Parshat Beshalach: Why Did Hashem Bother Splitting the Sea?

Parshat Beshalach is known as Parshat Shira, the parsha with the special song the Jewish people sang after experiencing the splitting of the sea. This comes off the heels of two parshiyot where we watched the hand of G-d destroy Egypt with the ten Makot. One might now wonder, what was the point or the need for the splitting of the sea?

After the ten makot were complete, we were ready to leave Egypt; Hashem even gave us mitzvot to mark the beginning of the redemption. He gave us the mitzvah of  Brit Milah and Korban Pesach. He even gave us the mitzvah of tefillin, specifically as a zecher lyetzias mitzraim, a remembrance of leaving Egypt.  Then Beshalach comes and we are going out with another miracle: the splitting of the sea. Why did we need it?

Rav Moshe Feinstein writes that the exodus was not complete until the splitting of the sea; somehow this was the completeness of yetziat mitzrayim. Similarly, from the Pesach Seder we are familiar with the four languages of redemption, one being וגאלתי, which Rabbeinu Bachya says refers to the splitting of the sea. Again we see the splitting of the sea as the end of the redemption. But we were already free? The slavery was over? Why did we need this?

Perhaps we can suggest the Egyptians were still alive and might chase us, so Hashem decided he needed one last way to kill them. But that can’t be the reason;  the only reason they chased us was because Hashem hardened Pharaoh's heart so he would chase after us. Moreover, even if the reason for the splitting of the sea is to destroy the Egyptians, so why not just kill them in Egypt? Why didn’t Hashem kill them as part of the last plague, the plague of the first born? Or better yet, perform a huge, miracle in Egypt and have them all sink into the earth?

Why does it have to happen at the sea?

Rabbi Avi Feiner suggests  we see from Chazal that the splitting of the sea had a uniqueness that brought those who witnessed it to sing a shira. Even the lowly maid servant saw a revelation of Hashem’s shechina that was not seen  by all the other plagues.  The Talmud in Shabbat (132) quotes the opinion of Abba Shaul who explains the pasuk from this week’s parsha ואנוהו - we learned that we must emulate Hashem and act in his ways of mercy and kindness. But again, what did they see at the splitting of the sea that was so special for us to learn this lesson.

To make this question even stronger, what does the first pasuk in the shira tell us about how miraculous Hashem was? סוס ורכבו רמה בים, “the horse with its rider, he threw into the sea.”

That is so miraculous? More than the ten plagues?

Rashi says the miracle was they were tied together and defied the laws of gravity. Normally, if you were on horse and went in the water you would fall off; the  miracle here was they didn’t, for they stuck together and Hashem shook them up and down from the top of the water to the bottom and back.

But still, was this so much more impressive than the makot?

Rav Yochanan Zweig in his sefer Shirat Hayam says we are not talking about the awesomeness of the miracle, rather the uniqueness is that here we saw Hashem’s involvement like never before. In previous plagues, Hashem manipulated things to show He was in control of the creatures of the world; the supreme omnipotent playing with forces of nature, yet you don’t see Him, as it is all done behind the scenes.

By the splitting of the sea, Hashem is changing the laws of nature by combining the horse and its rider. So what is keeping them together? It wasn’t nature keeping them together. It is as if Hashem is holding them together and taking them to the bottom and then to the top, shaking them up and down. Who is taking them up and down? It is Hashem Himself! The water couldn’t do that. There were no fish or alligators swimming here and keeping the horse and rider together! There were no acts of nature keeping them together! It was Hashem Himself!

The miracle of the splitting of the sea is Hashem saying to the Jewish people, “I am here, come watch so you can see Me like never before.” This was the special gilui shechinah! It was only through this new level of the relationship,  back united with Hashem, close to him never like ever before, where the Jews could be considered fully redeemed!

Parshat Bo: Avoiding Systems Failure

As a Rabbi, I sometimes get the question, “Are some mitzvot more important than others?” I believe this week’s parsha can help us shed light on the notion that while there may be different rewards and punishments for certain mitzvot, they all require our complete attention.

The Torah describes the prohibition of eating chometz on Pesach by saying :,כי כל אכל מחמצת ונכרתה הנפש ההיא מעדת ישראל

“For anyone who eats chometz - that soul shall be cut off from the Jewish nation” (12:19).

Kareth is a punishment where a person is cut off, their spiritual being is cut from the Jewish people. This harsh punishment, although only applied for certain sins such as: eating on Yom Kippur, certain violations of Shabbat, not providing a son with a Brit Milah, etc. must be teaching us that these aveirot are so awful they do something to our entire being. Let’s dig a little deeper to understand this.

Rav Shlomo Wolbe zt”l explains that just as our physical existence is dependent on certain conditions such as food, drink and sleep, similarly the mitzvot are our spiritual conditions of life. If someone were to fail to observe the mitzvah of Sukkah, Shofar, Tefilin, etc., it is not just a lost opportunity to connect to Hashem, but also that person has literally deprived himself the integral ingredients which allow his spiritual side to live and grow. Each mitzvah can be compared to a different spiritual body part, and the lack of a certain part is a handicap that inhibits our proper existence.

The aveirot that are punishable by Kareth are so vital that one who doesn’t do it has caused a systems failure. He has not provided for his spiritual body and in its present state it can no longer survive - he is literally cut off from the Jewish people. So while doing other “smaller” aveirot might cause a slower more gradual harm to our spiritual souls, the Kareth sins cause an automatic systems failure.

Many of us have predispositions to certain mitzvot. Some love learning Torah, some love observing Shabbat or the chagim, while others enjoy performing acts of chesed. Although the mitzvot are critical and without them we cannot survive, the other mitzvot are just as necessary and must be performed to maintain a healthy spiritual life. Similarly when it comes to aveirot; although some are more critical and can cause systems failure when violated, it is important to avoid all aveirot to maintain a proper spiritual well-being.