The Chofetz Chaim asks: Why did Hakadosh Baruch Hu split the sea only after Bnei Yisrael entered it? This is a lesson for all generations: A person must do hishtadlus; he must jump into the sea. He mustn't be idle. And then Hashem helps him.
Bnei Yisrael entered the desert without preparing food for the trip, as stated in last week's parashah (12:39)... "They had not made provisions for themselves." Rashi writes, "This is to tell the praise of Yisrael. They didn't say, 'How can we go to the desert without food prepared?’ They believed and went."
But one can ask, what about the obligation to make hishtadlus? The answer is that if they were going for three days to the desert, there would be an obligation to make hishtadlus. They would have to bring along enough food for the trip. But they were going to be in the desert for a prolonged time. It was impossible to prepare enough food for the entire journey. Therefore, they were exempt from the obligation to make hishtadlus.
The Chofetz Chaim zt'l asked an older bachur what was the issue that was holding him back from getting engaged. The bachur explained that he sought a shver who would support him for the first five years after his chasunah.
The Chofetz Chaim asked, "How many years do you think you will live?" Startled by the question, the bachur replied that he hopes to live until he will be seventy or eighty years, as it states in the pasuk (90:10), ... "The days of our years because of them are seventy years, and if with increase, eighty years."
The Chofetz Chaim said, "You want your father-in-law to support you for the first five years of your marriage, but who will support you for the decades after that?"
The bachur replied that he had bitachon that Hashem would support him.
The Chofetz Chaim replied, "If you believe that Hashem will support you for forty, fifty years, why don't you believe that Hashem can support you for the first five years after your chasunah as well?"
The Chofetz Chaim said that Dasan and Aviram made a similar mistake. The manna fell in the morning – enough for one day – and it was forbidden to leave it overnight for the next day. What will be for breakfast the next day? People placed their trust in Hashem, and every day, more manna fell.
Dasan and Aviram, however, were afraid they wouldn't have manna the following day, so they left it overnight. Their manna spoiled. Their hishtadlus didn't help them. The Chofetz Chaim explains that part of the problem of Dasan and Aviram's way of thinking was that even if their attempts would have helped them have breakfast the following day, how would it help them eat supper, and how would their attempts help them the next day or the next week? They anyway had to rely on Hashem, so they should have immediately placed their trust in Hashem and not worried about the next day.
The Chofetz Chaim explained to the bachur that his fears were similar to Dasan v'Aviram's. Because even if he can somehow guarantee parnassah for five years, he can't guarantee his entire life. He will anyway need to place his trust in Hashem, so he can begin trusting in Hashem today.
