discerning the miraculous in our lives

1. Echoes of Eden
Rabbi Ari Kahn
Parashat B’shalach 5775
Winds of Salvation
The moment they had dreamed of for hundreds of years had finally arrived:
The Children of Israel were no longer slaves. They had been released from
their bondage through a series of miracles, and were now taking their first
steps as free people. Suddenly, they were faced with a threat for which they
were ill-prepared: The mighty Egyptian army, equipped with state –of –the-
art chariots and highly trained warriors, was bearing down on them. The
Israelites took up whatever primitive arms they could in order to defend
themselves and their new freedom, but they soon realized that their
weapons and military capabilities were no match for their erstwhile
oppressors. The fledgling nation and their
rag-tag defense force found themselves
between Scylla and Charybdis, trapped
between the approaching Egyptian onslaught
and the foreboding sea. It appeared the
experiment of an independent Israelite nation
would be exceedingly short-lived.
As their tension and fear rose to a fever-pitch,
another miraculous intervention transpired:
A strong easterly wind blew throughout the
night, creating a passage of dry land in the sea
through which the Israelites made their way
without even getting their feet wet.
In fact, the method behind this miraculous event might have appeared to be
a natural phenomenon:
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and God caused the sea to recede by a
strong east wind all that night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were
divided. (14:21)
1
The
fledgling
nation
and
their
rag-­‐tag
defense
force
found
themselves
between
Scylla
and
Charybdis

2. Apparently, the Egyptian army – horses, chariots and all - were lulled into a
false sense of security. They saw what appeared to be a fortuitous
juxtaposition of naturally occurring events, and proceeded into the
passageway in pursuit of their fleeing slaves. And then, a miracle of
unmistakable and enormous magnitude occurred: The waters seemed to
“take sides” in this battle. The Egyptians became, quite literally, the victims
of a sea change, as the waters returned to their place - with a vengeance.
Apparently, the salvation of the Jews was carried out by a miracle concealed
in a natural phenomenon, while the eradication of the Egyptians was carried
out by the unmistakable Hand of God, through the upending of the laws of
nature. The blatantly, inescapably miraculous element of this chain of
events was not the method through which the Israelites were saved, but the
singular method through which the Egyptians received their much-deserved
punishment.
Was this merely a question of strategy, a ruse to lure the unsuspecting
Egyptians into the sea? Perhaps. However, rabbinic sources offer a different
perspective. The Talmud reports that a heated debate was carried out in
heaven regarding the justification for saving the Israelites. It was argued
that both the Jews and the Egyptians were deserving of death; in the words
of one rabbinic teaching, "These are idolaters and these are idolaters." This
may explain why the miraculous salvation of the Jews was subdued, and
made to appear to be a natural event.
Interestingly enough, when we look back at the events, especially on
Passover night as we read the Haggadah, we emphasize the miraculous
splitting of the sea, and avert our focus from the punishment of the
Egyptians. This is not simply political correctness; a very central element of
the Seder is the message that we must focus on our salvation, and give
thanks and praise to God for the miracles He performed for our benefit -
even those that were disguised as natural phenomena. Just as Jews are
acutely aware of the importance of timing for a good joke (always deliver
the punchline just before people laugh), so, too, the timing of “natural
phenomena” is what makes them miraculous. On that day, at the banks of
the Red Sea, the timing of that east wind was Divine. The waters split just
as the Israelites needed an escape route, and they came crashing back down
as the Egyptians followed them into the sea. While the second part of the
miracle may have been more conspicuous, may have left a greater impression
Echoes of Eden

3. of sound and fury, both the “natural” splitting of the sea and the “unnatural”
closure of the safe passageway were miracles. In both cases, God took an
active role in human history, but He chose different volume settings, as it
were, to bring about these two miracles.
Perhaps this is the lesson of the Splitting of
the Sea: Sometimes, miracles occur on a
grand scale. Divine intervention is obvious,
and only those with the most jaundiced eye
can argue away the miracle. Other times, the
Hand of God pulls strings behind the scenes,
manipulating the natural course of events
more subtly. How many times in our history
has that “east wind” come to our rescue,
perhaps unnoticed but, in retrospect,
unmistakable? How many times throughout
our history have we felt that same wind on
our backs, almost imperceptibly steering us
on the path to salvation? Can we, almost 50
years later, deny that the miraculous “east
wind” of God’s protection gusted for six days in June 1967? Then, and during
so many other perilous junctures in Jewish history in which the very
existence of the Jewish People was threatened, the miracles that saved our
homeland and our People were often perceived as natural events. During the
throes of a terrible storm, we may be unable to discern the benevolent gust
of wind that brings salvation in its wake.
On Seder night, as we look back, we have the perspective and the insight
born of distance and experience, and we recount the miracle of our salvation
- a miracle compounded by many smaller, almost imperceptible miracles:
Were there fifty, or two hundred, or even two hundred and fifty miracles at
the Red Sea which brought about our salvation? This, then, is the way a Jew
should learn history. Through this prism, we should consider world events
as they unfold: The Hand of God is at work in the background, protecting
and guiding us as a nation.
This lesson goes far beyond Passover Eve: God’s involvement is not limited
to the great historic upheavals or the struggles and triumphs of our nation.
He is equally involved, in both conspicuous and inconspicuous ways, in the
Echoes of Eden
Other
times,
the
Hand
of
God
pulls
strings
behind
the
scenes,
manipulating
the
natural
course
of
events
more
subtly

4. private life of each and every one of us. The Talmud stresses this with a
well-known and touching lesson regarding the most personal aspect of our
lives: God Himself is the ultimate matchmaker, and his efforts in this sphere
are compared to the splitting of the Red Sea! (Sotah 2a) Apparently, the
analogy points out the subtle, seemingly-natural course of events that God
sets in motion, that “east wind” that changes our lives and brings about our
salvation.
Do we take the time to notice the Hand of God in our lives? Perhaps the
Talmud’s message is that our response should be the same as that of the
Israelites at the Red Sea: When they finally grasped the magnitude of the
“natural” miracles that had brought about their redemption, they broke into
song and dance, and declared: “This is my God, and I will Glorify Him!”
For
a
more
in-­‐depth
analysis
see:
http://arikahn.blogspot.co.il/2015/01/audio-­‐and-­‐essays-­‐parashat-­‐bshalach.html
Echoes of Eden