly, watching over and taking care of the needs of an individual.
General intervention is a given; it is something Hashem assures all of creation as a birthright. Personal intervention is quite different; it must be earned.
By dint of being the children of the Avos, the Jewish nation merits personal intervention – provided it keeps certain conditions. One of these is recognizing who runs the world. The more a person trusts in Hashem, the more, so to say, Hashem feels an obligation to take care of him, and the more Hashem will be directly involved in that person’s life. It is almost as if Hashem says, “How can I not take care of him if he’s relying on Me?”
This uderstanding explains why the merit of belief in Hashem was so pivotal at Krias Yam Suf. Obviously there is no comparison between the merits of the Avos and trust in Hashem at a particular moment, but trust in Hashem operates on a different level. It alone is sufficient to cause Hashem to save someone. The Jewish people’s trust in Hashem caused Hashem to kavayachol say, “How can I not take care of them? They trust in Me. They’re relying on Me. I have to save them.” Their trust was reason enough for Hashem to split the sea.
The Reward for Trust – Hashem Takes Care of Us
This incident serves as a powerful lesson on trusting Hashem. While we are obligated to act according to natural law, we are equally obligated to trust our Creator. We have to go out and do our part, following the laws of nature, but we must know all the while that whatever Hashem has decreed will come about – no more, no less, no sooner, no later.
And the amount of our trust in Hashem will directly affect how much Hashem intercedes on our behalf. This point is crucial. There may be times when we don’t warrant receiving what we need. Whether it’s health, success, or sustenance, it may well be that according to the letter of the law, we don’t deserve special assistance and certainly not the right to ask Hashem to intervene on our behalf. In such cases, it may be our trust in Hashem alone that will elicit Hashem’s help. When we rely on Hashem and trust in Him, Hashem, kavayachol, feels almost obligated to take care of us.