"And G-d said to Moshe: Stretch your arm over the water of the Reed Sea, and it shall split." Later, after Bnei Yisrael had crossed safely through the sea, G-d said, once again,
Why should an "act of G-d" be necessary for the water to resume its original, natural function?
"Stretch your hand upon the sea, and the water shall return to its original place." And so it did.
Why should an "act of G-d" be necessary for the water to resume its original, natural function?
"Stretch your hand upon the sea, and the water shall return to its original place." And so it did.
Now, I fully understand why a miracle was necessary to split the sea; but why should an "act of G-d" be necessary for the water to resume its original, natural function? Doesn't science teach us the obvious, that "water seeks its own level"? Do I need a miracle for this?
Another question: Why, inexplicably, does the Torah tell us that "Bnei Yisrael walked on dry land through the water, which formed a wall for them on each side" (14:29), after the sea had already come crashing down? The place for this pasuk is clearly before the Egyptians are drowned, while the Jews were yet passing through the Reed Sea.
I suggest that the Torah is teaching us here an important truth of the universe. The fact that the sea can go "against" nature - defying gravity to rise up in a wall - is indeed a nes, a "banner and a sign," that G-d exists. But the very fact that the Earth follows the pattern of Nature, that water seeks its own level, that objects fall down and not up, and we do not all fall off the planet - this is also a miracle of G-d; maybe even a greater miracle.
Says Rabbi Dessler, mahn (manna; also introduced in our sedra) was obviously Heaven-sent, miraculous food; but fruit that grows on trees is no less Divine. It is only the fact that we're accustomed to see fruit growing this way every day that dulls us to its uniqueness, but it is Heavenly food all the same. Rabbi Dessler even calls fruit "the modern-day mahn."
The mayim (water) cited before the Egyptians drowned may literally have meant "water." But after they sank in the sea, the mayim in the pasuk may very well mean "Torah." That is, when the plagues had ended and the sea receded, we left the Age of Miracles behind
We left the Age of Miracles behind.
us and entered "natural" existence. In this stage, when overt miracles rarely occur, it is our allegiance to Torah that convinces HaShem to let Nature run its blessed course, a course that nurtures and nourishes humanity.
We left the Age of Miracles behind.
us and entered "natural" existence. In this stage, when overt miracles rarely occur, it is our allegiance to Torah that convinces HaShem to let Nature run its blessed course, a course that nurtures and nourishes humanity.
"Walk through water"? Read: "Following Halacha (which literally means "walking") via Torah" - this is what sustains us.
If we do our part, we can expect the sun to rise and set, the earth to yield food, the air to be breathable. We will live a "normal" life, setting up "normal" society with commerce, government, an army, etc. But don't be fooled by appearances: "normal" may just be the greatest miracle of all.