Beshallach

Four Miracles

Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan

The Israelites have made it to the shores of the Sea of Reeds. In front of them lies an impassable giant lake. Behind them, Par'oh's army approaches. What do the Israelites do? Thinking quickly, they begin to complain. Moshe keeps his cool. "Don't you worry!" he says. "Gather and watch the amazing save that God is going to do for you today!"

But God seems to have different view. "What are you crying out to me for?" God says. "Speak to the Israelites, and they will go forwards!" Then God offers Moshe a second suggestion. "Raise your staff, stretch your hand out over the sea, and split it!" A few pesukim (verses) later, Torah tells us: "Moshe stretched out his arm over the sea, and Hashem drove the water with an east wind blowing all night. It turned the sea into dry land, and the sea was split."

The Torah gives four explanations of what made it possible for the Israelites to travel forwards.

(1) Moshe reasoned with the frightened Israelites and they listened. (2) Moshe, the skilled magician, who had esoteric knowledge of many specialized laws of energy-matter connections, used his knowledge to split the sea. (3) God exercised hashgachah peratit, divine providence, and directed the forces of nature to help a particular group of people in mortal danger. (4) Luckily, the weather cooperated that day, and the Israelites took advantage of the east wind rearranging the waters.

Which of these four miracles took place? The beauty of the Torah's account is that you don't have to choose.

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