“And Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land in the midst of the sea”
It Is Possible to See Miracles Like Krias Yam Suf Even when Walking on Dry Land
Rabbi Pinches Friedman
We are approaching Shabbas Shirah. On this auspicious Shabbas Kodesh, we read parshas Beshalach, which contains Shiras HaYam—the song sung by Moshe and Bnei Yisrael memorializing the miraculous splitting of the sea—Krias Yam Suf. We find that the text describes this miracle in two distinct stages. Here is the text describing the first stage (Shemos 14, 21): "ויט משה את ידו על הים ויולך ה' את הים ברוח קדים עזה כל הלילה וישם את הים לחרבה ויבקעו המים, ויבואו בני ישראל בתוך הים ביבשה והמים להם חומה מימינם ומשמאלם". Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea, and Hashem moved the sea with a strong east wind throughout the entire night, and he turned the sea to damp land and the waters split. And Bnei Yisrael entered the sea on dry land; and the water formed a wall for them on their right and on their left.
Here is the text related to the second stage of the miracle. Moshe causes the waters of Yam Suf to return to their original state and drown the Egyptians (ibid. 23): "וירדפו מצרים ויבואו אחריהם כל סוס פרעה רכבו ופרשיו אל תוך הים... ויאמר ה' אל משה נטה את ידך על הים וישובו המים על מצרים על רכבו ועל פרשיו, ויט משה את ידו על הים וישב הים לפנות בוקר לאיתנו... וישובו המים ויכסו את הרכב ואת הפרשים לכל חיל פרעה הבאים אחריהם בים לא נשאר בהם עד אחד, ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך הים והמים להם חומה מימינם ומשמאלם". Mitzrayim pursued and came after them—every one of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—into the midst of the sea . . . Hashem said to Moshe, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, and the waters will go back over Mitzrayim, over its chariots and over its horsemen.” Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea, and toward morning the water went back to its power . . . The waters came back, and they covered the chariots and the horsemen of the entire army of Pharaoh, who were coming behind them in the sea—there remained not a one of them. And Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land in the midst of the sea; the water formed a wall for them, on their right and on their left.
In phase one of the miracle, the Torah informs us: “And Bnei Yisrael entered the sea on dry land.” So, why was it necessary to reiterate this fact in its description of phase two of the miracle: “And Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land in the midst of the sea”? Additionally, in the first stage, it says: "בתוך הים ביבשה"—mentioning the sea before the dry land. Whereas, in the second stage, it says: "ביבשה בתוך הים"—mentioning the dry land before the sea.
There Were Those Who Only Entered the Sea after It Had Already Become Dry Land
Several of our great luminaries present a similar explanation. They include the Kli Yakar (Beshalach), the Kol Eliyahu and Ohel Yaakov (Nasso) citing the Gaon of Vilna, zy”a, and the Yismach Moshe, and the esteemed Chasam Sofer, zy”a, citing the Mateh Aharon. In short, they all explain that at the time of Krias Yam Suf, Yisrael was divided into two distinct factions. The first consisted of tzaddikim and people with unwavering emunah and faith such as Nachshon ben Aminadav and the entire Shevet Yehudah. As we learn in the Gemara (Sotah 37a), they did not hesitate to enter the sea. Once the waters were high enough to endanger their lives, they cried out to Hashem (Tehillim 69, 2): "הושיעני אלקים כי באו מים עד נפש"—save me, O G-d, for the waters have reached the soul. In the merit of their act of faith, the sea split for them and was transformed into dry land. In contrast, however, the second faction did not leap into the sea immediately; rather, they waited for the sea to split and become dry land; only then did they enter its midst; their faith and trust were lacking.
This enlightens us as to why the Torah repeats the fact that Bnei Yisrael walked through the sea on dry land. The earlier passuk depicts the situation encountered by the tzaddikim, who jumped into the sea without hesitation. Hence, it says: "ויבואו בני ישראל בתוך הים ביבשה"—when they entered, it was still an intact sea; only afterwards did it split, so that they could traverse it on dry land. The later passuk, on the other hand, depicts how those whose emunah in Hashem was on a lower level entered the sea. They waited until there was a path of dry land in front of them. Hence, the Torah reverses the order and states: "ובני ישראל הלכו ביבשה בתוך הים"—it was already dry land when they entered the sea.
A Fantastic Insight from the Noam Elimelech
In this essay, we wish to present and enjoy the illuminating words of the renowned Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk, zy”a, in the Noam Elimelech (Likutei Shoshanah). Here is how he interprets the second passuk: “And Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land in the midst of the sea”:
At Krias Yam Suf, Yisrael witnessed the wondrous feats of the Blessed One along with His greatness and exaltedness. There are tzaddikim who live constantly with this heightened level of devotion . . . They recognize His wondrous feats even on dry land—that they are endless and immeasurable concerning everything that exists and happens in this world. This is the message conveyed by the passuk: “And Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land in the midst of the sea”—even on dry land, they walked with the same exalted attitude as they did in the sea. In other words, this passuk refers specifically to tzaddikim who recognize that even when they are on dry land, miraculous feats are being performed on their behalf.
Now, it gives me immense pleasure to introduce an incredible concept the Ramban teaches us in his commentary at the end of parshas Bo (Shemos 13, 16):
Through the great, overt miracles, a person recognizes the concealed miracles, which are the foundation of the entire Torah. For, a person has no portion in the Torah of Moshe Rabeinu until he believes that everything we do and experience, everything is a miracle; they are not due to nature or natural causes, whether they benefit the general public or an individual. If a person abides by the mitzvos, His reward will ensure his success. If, however, he violates them, His punishment will cause his extinction. Everything is decreed from above. In other words, the ultimate purpose of all the miracles and supernatural feats that HKB”H performed during Yetzias Mitzrayim was to teach us to recognize the daily miracles that He performs on our behalf disguised as natural phenomena.
Now, if we combine the wonderful elucidation of the Noam Elimelech with the exalted insight of the Ramban, we can better appreciate why the Torah presents two different versions of how Yisrael traversed the sea. The first passuk relates to the fact that the people of Yisrael that exited Mitzrayim had sunk to the forty-ninth level of tumah. Hence, it was necessary to fortify their emunah in Hashem. To accomplish this, HKB”H performed the incredible feat of Krias Yam Suf, of which it says: “And Bnei Yisrael entered the sea on dry land; and the water formed a wall for them on their right and on their left.”
In contrast, the second passuk relates to after the sea was returned to its full-strength and drowned Pharaoh, the Egyptian chariots, and their horsemen. As we learned from the Ramban, the purpose of the overt miracles is to instill in Jews the emunah in the daily, concealed miracles that surround us. Therefore, after the miraculous splitting of the sea and the return of the waters to their initial strength: “Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land in the midst of the sea”— even when Jews are walking on dry land, they recognize the miracles and wondrous feats performed on their behalf just like at Krias Yam Suf.
