Kriyas Yam Suf or B’Kias Yam Suf?
Question: When the Torah talks about Kriyas Yam Suf, the word “kriya”- ripping – is never used. Rather, the Torah uses the lashon of “b’kia”- splitting, like we find “vayibaku hamayim” – the waters split. If the Torah uses the wording of “b’kia”, then why do Chazal refer to this miracle as “Kriyas Yam Suf” and not “B’kias Yam Suf”?
Answers:
i) Rav Moshe Sternbuch in his sefer Taam V’daas in Parshas Beshalach explains that kria – ripping is when you have two things attached together and then you rip it apart. (Mishna Berurah, siman 340) However, when you take one thing and rip it, that’s called b’kia, splitting. By Kriyas Yam Suf, it seems that the term b’kia is more appropriate because the sea was one whole entity before it was split. However, it says in Chazal that Hashem made a condition with the waters by creation that it must split for Klal Yisrael. Hashem already planned the splitting of the sea at the time of creation. If so, already by creation the sea was two parts put together, so by Kriyas Yam Suf, the term “kria” makes sense. However, Klal Yisrael saw the waters splitting without knowing about the condition that Hashem made previously with the sea. To Klal Yisrael, it was a “b’kia”, and that’s why the Torah uses a lashon of b’kia.
ii) There’s another reason for the difference in terminology. The Rabbeinu Bechaya tells us that when Hashem split the sea, it didn’t split all at once. Rather, it was split slowly. Wherever a Yid walked, there was dry land; in front of him, however, there was water. The reason Hashem performed the miracle in this way was to build the emunah of Klal Yisrael in every step as they crossed the sea. That’s why Chazal called it Kriyas Yam Suf, because b’kia, splitting, means in one shot everything is split, and kriya, ripping, happens gradually. The Torah uses the word b’kia because it refers to all waters in the world, which split suddenly. However, Chazal call it Kriyas Yam Suf since only the Yam Suf split slowly.
What Was the Purpose of the Miracle of All the Waters in the World Splitting?
Question: Rashi says on the pasuk “vayibuku hamayim” – and the waters split – that all the waters in the world split. We know that Hashem only performs a miracle when there’s a strong necessity; what was the purpose of splitting all the waters in the world?
Answers:
i) Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt”l explained that Hashem wanted that the Mitzriyim should follow the Yidden into the sea. If the Yam Suf was the only body of water that split, then the Mitzriyim would never have followed the Yidden into the water. They would
