The Greatness of Every Yid
After Klal Yisrael left Eretz Mitzrayim, it states (14:3) ָגַרס ֶץָרבָּא ֵםה ֻכִיםנְב ֵלָאְרׂיִש לִבְנֵי ַּרְעֹהפ ַרָמוְאִּדְבָּרַמה ֶםֵיהֲלע, "Pharaoh said to Bnei Yisrael, 'They are trapped in the land. The desert has closed in upon them.'" To whom did Pharaoh speak? The Yidden had already left! What does it mean ֵלָאְרׂיִש לִבְנֵי ַּרְעֹהפ ַרָמוְא, that Pharaoh spoke to Bnei Yisrael? Targum Yonason writes, ַּיְירוּןְׁתִשדְּמ ֵלָאְריִש בְּנֵי ָםֲבִירַאוְל ָןָתלְד ַּרְעהפ ַרוְיֵמ ַיִםִצְרבְּמ, "Pharaoh spoke to Dasan v'Aviram of Bnei Yisrael who had remained in Mitzrayim." Dasan v'Aviram stayed behind in Mitzrayim when the Yidden left. The sea split for the Jewish nation, but Dasan v'Aviram weren't there.
Nevertheless, we find Dasan v'Aviram in the desert. How did they join the Jewish nation? Chazal tell us that the sea split for them, as well. They came late to the Yam Suf; the sea had already split and returned to its natural self, and then the sea split again, just for Dasan v'Aviram.
We learn from this just how great every Yid is before Hashem, even people like Dasan v'Aviram. They were worthy of having the sea split just for them.
The Be'er Mayim Chaim writes on the pasuk (14:29) ַיָּםה בְּ תוֹךְ ָהַׁיַּבָּשב ָלְ כוּה ֵלָאְרׂיִש וּבְנֵי, "Bnei Yisrael went on dry land in the midst of the sea." There is a rule: שנים רבים מיעוט, when the pasuk discusses a majority, it is referring to at least two people. This pasuk is also written in plural, ָלְ כוּה ֵלָאְרׂיִש וּבְנֵי, and it is referring to two people, Dasan v'Aviram. The sea split for them, and they enjoyed the dry land and the miracles that happened to all of Bnei Yisrael.
It states (Tehillim 136:13) לִגְזָרִים סוּף יַם לְגֹזֵר, "To Him Who cut the Sea of Reeds to slices" and Chazal learn from this pasuk that Hashem split the sea to twelve parts, so each shevet would have its own path to pass through the sea. The Sfas Emes (Pesach 5664) says that this was to show that each shevet was worthy in its own right for the sea to split just for them.
The Sfas Emes adds that the sea split into many smaller parts, as it states (Tehillim 74:13) יָם ָָזְּךבְע ַָּרְתפוֹר ָּהַתא, "You crumbled the sea with Your might." This was so everyone should have his own path to go through the sea. Every Yid was worthy; every Yid is precious to Hashem.
Tzidkas HaTzaddik (154, from Rebbe Tzaddok HaKohen zt'l) teaches, "Just as a person must believe in Hashem yisbarach, so must a person believe in himself, to believe that Hashem is interested in him and that he was created for a purpose. He must believe... that Hashem has pleasure from him when he performs Hashem's will. This is the meaning of the pasuk (14:31) ובמשה 'בה ויאמינו עבדו, 'They believed in Hashem and in Moshe, his servant.' 'Belief in Moshe' means to believe in Klal Yisrael... They all believed that Hashem wanted them."
At the beginning of the parashah it states (13:17) הוּא ָרוֹבק כִּי ִּיםְׁתְּלִשפ ֶץֶרא ֶ ךְדֶּר ִיםֱלֹקא ָםנָח וְלֹא, "Hashem did not lead them the path of the Plishtim, because it was near." Daas Zekeinim m'Baalei haTosfos explains this pasuk in a wondrous manner: ֶץֶרא ֶ ךְדֶּר ִיםֱלֹקא ָםנָח וְלֹא, Hashem doesn't lead His holy, Jewish nation in the manner that He leads the rest of the world, הוּא ָרוֹבק כִּי, because Hashem is close to them, and He loves them. He leads them on a path beyond the rules of nature.
The Mitzrim were worse than Amalek, yet we are obligated to kill every member of Amalek, and not so with the Mitzrim.
The explanation is that Pharaoh didn't believe in Hashem, as he said 'ה מי, but Amalek was worse because Amalek didn't believe in the Jewish nation, as it states (Devarim 25:18), אחריך הנחשלים כל בך ויזנב, and Rashi explains that Amalek attacked the people who sinned, those who were banished from the clouds of glory. In other words, he caused the people who sinned to feel down and unwanted by Hashem. Amalek's approach was to cause people to lose belief in themselves, which is worse than Pharaoh, who caused people to lose belief in Hashem.
We discussed above that Dasan v'Aviram left over the manna, and we discussed that this was because they didn't have bitachon that Hashem would give them parnassah the next day. There is more to the story. They lacked emunah in themselves. They didn't believe they were worthy of the manna to fall for them.
The Ishbitzer teaches this lesson on the pasuk (16:20) ַדע ֶּ נּוִּממ ִׁיםֲנָשא ִ רוּוַיּוֹת ֶהׁמֹש ֶלא ְ עוָּמׁש וְלֹא ַׁשוַיִּבְא ִיםָעּוֹלת ֻםוַיָּר ֶרבֹּק, "But some men did not obey Moshe and left over [the manna] until morning, and it bred worms and became putrid..." Rashi writes that these men were Dasan v'Aviram.
The Mei HaShiloach (the Ishbitzer zt'l) explains that their sin was that they had the negative form of humility (פסולה ענוה). They thought they weren't worthy that a miracle should happen to them, and that the manna should fall for them again the next day.
This is why their manna grew worms, which represent humility, hinting that their sin was their negative form of humility. We must believe in ourselves, no matter what level we are on, and we must know that Hashem loves us and desires our service.
